Eric Dane’s Official Cause of Death Released

Eric Dane's cause of death has been confirmed.

According to a death certificate obtained by People magazine, Dane, 53, died of respiratory failure with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) listed as an underlying cause.

ALS is commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. It is an incurable, degenerative disease that progressively paralyzes a patient's muscles.

Eric announced his ALS diagnosis in April 2025 and worked hard to raise awareness for the disease before dying February 19.

Dane is survived by his wife Rebecca Gayheart, and their daughters Billie Beatrice, 15, and Georgia Geraldine, 13.

The day after he died, Netflix released an interview between Eric and Brad Falchuk for "Famous Last Words," a posthumous interview series. It was filmed in the months before he died. 

Dane told Falchuck of ALS, "The progression of this thing is really just remarkable."

Despite his illness, Eric said he had held onto his sense of humor.

"I’ve always had a sense of humor about this. It is really kind of interesting what’s happening to my body, the mechanics of the disease is pretty interesting to me. It’s when you zoom in and look at how it affects the individual moments is when it can actually bring you down a little bit."

He said of his resiliency, "I’m a complainer… but my spirit has been surprisingly pretty buoyant throughout this journey… there is no reason for me to be happy in any individual moment but I am."

When Brad asked if a healthy person could feel that happiness too, he said, "I think they can understand the concept, I don’t know if they will actually experience it like someone who is terminally ill.”

Afterward, Falchuk opened up to "Extra" about filming the interview with Eric.