Iconic 'McMillan & Wife' Star Susan Saint James Passes at 80
The Emmy-winning star of 'McMillan & Wife' and 'Kate & Allie' died Monday, leaving behind a career spanning five decades and a family of eight children.
By Jonathan Ramirez ·
Susan Saint James died on Monday at age 80, her family confirmed via a representative to People magazine. The actress was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer before her death.
Saint James, born Susan Jane Miller in Los Angeles on August 14, 1946, moved to Rockford, Illinois, as a child when her father transferred for work. She began her career as a teenage model in Paris before returning to Los Angeles at age 20. At that point, she secured a seven-year contract with Universal Studios.
Her television career launched with the 1966 film 'Fame is the Name of the Game' alongside Tony Franciosa. When the project became the 1968 series 'The Name of the Game,' Saint James played Peggy Maxwell, a research assistant serving three rotating leads. She won an Emmy Award for that role in 1969.
She achieved her widest recognition as Sally McMillan in the NBC crime series 'McMillan & Wife,' which aired from 1971 to 1976. The show featured Rock Hudson as her husband, a San Francisco police commissioner. Saint James received three Emmy nominations for the performance. She departed the series before its final season due to a contract dispute, and her character was written out via a plane crash.
Following her exit from 'McMillan & Wife,' Saint James shifted to feature films. She appeared in 'Outlaw Blues' with Peter Fonda in 1977 and 'Love at First Bite' with George Hamilton in 1979. In 1981, she starred in 'Carbon Copy,' a romantic comedy that marked the movie debut of Denzel Washington.
Saint James returned to television with the CBS sitcom 'Kate & Allie,' which ran from 1984 to 1989. She played Kate, the free-spirited roommate of Jane Curtin's character Allie. The role earned her two additional Emmy nominations. She retired from regular acting when the series ended to raise her children in Litchfield, Connecticut.
Her personal life included a marriage to Dick Ebersol, then an executive producer for 'Saturday Night Live.' They met in 1981 and married six weeks later. The couple had three sons: Charlie, Willie, and Teddy. Teddy died in a private plane crash on November 28, 2004. Saint James delivered his eulogy weeks later, addressing her surviving family as a source of healing.
The actress filed for divorce from Ebersol in 2002 but reconciled that same year. In a 2002 interview with People, she described the separation as a temporary setback, stating, 'We had a second chance.. I’m amazingly happier, so that’s a good sign.' Ebersol later referred to her as the greatest partner he had ever had in his 2022 memoir.
Saint James maintained a presence in Hollywood through guest appearances on shows like 'The Drew Carey Show,' 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,' and 'Suits.' She also co-founded Seedling and Pip, a baby gift basket business focused on books, with her sister Mercedes Dewey in 1998. She served on the board of directors for the Special Olympics.
She is survived by her husband Ebersol, her daughter Sunshine and son Harmony from a second marriage to makeup artist Tom Lucas, her sons Charlie and Willie, and her niece Christa Miller.
