Susan Saint James, ‘Kate & Allie’ and ‘McMillan & Wife' star, dead at 80
FILE-Susan Saint James appears at an event on Sunday, February 16, 2025. (Photo by NBC/Jamie McCarthy/NBC via Getty Images)
Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actress who starred in "McMillan & Wife" and the CBS sitcom "Kate & Allie," died. She was 80 years old.
James passed away Monday after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Variety reported.
A representative of James confirmed her death to People.
Susan Saint James' family releases statement
What they're saying:
In a statement from Susan Saint James' family by People, the entertainer was rememebered by her loved ones as someone who was "generous with her time and energy, which she valued more than money, and instinctively drawn to whoever needed lifting up. She taught her children to pause, be kind and look out for other people."
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"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. 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. 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."
Who was Susan Saint James?
The backstory:
Susan Saint James made her name for herself on television in the late 1960s with NBC’s "The Name of the Game," where she played research assistant Peggy Maxwell.
James' role earned her three Emmy nominations, including a win for supporting actress in a drama series in 1969, Variety reported.
The actress went on to star alongside actor Rock Hudson in "McMillan & Wife," playing Sally McMillan, the wife of a San Francisco police commissioner, from 1971 to 1976. Her performance earned her three additional Emmy nominations.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by Variety and People, which obtained a statement from Susan Saint James' family. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.