Eric Dane’s family announced earlier today that the beloved actor, who announced early last year he had developed ALS, had died at the age of 53.
His family’s statement said that he ‘spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world’, adding: “He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always. Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received.”
Many will be revisiting some of Dane’s most popular TV and film projects after his death, whether it be Grey’s Anatomy, Euphoria, or his acting breakthrough, Saved By The Bell.
He only appeared in the show once, in 1991, in a season three episode called 'The Game', where he played a character named Tad Pogue. It was his professional television debut.
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Sadly though, Eric Dane is not the only member of the original cast to have died, though many have gone on to have incredibly successful careers.
Dustin Diamond – ‘Screech’
Screech was one of the most iconic aspects of the show, and Diamond was the only actor playing a regular character to appear in every iteration of it.
In 2015, the actor served a three-month prison sentence after being found with a switchblade at a bar.
Two years later, the actor came forward and apologised to the rest of the cast after claiming in a 2009 book that they were involved in ‘sexual relationships’ and smoking cannabis in dressing rooms. Diamond said that he was ‘rail-roaded’ into this by a ghostwriter.
In addition to this, Diamond appeared in an adult film he distributed in 2016, though he later admitted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he felt ‘embarrassed’ and had used a body double with his face digitally imposed.
Sadly, the actor died of lung cancer in 2021 at the age of 44, despite undergoing chemotherapy. He had only been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer three weeks before his death.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen – ‘Zack and Kelly’
The two stars of the show had an on-and-off romance before their characters were revealed to be the Governor and First Lady of California in the reboot series.
The pair actually dated in real life during filming, with Gosselaar saying he dated all three major female co-stars on the show. He called the relationships ‘incestuous’, with Thiessen also dating co-star Mario Lopez.
Both have gone on to have semi-successful acting careers, with Gosselaar also starring in NYPD Blue and Franklin & Bash.
Thiessen also appeared in 81 episodes of White Collar and is set to star in an upcoming reboot of the show.
Mario Lopez – ‘A.C. Slater’
Mario Lopez’s pivot into presenting has been so successful that many won’t even realise that he was first an actor on Saved by the Bell.
Hosting Access Hollywood, The X-Factor, and Extra, he has made occasional small forays back into acting.
This included returning for the 2020 Peacock reboot of the show as the gym teacher.
Though the actor has been married to Courtney Mazza since 2012, he went through a pretty high-profile marriage controversy years prior.
Lopez married actress Ali Landry in 2004 in a ceremony in Mexico, though their marriage was annulled just two weeks later after it was revealed he was unfaithful at his bachelor party.
Topics: TV and Film, TV, Celebrity
Michael Slavin