“Grey’s Anatomy” icon Eric Dane was supposed to appear at the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards Sunday night, alongside former co-star Jesse Williams, to pay tribute to their long-running medical drama and to present the award for best directing in a drama series.
But the 52-year-old Dane pulled out at the last minute and was a no-show, leaving Williams to present the award on his own, according to Deadline. No explanation was given for Dane’s absence, but Sunday night would have been Dane’s first major awards show appearance since he announced in April that he has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal and progressive neurodegenerative condition.
Emmy organizers had planned to mark 20 years of “Grey’s Anatomy” by showcasing Dane and Williams, two of its most prominent alums who also happened to play two of its hottest doctors, according to Deadline. The San Francisco-born Dane played Dr. Mark Sloan for six years on the hit ABC show, set at a fictional Seattle hospital. Sloan was a plastic surgeon whose striking good looks earned him the nickname “McSteamy” among female interns, and he also was good friends with Williams’ character, Dr. Jackson Avery.
Dane’s character was written off the show at the end of Season 8, while Williams stayed on the show for 12 seasons. Without Dane at the Emmys Sunday night, there was no “Grey’s Anatomy” celebration, with Williams going straight to presenting the award for best directing.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 14: Jesse Williams speaks onstage during the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on September 14, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
In 2024, Dane revealed on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast that he had been struggling with addiction to painkillers during his final years on “Grey’s Anatomy,” as he tried to cope with the “overwhelming” fame that came with being a heartthrob on a hit TV show. Dane said he may ultimately have been let go in 2012 because he was getting to be too expensive for the network, though his addiction “didn’t help.”
Earlier this year, Dane announced that he has ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Despite his diagnosis, the San Mateo High graduate said he was determined to work on the next season HBO’s teen drama “Euphoria,” reprising his role as the abusive, overbearing father Cal Jacobs.
In June, Dane appeared on Good Morning America to tell Diane Sawyer that he’s “fighting” to stay healthy and active as long as he can. However, Dane also revealed that he’s already lost the use of his right arm and may soon lose the use of his left. “There’s so much about it that’s out of my control,” acknowledged Dane, speaking someone slowly and carefully.
Dane, a father of two daughters with actor Rebecca Gayheart, said that his symptoms began more than a year ago, when he began to experience weakness in his right hand. The weakness got worse, and he saw two hand specialists and then a couple of neurologists before he received his ALS diagnosis. He said he’s willing to try anything if it will slow the progress of his ALS.
“I will fly to Germany and eat the head off a rattlesnake if (doctors) told me that that would help,” he told Sawyer with a laugh. “I’ll assume the risk.”
