Actor Eric Dane, who appeared in the U.S. medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," died on the 19th local time.
CNN in the United States reported that Dane died at 53 while battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
The late actor's publicist issued a statement, saying, "With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed away on the afternoon of the 19th after a courageous battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis," and added, "He spent his final days with his beloved friends, his wife, and his two daughters, Billie and Georgia."
Beginning his acting career in the 1990s, Dane became known to the public in 2006 by playing plastic surgeon Mark Sloan in ABC's medical drama "Grey's Anatomy." He later appeared in films including "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "Marley & Me," as well as HBO's 2019 drama "Euphoria."
After publicly revealing in April last year that he had Lou Gehrig's disease, Dane continued public activities to highlight the need for research into neurodegenerative disorders. In the fall of the same year, he appeared in the medical drama "Brilliant Minds" as a patient with Lou Gehrig's disease (a firefighter), the very condition he was suffering from.