Johnny Depp Lent Eric Dane His Home Following ALS Diagnosis

Eric Dane saw unlimited kindness from his Hollywood peers and friends amid his battle with ALS before his death. Dane died at the age of 53 on Feb. 19.

The Grey’s Anatomy star battled ALS for 10 months after being diagnosed. He leaves behind his wife, Rebecca Gayheart, and their two teenage daughters.

Gayheart was a major part of Dane’s 24/7 medical care leading up to his passing. Both spoke openly about friends stepping in, whether to visit and cheer Dane up during hard times or simply to lend a helping hand. Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp was one of those friends.

Page Six reports the iconic actor opened the doors of one of his Los Angeles homes to Dane with a pay-what-you-can arrangement following Dane’s diagnosis. “Eric [had] one less thing to worry about,” the insider tells the outlet. He was “living basically rent-free in one of the homes Johnny owns above the Sunset Strip. He told Eric to pay whatever he could — or couldn’t — for rent….Johnny wanted to do what he could to ease the financial burden.”

Despite his debilitating disease, Dane tried to keep working, specifically using his platform to advocate for funds, research, and a cure. He joined the board of directors at Target ALS, which funds research aimed at finding treatments and a cure, Page Six notes. 

In November, Dane played a firefighter battling ALS in an episode of the show Brilliant Minds. In January, he was forced to cancel his appearance at the ALS Network’s Champions for Cures and Care Gala, where he was set to be honored, “due to the physical realities of ALS” and not being “well enough to attend.”

As of now, there is no cure for ALS. However, depending on a person’s genetics, there is medication that can slow ALS from progressing or halt it altogether.