Susan Saint James Dead: ‘McMillan & Wife’, ‘Kate & Allie’ Actor Was 80

Susan Saint James, the raspy-voiced actress who starred in such popular television series as McMillan and his wife And Kate and Allie, died Monday October 26 from pancreatic cancer. She was 80 years old.

A representative from Saint James confirmed his death to People. Among her survivors is her husband Dick Ebersol, former chairman of NBC Sports and executive producer of the NBC series. Saturday evening live.

In a statement, Saint James’s family described her as “generous with her time and energy, which she valued more than money, and instinctively drawn to those who needed to be lifted up. She taught her children to pause, to be kind, and to look out for others.”

“She never met a stranger,” the family statement continued. “Every person she met became the most important person in the room at that moment, from a board member to the shoe store clerk, who usually left knowing her entire life story. Her defining act: A few weeks after losing her youngest son, Teddy, in the Nov. 28, 2004, plane crash, she delivered her eulogy as a note to each of her other children and her husband, giving them words to heal. Even in the deepest grief of her life, she put everyone first A few days after the accident she sat down with Tim Russert to thank the people who had contacted him and tell them that the family was okay.

The statement concluded: “She brought that same fire and positivity to everything that followed, and never lost it. She is survived by her husband, Dick Ebersol, her four children – Sunshine Lucas, Harmony Lucas, Charlie Ebersol and Willie Ebersol – her seven grandchildren; her sister, Mary Mercedes Dewey, as well as her beloved service dog, Lola.”

Born Susan Jane Miller on August 14, 1946, in Los Angeles, Saint James grew up in Rockford, Illinois, where she began modeling as a teenager. She launched her acting career in a 1966 TV movie called Fame is the name of the game, then booked guest roles on the series Alongside iron and, when the TV movie became a series called The name of the gameSaint James lands a series regular role.

In 1968, she played a leading role in Where angels go, trouble followsthe sequel to the popular comedy The problem with angels.

Other episodic television work of the era included roles in It takes a thief And AKA Smith and Jones, but her first signature role came in 1971 when she was cast alongside Rock Hudson in the light-hearted crime drama series. McMillan and his wifea very popular show in which Saint James played the young wife and partner in solving crimes. The show ran for six seasons, with its finale on April 24, 1977, but Saint James had left early due to a contract dispute. Her character was killed in a plane crash and the “& Wife” part of the title was erased. The series did not survive another season; By the end of his career, Saint James had received four Emmy nominations for his performance.

Saint James remained a prolific actress after her departure from the hit series, starring in the film with Peter Fonda. Outlaw Blues (1977), George Hamilton in Love at first bite (1979), and Jessica Lange and Jane Curtin in How to Beat the High Cost of Living (1980).

Saint James and Curtin would reunite four years later in what would become career highlights for both stars: the CBS sitcom Kate and Allie premiered on March 19, 1984, with the two stars portraying divorced mothers (and childhood friends) with children who decide to share a house in New York’s Greenwich Village. Saint James portrayed Kate, the more free-spirited of the two, with Curtin as the more uptight conservative Allie. The combination proved to be a winner (and would be repeated decades later in the Jane Fonda-Lily Tomlin comedy Grace and Frankie), and the series, created by Sherry Coben, was a success with critics and audiences, loved for its intelligent humor and its warm, revolutionary approach to the chosen family.

Saint James was nominated for two Emmy Awards for her performance as Kate, with Curtin being nominated for three and winning two.

Following Kate and Allie, Saint James largely retired from show business – she periodically appeared in guest roles – devoting her time to raising a family that included two children from her second marriage, makeup artist Thomas Lucas, and the three sons she had with her third husband, the Saturday evening live executive producer Dick Ebersol. (She and Ebersol met when she hosted the NBC comedy in 1981).

Tragedy struck on November 28, 2004, when a private plane carrying Ebersol and his sons Charles and Teddy crashed at the Montrose Regional Airport in Colorado. Dick and Charles Ebersol survived, but 14-year-old Teddy was killed, along with a pilot and a flight attendant. After the death of his son, Saint James often devoted his time to working with parents who had lost children.

Saint James is survived by Ebersol, four children, seven grandchildren and his sister Mary Mercedes Dewey.