TV & Movies
Grey’s Anatomy Pays Tribute To Eric Dane With Mark Sloan Montage
The actor died on Feb. 19, less than a year after sharing his diagnosis of ALS.
Grey’s Anatomy is remembering Eric Dane by taking a look back at the late actor’s iconic turn as Mark Sloan — aka Dr. McSteamy.
Dane died on Feb. 19, less than a year after sharing his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Incidentally, that day marked the 20-year anniversary of his first appearance on ABC’s hit medical drama. As he once told Entertainment Tonight of joining the show in 2006, “This whole thing is really just a gift. Could not have found a better group of people to work with — it’s pretty surreal.”
After his Grey’s co-stars shared their own personal tributes to the late actor, the show itself honored Dane’s memory with a Mark Sloan montage following its Feb. 26 episode.
A Moving Tribute
Grey’s fittingly began its tribute with a song that’s become the show’s de facto anthem, “Chasing Cars” — specifically, Tommee Profitt & Fleurie’s cover of the Snow Patrol track.
The minute-long montage features some of Mark’s most memorable moments, starting with his early days: meeting Callie at Joe’s Bar, being self-described “dirty mistresses” with Meredith, walking out of Addison’s steamy hotel shower to find her speaking with Derek. “Oh... this is awkward,” he says.
Patrick Dempsey recently recalled Dane “in all his glory coming out of the bathroom with a towel on, looking amazing, making me feel completely out of shape and insignificant.”
Indeed, Mark might have had a scandalous start on Grey’s, but he grew to become a beloved member of the Seattle Grace family. The montage shows him mentoring Jackson as part of the “Plastics Posse” (“kicking surgical ass and taking names,” as he put it), becoming a dad to Sofia, and sharing a sweet relationship with Lexie Grey, which was tragically cut short.
As he tells Jackson before dying from injuries sustained in Season 8’s plane crash: “If you love someone, you tell them. Even if you’re scared that it’s not the right thing, even if you’re scared that it will burn your life to the ground. You say it, and you say it loud.”
Mark’s Final Message
And of course, Dane returned to the show nearly a decade later — reprising his role on the beach as part of Meredith’s COVID-induced limbo state. It’s here that the montage concludes, with Mark’s heart-wrenching reminder: “Don’t waste one single minute.”
“In loving memory of Eric Dane,” the tribute reads.
