Overview
- Dane first noticed a problem on Jan. 7, 2024 when he could not use chopsticks with his right hand, a symptom he recounts in excerpts of his posthumous memoir.
- After roughly nine months of tests, a UCSF neurologist, Dr. Mark Terrelonge, delivered an ALS diagnosis in late 2024, which Dane went public with in April 2025.
- Dane died on Feb. 19, 2026 at age 53 after more than a year battling the progressive neurological disease, and family statements say he spent his final days surrounded by loved ones.
- Recent interviews with Rebecca Gayheart and memoir passages published Oct. 22–23, 2026 describe Dane’s phone call to Gayheart — including his line, “It’s what we feared,” and her reply, “I’m here, we’ll fight this together, I’m not going anywhere” — and confirm Gayheart and their daughters were at his bedside.
- The family says Dane became an advocate for ALS awareness and research, they have asked for privacy as they grieve, and the full memoir, My Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments, is due for release on Nov. 3, 2026.