Susan Saint James, the celebrated television actor best remembered for her roles in the hit series McMillan & Wife and Kate & Allie, has died at age 80. A representative for the star confirmed she passed away on Monday, citing a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
Her family shared a heartfelt statement reflecting on her warmth and character, noting, “She never met a stranger. Every person she met became the most important person in the room at that moment, from a fellow board member to the clerk at the shoe store, who usually walked away knowing her entire life story.”
Born Susan Jane Miller on August 14, 1946, in Los Angeles, she moved to Rockford, Illinois, during her childhood before embarking on a modeling career in Paris as a teenager. By age 20, she had returned to Los Angeles to begin her professional acting career, securing a seven-year contract with Universal Studios. She made her television debut in the 1966 production Fame is the Name of the Game and later gained widespread recognition in the series The Name of the Game, winning an Emmy Award in 1969 for her performance as Peggy Maxwell. 14, 1946, in Los Angeles, she was raised in the northern Illinois city of Rockford, where her father had transferred for work. With rotating lead characters played by Franciosa, Gene Barry and Robert Stack, she got another break when it became a series called “The Name of the Game” in 1968. Saint James, known for her unique, throaty voice, had a supporting role in the 1968 movie “Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows” starring Rosalind Russell and Stella Stevens. The family had spent Thanksgiving in Los Angeles and were due to make multiple stops on the return trip. But they reconciled later that year. “We had a second chance,” she told People magazine in 2002. “I’m amazingly happier, so that’s a good sign.”, saint James filed for divorce from Ebersol in 2002. In his 2022 memoir “From Saturday Night to Sunday Night,” Ebersol called Saint James “the greatest partner I’ve ever had by far.”.
Her television career continued with various roles in series like It Takes a Thief, Ironside, McCloud, and M*A*S*H. However, she achieved major stardom playing Sally McMillan opposite Rock Hudson in the 1970s crime drama McMillan & Wife, a role that earned her three Emmy nominations. Following a contract dispute that led to her character’s departure from the series, she transitioned into feature films, including appearances in Outlaw Blues, Love at First Bite, and the 1981 debut film for Denzel Washington, Carbon Copy. Her other early TV credits included “Ironside,” “McCloud” and “Alias Smith and Jones. The plucky wife of Hudson’s San Francisco police commissioner Stewart McMillan, in the hit series “McMillan & Wife” from 1971-76, she earned her biggest fame as Sally McMillan. She played opposite Peter Fonda in “Outlaw Blues” in 1977.
In 1984, she returned to television for the sitcom Kate & Allie, starring alongside Jane Curtin. The series, which aired until 1989, earned her two additional Emmy nominations. Following the show’s conclusion, Saint James largely retired from acting to prioritize raising her children in Litchfield, Connecticut. She later made occasional guest appearances on programs such as The Drew Carey Show, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Suits, and performed in a 1999 production of The Miracle Worker. In 1980, she guest-starred in an episode of “M*A*S*H.”. She costarred with George Hamilton in the 1979 vampire spoof “Love at First Bite” and joined Jessica Lange and Curtin in the 1980 comedy heist “How to Beat the High Cost of Living. After middling success on the big screen, Saint James reunited with Curtin in the CBS sitcom “Kate & Allie,” which ran from 1984-89 and earned Saint James two Emmy nominations as the free-spirited Kate to Curtin’s straig. It crashed upon taking off again for Indiana in snowy weather.
During her time hosting Saturday Night Live in 1981, she met executive producer Dick Ebersol. The couple married just six weeks later and had three sons: Charlie, Willie, and Teddy. The family faced a profound tragedy in 2004 when a private plane crash claimed the life of 14-year-old Teddy, while Ebersol and their son Charlie survived the accident with severe injuries. Her family highlighted her strength during this period, stating that weeks after the crash, she wrote moving eulogies to her remaining family members to help them process their grief. 28, 2004 plane crash, she delivered his eulogy as a note to each of her other children and her husband, giving them words to heal.
Beyond her entertainment career, Saint James was a dedicated supporter of the Special Olympics, serving on its board of directors. She also ventured into business, co-founding a book-focused gift basket company called Seedling and Pip in 1998 with her sister, Mercedes Dewey, and a friend. She is survived by her husband, Dick Ebersol, as well as her children Sunshine, Harmony, Charlie, and Willie. Her niece, actor Christa Miller, was also among those who survive her.
