Eric Dane to release new book on his life, ALS diagnosis
Eric Dane attends the ‘Countdown’ premiere on June 18, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Prime Video)
Eric Dane has written a new book based on his life and ALS diagnosis.
The book, called Book of Days; A Memoir in Moments, is to be published by Penguin Random House through Maria Shriver‘s publishing imprint, The Open Field. It will arrive on bookshelves in 2026.
Dane writes about the days that have meant the most to him over the course of his life in this new memoir. The book chronicles the days his daughters were born, his first day on set of Grey’s Anatomy, when he first decided to become sober and the day in which he received his ALS diagnosis.
Dane spoke about his decision to pen a memoir, saying he wanted to capture the moments of his life.
“I wake up every morning, and I’m immediately reminded that this is real — this illness, this challenge and that’s exactly why I’m writing this book,” Dane said in a statement. “I want to capture the moments that shaped me — the beautiful days, the hard ones, the ones I never took for granted — so that if nothing else, people who read it will remember what it means to live with heart. If sharing this helps someone find meaning in their own days, then my story is worth telling.”
Shriver said she is honored to publish Dane’s story.
“It’s a courageous one that inspires me deeply,” Shriver said. “Eric wants to give his daughters and family something to be proud of, and this book will not only make them proud, but it will also help people understand what ALS is and isn’t, what happens to someone when they get it, and how we can all be compassionate partners to people suffering with neurological conditions such as this.”
Dane announced he had been diagnosed with ALS in April 2025.
Billy Crystal and Rob Reiner attend the Hand and Footprint Ceremony: Billy Crystal at the 2019 10th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival on April 12, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Charley Gallay/Getty Images for TCM)
Several friends of the late Rob Reiner and Michele Singer are remembering the couple after they were found stabbed to death in their home in California on Sunday.
BillyCrystal and Janice Crystal, Albert Brooks and Kimberly Brooks, Martin Short, Alan Zweibel and Robin Zweibel, Larry David and Ashley Underwood, Marc Shaiman and Lou Mirabal, Barry Levinson and Diana Levinson, and Ambassador James Costos and Michael Smith shared a joint statement with The Associated Press on Tuesday, paying tribute to the couple, who were frequent collaborators and worked together on several iconic classic films, including When Harry Met Sally… and Misery.
The statement memorialized Rob Reiner as an unparalleled director who “was always at the top of his game.”
“Absorbing all he had learned from his father Carl (Reiner) and his mentor Norman Lear, Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, he became a master story teller,” it read. “There is no other director who has his range. From comedy to drama to ‘mockumentary’ to documentary he was always at the top of his game. He charmed audiences. They trusted him. They lined up to see his films.”
“His comedic touch was beyond compare, his love of getting the music of the dialogue just right, and his sharpening of the edge of a drama was simply elegant,” the statement continued. “For the actors, he loved them. For the writers he made them better. His greatest gift was freedom. If you had an idea, he listened, he brought you into the process. They always felt they were working as a team. To be in his hands as a film maker was a privilege but that is only part of his legacy.”
Rob Reiner and Singer were also remembered for their activism.
“Rob was also a passionate, brave citizen, who not only cared for this country he loved, he did everything he could to make it better and with his loving wife Michele, he had the perfect partner,” their friends wrote. “Strong and determined, Michele and Rob Reiner devoted a great deal of their lives for the betterment of our fellow citizens. … They were a special force together-dynamic, unselfish and inspiring. We were their friends, and we will miss them forever.”
The friends ended their statement with a quote from what they said was one of Rob Reiner’s favorite films.
“There is a line from one of Rob’s favorite films, It’s a Wonderful Life, ‘Each man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?'” they wrote. “You have no idea.”
Rob Reiner and Singer were found dead with stab wounds on Sunday in their Los Angeles home.
The couple’s son Nick Reiner was taken into custody on Sunday night and has since been charged by the Los Angeles district attorney with two counts of first-degree murder in relation to his parents’ deaths. He is currently being held without bail.
If convicted, the 32-year-old could face the death penalty.
James Van Der Beek arrives at the premiere of Prime Video series ‘Overcompensating’ at Hollywood Palladium on May 14, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
James Van Der Beek, the actor best known for starring in the teen TV drama Dawson’s Creek and films including Varsity Blues, has died. He was 48.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace,” reads a note posted on Van Der Beek’s Instagram page. “There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”
Van Der Beek revealed in a November 2024 Instagram post that he’d been diagnosed with cancer, stating that despite the diagnosis he was “in a good place and feeling strong.”
Later that month, the actor further revealed to People that he was battling Stage 3 colorectal cancer. Van Der Beek shared that he received the diagnosis after a colonoscopy.
In December 2024, Van Der Beek joined Good Morning America to discuss his mindset and emotional state during his ongoing battle with the disease.
