Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actress who starred in “McMillan & Wife” and “Kate & Allie,” has died at 80 after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis. According to Variety, her death was confirmed by a representative. Saint James built a long television career that stretched from late-1960s drama to hit network comedy, earning multiple Emmy nominations along the way. She later stepped back from Hollywood, but her name remained tied to two defining series and a screen presence that made her one of television’s most familiar faces across two decades.
Susan Saint James Won an Emmy Early in Her Career
Saint James first broke through on NBC’s “The Name of the Game,” where she played research assistant Peggy Maxwell. The role quickly put her on the industry map and brought three Emmy nominations, including a win in 1969 for supporting actress in a drama series. That early success set the pace for a career built largely on television. She moved easily between drama and lighter material, giving networks a performer who could anchor a series while keeping her characters warm, sharp and instantly watchable for weekly audiences.
Rock Hudson and Jane Curtin Marked Her Biggest TV Roles
Her best-known work came in two very different hit shows. From 1971 to 1976, she starred opposite Rock Hudson in “McMillan & Wife,” playing Sally McMillan, the wife of a San Francisco police commissioner. The role brought three more Emmy nominations. In 1984, she returned to series television with “Kate & Allie,” starring with Jane Curtin as two divorced mothers raising their children together in Manhattan. The CBS sitcom ran for six seasons and added two more Emmy nominations to her record.
Susan Saint James Also Built a Film and Advocacy Record
Alongside television, Saint James appeared in films including “Outlaw Blues,” “Love at First Bite” and “How to Beat the High Cost of Living.” Born Susan Jane Miller in Los Angeles and raised in Rockford, Illinois, she entered entertainment through modeling before turning to acting. After “Kate & Allie” ended in 1989, she largely retired from Hollywood, though she later made occasional appearances on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Suits.” Outside acting, she spent years supporting the Special Olympics and received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2008.
Family Statement Honors Her Kindness and Strength
A statement from her family focused on the personal qualities that shaped her life away from the camera. “She never met a stranger,” her family said according to Variety. The statement also described her as “generous with her time and energy, which she valued more than money, and instinctively drawn to whoever needed lifting up.” It recalled the period after the 2004 plane crash that killed her youngest son, Teddy, saying she still put others first during the family’s grief. Saint James is survived by her husband, former NBC executive Dick Ebersol, four children and seven grandchildren.
