Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actor who starred in Kate & Allie and McMillan & Wife, has died at the age of 80.
Saint James died Monday of pancreatic cancer, her family announced.
“She never met a stranger,” her family said in a statement to People. “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.”
“Her defining act: weeks after losing her youngest son, Teddy, in the November 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,” the statement continued.
“Even in the deepest grief of her life, she put everyone else first. Days after the crash she sat with Tim Russert to thank the people who had reached out and to tell them the family was okay,” her family added.
Her family said that Saint James “brought the same fire and positivity to everything that followed, and never lost it.”
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“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,” the statement concluded.
At 20, Saint James moved to Los Angeles and landed a seven-year contract with Universal Studios. She made her television debut in the 1966 movie Fame Is the Name of the Game with Tony Franciosa.
She got another break when it became a series called The Name of the Game in 1968, with rotating lead characters played by Franciosa, Gene Barry and Robert Stack. Saint James provided the show continuity in her role as Peggy Maxwell, a research assistant who worked for all three men. She won an Emmy Award for the part in 1969.
She is best known as Sally McMillan, the wife of Rock Hudson’s San Francisco police commissioner Stewart McMillan, in the series McMillan & Wife from 1971 to 1976. She received three Emmy nominations for her role.
After leaving the series before its sixth and final season, Saint James turned to feature films.
She played opposite Peter Fonda in Outlaw Blues in 1977. She co-starred with George Hamilton in the 1979 vampire spoof Love at First Bite and joined Jessica Lange and Jane Curtin in the 1980 comedy heist How to Beat the High Cost of Living.
She also co-starred in the 1981 romantic comedy Carbon Copy, in which Denzel Washington made his movie debut.
Saint James went on to reunite with Curtin in the sitcom Kate & Allie, which aired from 1984 to 1989 and earned Saint James two Emmy nominations for her role of Kate.
The actor met her husband Dick Ebersol while guest hosting Saturday Night Live in 1981. He was the show’s then-executive producer and they married six weeks after meeting.
Ebersol and Saint James had three sons together, Charlie, Willie and Teddy.
Teddy died at the age of 14 in a 2004 private plane crash that also killed the pilot and flight attendant. Ebersol and Charlie survived the crash with serious injuries.
After news of Saint James’ passing spread, Curtin shared a statement with ABC News, reflecting on the actor’s life.
“We lost a decent person today. Susan St. James was a decent person who made Kate and Allie a joy,” Curtin began.
“She juggled a really full life from the Ed Sullivan theater in between working on stage and being the Mom on set. She worked tirelessly for organizations she believed in like the Special Olympics. All the while raising children and going through the horrors of losing a child,” she added.
“Susan was my friend and working with her brought such laughter, community and family to the stage at the Ed Sullivan theater. I’ll miss her,” Curtin’s statement concluded.
—With files from The Associated Press
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