“And thus began the full-time job of having cancer, signing up for all the various medical portals and getting on the phone with insurance and creating appointments. … I was not prepared for just how much of a full-time job that it really is,” Van Der Beek said.
“I’m going to make changes that I never would have made otherwise, that I’m going to look back on in 30 years and say, ‘Thank gGod this happened.’ So, what can I do right now in order to make that the case? And that’s how it was, about 90 percent of the time,” he went on. “But 10 percent of the time, I was a sobbing, terrified mess, which I feel like is a pretty good percentage.”
Born March 8, 1977, in Cheshire, Connecticut, Van Der Beek began acting while in middle school and made his professional debut at age 16 in a 1993 off-Broadway production in New York City. He continued to appear in various amateur and professional productions throughout high school and while attending New Jersey’s Drew University.
It was while he was a student at Drew in 1998 that Van Der Beek auditioned for and won the title role of Dawson Leery in The WB network’s new show Dawson’s Creek. Van Der Beek dropped out of Drew University to star in the show for the whole of its six-year run, opposite fellow cast members and future stars Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson.
“That was when life was at its craziest,” Van Der Beek said about his time on the hit show in a 2020 interview with Good Morning America. “At 20 years old I got stupidly lucky and found myself in a zeitgeist, cultural phenomenon TV show, and I was suddenly famous.”
Van Der Beek also admitted his sudden stardom was difficult to handle. “My reaction to fame was to run away from it,” he said, though looking back he said he would tell his younger self to “relax, be grateful, enjoy it.”
Despite having already begun a small film career with roles in films like the 1996 romantic drama I Love You, I Love You Not, which also starred Claire Danes, Julia Stiles and Jude Law, Van Der Beek’s Dawson’s Creek fame earned him the headlining role in the 1999 coming-of-age sports drama Varsity Blues. Van Der Beek’s character of Jonathan “Mox” Moxon, the backup quarterback on a small-town Texas high school football team, remains the film performance for which he’s best remembered. It also earned him the best breakout male performance award at the 1999 MTV Movie Awards.
“It was a movie I really, really cared about, it was a role I really cared about,” Van Der Beek told Good Morning America. “It was a role I really had to fight for. I had to fight for that role, nobody wanted me for that role initially.”
The success of Varsity Blues led to roles in other films, including 2000’s horror film send-up Scary Movie, in which Van Der Beek made a cameo appearance as his Dawson’s Creek character, the 2001 Western Texas Rangers and the 2002 dark comedy Rules of Attraction. Later film roles included the 2009 thriller Formosa Betrayed, 2013’s Labor Day with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, and the 2019 comedy Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.
Yet Van Der Beek remained a larger small-screen presence, appearing on dozens of hit TV shows over the years in starring or guest roles, including How I Met Your Mother, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, One Tree Hill,Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: Cyber and Modern Family, as well as providing the voice of Boris Hauntley on the Disney animated children’s series Vampirina. Van Der Beek also placed fifth on season 28 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars in 2019. In 2025, he was announced as a recurring character on the Legally Blonde prequel series Elle.
In September 2025, the cast of Dawson’s Creekreunited for a one-night-only live reading of the show’s pilot episode to raise money for the nonprofit F Cancer and for Van Der Beek. A stomach virus prevented him from attending in person — Tony winner Lin-Manuel Miranda stepped into the role of Dawson Leery in Van Der Beek’s place — but he shared a video message in which he thanked those who attended and shared his disappointment for not being unable to “stand on that stage and thank every soul in the theater for showing up for me, and against cancer, when I needed it most.”
Van Der Beek was married twice. He’s survived by his wife, film producer Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their six children.
Ken Jennings hosts season 3 of ‘Celebrity Jeopardy!’ (Disney/Christopher Willard)
An all-star group of some of the smartest celebrities is coming to compete in Celebrity Jeopardy! All-Stars.
Ken Jennings is set to host the quiz show featuring Hollywood’s finest, who will compete for $1 million for a charity of their choice. It will premiere on ABC March 13 and will be available to stream on Hulu the next day.
The lineup of celebrities includes all three of the prior Celebrity Jeopardy! champions, including season 1 winner Ike Barinholtz, season 2 winner Lisa Ann Walter and season 3 winner W. Kamau Bell. They will all attempt to defend their titles against 18 other celebrities, although the three champions will be seeded directly into the tournament’s semifinals.
The other celebrities competing are Margaret Cho, Macaulay Culkin, Rachel Dratch, Mark Duplass, Sean Gunn, Mina Kimes, Cynthia Nixon, Katie Nolan, Patton Oswalt, Andy Richter, Mo Rocca, Ray Romano, Tim Simons, Mira Sorvino, Robin Thede, Jackie Tohn, Steven Weber and Roy Wood Jr.
There will be 10 hourlong episodes of Celebrity Jeopardy! All-Stars, which include six quarterfinal episodes, three semifinal episodes and one finale.
