Eric Dane planned ‘delicious’ food and 80s music for funeral before death in posthumous book
Grey’s Anatomy actor Eric Dane said he wanted music from the 1980s played at his funeral while ‘delicious’ food was served to his guests.
The star, who was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2025, died earlier this year, aged 53, surrounded by his family, including wife Rebecca Gayheart.
Earlier this week, My Book of Days, a moving personal memoir from the late Euphoria favourite, was published by Penguin posthumously, detailing the most impactful days of Dane’s life.
In an excerpt shared online, the father-of-two wrote how thinking about his funeral made him ‘queasy’, but that he wanted his close ones to gather together at the Hollywood Palladium venue in Los Angeles.
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"I have not planned my memorial service with anyone. But maybe I should. I want a lot of people,” he scribed.
“Enough to fill a large venue. I don't mean the Greek Theatre or the Hollywood Bowl. I'm not Elton John. But I think I could fill the Hollywood Palladium. That seems like a proper venue.
"I have a lot of friends, and over the years I've accumulated a significant number of colleagues who would attend,” he continued.
“I can justify the Palladium. Pretty sure I'd pack that place. I hope I'm not overselling myself.”
He wet on to explain that he wanted wall-to-wall sound that would feature playlists of 80s alternative, new romantics, new wave music, and 90s alternative.
Dane joked: “I need somebody to curate an appropriate playlist.”
The American then wrote about how he would want the funeral catered, demanding ‘tables of delicious food’ and flowing drinks.
“People will want to speak. That's fair. I wouldn't mind hearing what they have to say. But keep the list short: five people, tops. And please keep those speeches tight. Five minutes, and if you go longer than that, I'll start flashing lights or I'll bring the music up loud.”
He said: "Planning the details of my memorial makes me queasy. Dying is hard.
“It's so f****ng inconvenient. But still, I want to say [the prayer] thank you. Please forgive me. I forgive you. I love you.”
In the Memoir in Moments, the Mark Sloan icon touched on the first ALS warning signs he noticed.
He wrote that he was eating sushi with his daughters one evening and suddenly felt unable to control the chopsticks due to a ‘numb’ feeling in his hands.
“My hand tingles, and then my fingers feel numb,” he wrote.
Dane said he tried to dismiss the symptom and put it down to ‘texting too much’, later learning he had ALS.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Gayheart said Dane had been apprehensive about writing his autobiography.
However, she said she was ‘grateful’ that he did as the book will be something their daughters can read in the future to help them ‘get to know their dad as a human being’.
Eric Dane’s My Book of Days is available t purcahse now.
Ella Scott
