Katherine Heigl will never forget her former Grey’s Anatomy costar Eric Dane after his tragic death at 53.
“I debated this post for days. I have never been comfortable grieving publicly,” Heigl, 47, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, February 22. “I share my tears, my stories and my memories with those I’m closest to and, more times than not, I share them only with the heavens alone. But that silence can often look like a lack of care which I could not abide here.”
She continued, “Rebecca, Billie, Georgia … There is so little, if in fact anything, one can say about a tragic loss like yours. All the ‘I’m sorries’ and ‘my prayers are with you’ ring a bit hollow in the midst of so much pain and grief.”
Us Weekly confirmed on Thursday, February 19, that Dane died after a battle with ALS. He is survived by his two daughters, whom he shared with Rebecca Gayheart.
“I will say the only thing that has ever brought me peace when I’ve lost someone I love,” Heigl wrote in her social media tribute. “It is Robert Frost’s poem ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay,’ of which I have tattooed on my body in my parent’s handwriting, so I will never forget that the moment of gold was worth it. ‘Nature’s first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; but only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, so Dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.’”
Heigl further revealed that Dane was akin to “gold” in the 1923 poem.
“I will never forget Eric’s gold and I will forever be grateful I got to bask in it for even a brief moment in time,” she concluded. “Thank you for sharing him with us. God Speed my old friend, here’s to your next great adventure.”
Dane and Heigl costarred on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan and Dr. Izzie Stevens, respectively. Dane appeared on the medical drama from seasons 2 to 8, while OG cast member Heigl left after season 6.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Eric Dane,” a statement from ABC and 20th Television read earlier this week. “His remarkable talent and unforgettable presence on Grey’s Anatomy left a lasting impact on audiences around the world, and his courage and grace during his battle with ALS inspired so many. Our hearts are with his family, friends and colleagues, as well as the many fans whose lives were touched by his work.”
Ahead of his death, Dane was long grateful to have acted on Grey’s for so many years.
“I’m proud of [my career]. All of it got me to where I am today,” Dane said in his Famous Last Words interview, which premiered on Netflix hours after his death. “There was a ton of experience in there. Life experience, personal, professional. I think when I really tried to be good and approached the craft with a certain amount of effort and focus that I was capable of doing some pretty good work.”
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