- Susan Saint James has died at the age of 80.
- She was best known for starring in Kate & Allie and McMillan & Wife.
- Saint James won an Emmy for her breakout role on The Name of the Game.
Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actress beloved for her starring roles in Kate & Allie and McMillan & Wife, has died. She was 80 years old.
Saint James died Monday, Oct. 26, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, her representative confirmed to People. Her family remembered her as someone who gave freely of her time and energy and made the people around her feel important.
Susan Saint James Became A Television Favorite
Born Susan Jane Miller in Los Angeles in 1946 and raised in Illinois, Saint James briefly attended Connecticut College before pursuing modeling in New York and eventually moving to Hollywood. One of her first major television roles came in 1968, when she joined The Name of the Game as research assistant Peggy Maxwell. The performance brought her three Emmy nominations and a win in 1969.
In 1971, Saint James began starring opposite Rock Hudson on McMillan & Wife, playing Sally McMillan, the spirited wife of Hudson’s San Francisco police commissioner. The popular mystery series became another defining role for Saint James and earned her three more Emmy nominations. Her film work during the era included Love at First Bite and How to Beat the High Cost of Living.
‘Kate & Allie’ Gave Her Another Hit
Saint James returned to series television in 1984 with Kate & Allie, starring alongside Jane Curtin as two divorced friends raising their families together under one roof. The sitcom ran for six seasons through 1989 and gave Saint James another signature role before she largely stepped away from acting to focus on her family.
Away from television, Saint James endured tremendous personal loss when her youngest son, Teddy, was killed in a plane crash in 2004. Her family recalled that even in the weeks after his death, she focused on helping her husband and other children through their grief.
Saint James is survived by her husband, television executive Dick Ebersol; four children, Sunshine Lucas, Harmony Lucas, Charlie Ebersol and Willie Ebersol; seven grandchildren; and her sister, Mary Mercedes Dewey.
