Eric Dane to miss awards ceremony due to ‘physical reality’ of ALS diagnosis

Erik Dane was forced to miss an appearance at the ALS Network’s Champions for Cures and Care Gala on Saturday, January 24, due to ongoing challenges related to his ALS diagnosis.

“The ALS Network has been made aware that Eric Dane had hoped to join us this evening to receive his Advocate of the Year award, but due to the physical realities of ALS, he is not well enough to attend,” an ALS Network spokesperson said. The Hollywood Reporter on Saturday.

The group’s statement continued: “We remain deeply grateful for his courage, his advocacy and his continued dedication to the ALS community, and we fully honor him tonight with our deep respect and support. Aaron LazarBroadway star and Grammy Award nominee, will accept the award on his behalf.”

The charity organization announced in September 2025 that Dane, 53, would receive the Advocate of the Year Award at the annual ceremony in Pasadena, California. The ALS Network has credited Dane with bringing “international attention to ALS” through his “leadership and compassion” since he was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease.

“This award is more than an honor,” Dane said at the time. “[The award is] a reflection of the incredible strength and courage I see every day in the ALS community.”

Dane made his ALS diagnosis public in April 2025. (ALS – also commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease or motor neurone disease – is a “disease of the nervous system that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord” and causes loss of muscle control over time, according to the Mayo Clinic.)

“I have been diagnosed with ALS,” he said People at the time. “I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter.”

He continued: “I feel fortunate to be able to continue working and look forward to returning [the] set of Euphoria next week. I kindly ask that you grant my family and me privacy during this period.”

Besides shooting Euphoria season 3, Dane guest-starred Brilliant minds in November 2025 to play a firefighter and September 11 hero who struggles to share his ALS diagnosis with his family. He promoted the TV role by introducing himself on a Giving Tuesday panel with I AM ALS about the impact of his diagnosis on his working life.

“I’m not about to give up my resolve to some disease. I’m just not capable of that,” he explained, before later adding, “I have no reason to be in a good mood at any time, on any given day. I don’t think anyone would blame me if I went upstairs to my bedroom, got under the sheets and cried for the next two weeks. And I was a bit pleasantly surprised when I realized I wasn’t built that way, because I certainly thought that I would be.”

He added: “I think it’s imperative that I share my journey with as many people as possible because I don’t feel like my life revolves around me anymore.”

During the same panel, Dane emphasized that his family’s support had been crucial as he struggled with uncertainties in his future.

“Obviously I have a family at home and they are the first priority, but I think it’s so important to make sure people are aware of what ALS is and what it’s about and, more importantly, what we can do to combat it and improve the landscape,” he said.

Related: How Eric Dane’s daughters are coping with his battle with ALS: ‘Get through it’

Eric Dane’s wife, Rebecca Gayheart, says the couple’s two daughters are “taking it one day at a time” amid his battle with ALS. “We have some professional therapists helping us, and we’re just trying to have some hope and do it with dignity and grace and love,” Gayheart, 54, told People in an interview published Saturday: […]

Dane and his estranged wife, Rebecca Gayheartshares two daughters: Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13. (Gayheart filed for divorce from Dane in February 2018, but withdrew the legal petition in March 2025. Dane made his red carpet debut with girlfriend Janell Shirtcliff at the Los Angeles premiere of his show Countdown in June, while Gayheart was linked to billionaire Peter Morton.)

Dane has been open about the progress of ALS. He confirmed Good morning America in June 2025 that he only had “one functioning arm” because his left side “stopped working completely” and was later photographed using a wheelchair in October.