Recent Hollywood Losses

Hollywood dealt with two losses in mid February with the deaths of Eric Dane and James Van Der Beek. Both actors were widely known for their iconic television roles and had been open about their personal health struggles, ALS and colon cancer. Their deaths not only shocked fans, but also brought attention to the serious illnesses they were battling. 

 Dane was best known for his role as Dr. Mark Sloan, also known as “McSteamy,” on the popular medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy.” His character quickly became a fan favorite because of his emotional storyline. 

“There was just this wonderful mutual respect," Dane’s co-star Patrick Dempsey said. "He’s wickedly intelligent and I’m always going to remember those moments of fun that we had together and celebrate the joy that he did bring to people’s lives."

Outside of acting, Dane had been open about his diagnosis with ALS, a progressive neurological disease that affects nerve cells and movement. In recent interviews, he spoke honestly about the challenges of living with the illness, bringing awareness to a condition that many people do not fully understand. Dane passed away on February 19 at 53 after complications related to ALS.

“ALS is an incurable degenerative disease that affects motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. This leads to loss of motor functions; movement, speech, swallowing, breathing and eventual death,” NHS Biology teacher Jeanette Roderick said. “I do know once detected, ALS has no treatment or cure. When detected, there are drugs to slow down the progression of the disease. ALS is a rare disease compared to Colorectal cancer.  There have been other famous and not so famous people that have succumbed  to ALS including New York Yankees baseball player Lou Gehrig, scientist Stephen Hawking.”

Van Der Beek was best known for his role in “Dawson’s Creek” as Dawson Leery, a character that became very popular in the late 1990s. His performance helped launch his career. 

“He became what we used to just call a ‘good man,’ a man of the kind of belief, the kind of faith that allowed him to face the impossible with grace, an unbelievable partner and husband, right? Just a real man who showed up for his family and a beautiful, kind, curious, interested, dedicated father. And so while on the one hand that’s beautiful and I think he did lead a very good life and he was a good man, it is also, the tragedy of that loss for his family is enormous,” Van Der Beek’s co-star Joshua Jackson said. 

In recent years, James Van Der Beek had been open about his battle with stage 3 colorectal cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2023. 

“I know James Van Der Beek was really nice because my friend grew up with him in Cheshire CT. She said he was as nice as you could imagine so they were really excited when he got the role in ‘Dawson’s Creek.’ It’s really sad that he died,” NHS FLEX para teacher Kate Geerer said.

Van Der Beek often spoke about the importance of listening to your body and getting medical screenings, especially for younger adults who may not think they are at risk. Van Der Beek passed away on February 11, at age of 48 after fighting the disease. His death brought attention to the increasing number of colorectal cancer cases in younger adults and encouraged more conversations about early detection and awareness.

“The earlier the detection of colorectal cancer the higher the chances it can be cured.  Having a colonoscopy can detect cancerous polyps that can be removed before the cancer progresses. Besides a colonoscopy, Colorgard is another early detection test that looks for blood in the stool…Over 50,000 people die in the US due to colon cancer each year. A preventable death if detected early,” Roderick said.

Both Eric Dane and James Van Der Beek used their platforms to speak openly about their health struggles. By sharing their experiences, they helped bring attention to diseases that many people do not fully understand. ALS and colorectal cancer are both serious conditions that affect thousands of people each year. Their willingness to talk openly about this topic and their diagnosis helped fans educate themselves and encouraged important conversations about health and early detection.