Patrick Dempsey, Alyssa Milano share tributes to Eric Dane

Feb. 20 (UPI) — Tributes for late actor Eric Dane have been pouring in since the actor’s death Thursday.

His death followed a year-long battle with ALS. He was 53.

Patrick Dempsey, Dane’s Grey’s Anatomy costar, and Alyssa Milano, who starred opposite Dane in Charmed, were among the celebrities to honor the actor.

“I had a very hard time getting started this morning,” Dempsey said during a Magic Radio interview, per Buzzfeed. “He always made me laugh, he was so funny. He had a great sense of humor. He was always great to work with, always very professional, really smart. I hit it off with him immediately.”

Other Grey’s Anatomy stars to comment on Dane’s passing included James Pickens Jr., Sarah Drew, Kim Raver and Kevin McKidd.

“Eric was a light,” Raver said in her social media post, honoring her former costar. “You’d see it effortlessly shine from him on the set of Grey’s as well as when he was with Rebecca and the girls. During filming he’d get this twinkle in his eye and would with a mischievous look, he would deliver with perfect comedic timing, a line of dialogue that would floor you. You will be missed. My love and thoughts go out to Rebecca and their girls. We love you.”

“I can’t stop seeing that spark in Eric’s eye right before he’d say something that would either make you spit out your drink or rethink your entire perspective,” Milano said in an Instagram tribute. “He had a razor-sharp sense of humor. He loved the absurdity of things. He loved catching people off guard.”

“And when it came to his daughters and Rebecca, everything in him softened. He carried them with him even in rooms where they weren’t present. You could see it in the way his voice changed when he said their names. A breathtakingly beautiful family,” she continued.

Rebecca Gayheart had requested to dismiss her 2018 divorce filing shortly before Dane publicly announced that he’d been diagnosed with ALS. The couple shares daughters Billie and Georgia.

Sam Levinson, who created Euphoria, said it “was an honor” to work with Dane on the show, and that it was “a gift” to share a friendship.

Dane’s Redeeming Love costar Nina Dobrev described him as “warm, generous, prepared and so passionate about what he did.”

“He led with kindness and made everyone on our set feel seen,” she said.

Matthew Davis, Travis Van Winkle, Alexander Ludwig, Selma Blair, Paul Walter Hauser, Candace Cameron Bure and Ashton Kutcher were among the other stars to comment on Dane’s death.