LOS ANGELES– Susan Saint James, who starred opposite Rock Hudson in the 1970s TV crime drama “McMillan” & Wife” and sitcom “Kate & Allie” died in the 1980s. She was 80 years old.
Saint James died Monday after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, People magazine said, citing a representative for the actor.
“He has never met a stranger,” his family said in a statement to People. “Everyone he met, from one of the board members to the clerk at the shoe store who usually walked away knowing his entire life story, instantly became the most important person in the room.”
Susan Jane Miller was born on August 14, 1946 in Los Angeles. He grew up in the northern Illinois city of Rockford, where his father transferred for work. She started modeling when she was young in Paris.
He moved back to Los Angeles at age 20 and signed a seven-year contract with Universal Studios. She made her television debut in 1966 in the movie “Fame is the Name of the Game” opposite Tony Franciosa.
In 1968, Franciosa got another break when it became a TV series called “The Name of the Game”, with lead characters played by Gene Barry and Robert Stack. Saint James kept the show running as Peggy Maxwell, the research assistant who worked for all three men. He won the Emmy Award in 1969 for this role.
Prior to “The Name of the Game,” Saint James had a recurring role on the crime drama “It Takes a Thief,” starring Robert Wagner. Other early TV credits include “Ironside,” “McCloud” and “Alias Smith and Jones.”
Saint James had a supporting role in the 1968 film “Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows,” starring Rosalind Russell and Stella Stevens.
She gained her greatest fame in the hit series “McMillan,” starring Hudson as Sally McMillan, the feisty wife of San Francisco police commissioner Stewart McMillan. & His Wife” from 1971 to 1976. He received three Emmy nominations for this role.
Saint James left the NBC show before its sixth and final season due to a contract dispute, and his character died in a plane crash. Saint James later turned to feature films.
In 1977, she starred opposite Peter Fonda in “Outlaw Blues”. She starred opposite George Hamilton in the 1979 vampire parody “Love at First Bite” and joined Jessica Lange and Jane Curtin in the 1980 comedy heist “How to Beat the High Cost of Living.” He starred in the 1981 romantic comedy “Carbon Copy”, in which Denzel Washington made his film debut.
In 1980, “M(star)A(star)S(star)H.” He appeared as a guest actor in an episode of the TV series.
After moderate success on the big screen, Saint James reunited with Curtin on the CBS comedy series “Kate.” & Allie,” premiered from 1984-89 and earned Saint James two Emmy nominations, from the free-spirited Kate to Curtin’s determined Allie.
While guest hosting “Saturday Night Live” in 1981, Saint James met the show’s then-executive producer and future president of NBC Sports, Dick Ebersol. They married six weeks after they met and had three sons, Charlie, Willie and Teddy.
Teddy died at age 14 in 2004 in a private plane crash that also killed the pilot and flight attendant; Ebersol and Charlie escaped with serious injuries.
The family had spent Thanksgiving in Los Angeles and would make multiple stops on the return trip. The flight landed first in Colorado, where Saint James landed en route to the family’s second home. It crashed while taking off again towards Indiana in snowy weather.
Her family’s statement mentions the loss: “Her defining act: Weeks after losing her youngest son, Teddy, in the plane crash on November 28, 2004, she passed on her eulogy in a note to her other children and her husband, offering them words of healing. Even in the deepest pain of her life, she put everyone first.”
Saint James filed for divorce from Ebersol in 2002, but they reconciled later that year. “We got a second chance,” he told People magazine in 2002. “I’m incredibly happy, which is a good sign.”
In his 2022 memoir “From Saturday Night to Sunday Night,” Ebersol called Saint James “the greatest partner I’ve ever had.”
“Kate & Allie” chose to focus on raising her young children in Litchfield, Connecticut, while Ebersol took on an executive role at NBC Sports.
Saint James made occasional guest appearances thereafter; These included roles on “The Drew Carey Show” and “Law” as the mother of her real-life counterpart, niece Christa Miller. & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Cases.” In 1999, he starred in a production of “The Miracle Worker” in Torrington, Connecticut.
In 1998, Saint James, his sister Mercedes Dewey, and a friend founded Seedling and Pip, a baby gift basket business focused on books, in Litchfield, Connecticut.
He was a long-time supporter of the Special Olympics, volunteering and serving on the board of directors.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by her daughter Sunshine and son Harmony from her second marriage to makeup artist Tom Lucas, with whom she remained friends; Along with Ebersol are his sons, Charlie and Willie; and Miller, whose first television role was on “Kate.” & Allie.” Saint James’s first marriage, to Richard Neubert, ended in divorce.