Susan Saint James, the acclaimed Emmy-winning actress who became a defining presence on television screens across America through her memorable, light-hearted roles in hit series such as The Name of the Game, McMillan & Wife, and Kate & Allie before stepping away from the peak of her career, has died. She was 80 years old.
Her family announced that Saint James passed away on Monday following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Throughout her celebrated career, Saint James captured the hearts of millions of television viewers with her signature blend of warmth, comedic timing, and charm. Beyond her professional achievements, she was widely remembered by her loved ones as a deeply compassionate person. Her family shared that she was someone “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.”
Saint James is survived by her third husband, Dick Ebersol, the former Saturday Night Live executive producer and prominent head of NBC Sports. The couple married in November 1981 and built a resilient life together, notably supporting one another through profound grief following the tragic loss of their youngest child, 14-year-old son Teddy, in a 2004 plane crash.
A Versatile Career on Film and Television
While Saint James was primarily a television icon, she also made notable marks on the big screen during the height of her popularity. In 1977, she went on the run with Peter Fonda in Outlaw Blues. Shortly after, she played the lustful target of the iconic vampire in Love at First Bite (1979) alongside George Hamilton. Demonstrating her comedic versatility, she executed a suburban heist alongside Jessica Lange and Jane Curtin in How to Beat the High Cost of Living (1980) and portrayed George Segal’s wife in the comedy-drama Carbon Copy (1981).
However, it was television that cemented her legacy. As a contract player at Universal Studios, Saint James first achieved widespread recognition portraying the frequently kidnapped editorial assistant Peggy Maxwell for three seasons, from 1968 to 1971, on the stylish 90-minute NBC drama The Name of the Game.
Peggy worked at Howard Publications, serving as an anchor point for the three rotating characters on the pioneering "wheel" format series. These included Tony Franciosa as hotshot reporter Jeff Dillon, Gene Barry as kingly publisher Glenn Howard, and Robert Stack as the FBI agent turned magazine editor Dan Farrell.
Just six months after the final episode of The Name of the Game, Saint James returned to another 90-minute wheel series format with McMillan & Wife. The show debuted in rotation with Columbo and McCloud as part of the popular NBC Mystery Movie franchise.
In this role, Saint James played Sally McMillan, a character she once described in a 1971 interview as “Peggy Maxwell grown up.” Similar to Peggy, Sally frequently found herself tangled in complicated situations and helping solve crimes—this time alongside her husband, San Francisco police commissioner Stewart “Mac” McMillan, portrayed by Rock Hudson. Saint James starred on the show for five seasons through 1976, departing following a contract dispute, while Hudson remained for the show’s final sixth season.
Following her departure from the police procedural, Saint James returned to network television in a major way in 1984, reuniting with her future co-star Jane Curtin for the hit CBS sitcom Kate & Allie. The series centered on two childhood friends who, following their respective divorces, decided to raise their children together in a shared Greenwich Village brownstone. Saint James played the free-spirited Kate McArdle, perfectly balancing Curtin’s more rule-abiding Allie Lowell.
When Kate & Allie was ultimately canceled in March 1989 after six seasons and 122 episodes—having earned three consecutive Emmy nominations for outstanding comedy series—Saint James made the conscious decision to largely step away from acting. Reflecting on her departure from the grueling demands of television production, she told People magazine in 2002 that she had grown tired of feeling like “one of those people juggling knives and melons and then [saying], ‘Toss me in a razor blade.’”
Early Life and Rise to Stardom
One of four children, Susan Jane Miller was born in Los Angeles on August 14, 1946. In 1958, she and her family relocated to Rockford, Illinois, after her father, Charles, was appointed president of The Testor Corp.—a prominent manufacturer of tools and accessories for model kits—and the Hobby Industry Association of America. Her mother, Constance, worked as a schoolteacher.
Saint James attended high school at the Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart and spent approximately three years living and modeling in France. Inspired by actress Paula Prentiss, she returned to California at the age of 20 to pursue acting in earnest. Residing at the historic Hollywood Studio Club, she quickly landed a part alongside Tony Franciosa in the 1966 NBC/Universal television movie Fame Is the Name of the Game, directed by Stuart Rosenberg, which served as the pilot for her breakout series.
Her critical acclaim came swiftly. Saint James received an Emmy Award in 1969 for her work during the inaugural season of The Name of the Game, followed by consecutive nominations in 1970 and 1971. She continued to rack up accolades, earning Emmy nominations for McMillan & Wife in 1972, 1973, and 1975, and later for Kate & Allie in 1984 and 1985.
A Whirlwind Romance and Family Life
Saint James’ personal life saw significant chapters, including an early marriage to screenwriter Richard Neubert from 1967 to 1968, and a later relationship with rocker Stephen Stills in the late 1970s. However, her life transformed permanently when she met Dick Ebersol in October 1981 while preparing to host Saturday Night Live.
Recalling their rapid courtship in a 2009 interview, Ebersol shared, “She comes to New York, we met on a Sunday, I was in love with her by Monday, we were living together in a hotel by Tuesday, and she did the show on Saturday. We were married six weeks later.” Following her appearance as host, the couple went out to dinner, and a photograph of them kissing was published in The New York Daily News with the witty headline, “When Dick Ebersol Books a Host, He Doesn’t Fool Around… On Second Thought, He Does.”
As Kate & Allie blossomed into a major television success, Ebersol stepped down from his executive position at Saturday Night Live in April 1985 to help raise their children.
Though she largely retired from full-time television acting after the conclusion of Kate & Allie, Saint James occasionally appeared in guest roles on programs such as The Drew Carey Show, Law & Order: SVU, Suits, and Upload. She also performed on stage in Connecticut in productions like The Miracle Worker, while dedicating much of her time to volunteering with the Special Olympics and running a business that crafted baby-gift baskets.
Enduring Resilience
On November 28, 2004, unimaginable tragedy struck the family when a private plane carrying Ebersol and two of his and Saint James’ sons, Charlie and Teddy, crashed amidst snow and fog during an attempted takeoff from Montrose Regional Airport in Colorado near their Telluride home.
While Charlie bravely pulled his injured father through a hole in the fuselage, 14-year-old Teddy, alongside the pilot and a flight attendant, tragically lost their lives. Teddy’s body was recovered from beneath the wreckage 24 hours later.
In the wake of the devastating accident, Saint James demonstrated immense grace and strength. Less than three weeks after the crash, she appeared in a televised interview with Tim Russert on the Today show to express gratitude to the public for their outpouring of support, offering poignant advice to others experiencing sudden loss.
Her family highlighted her response to Teddy’s passing as her ultimate defining act, noting that she delivered his eulogy as a message of healing to her husband and remaining children. “Even in the deepest grief of her life, she put everyone else first,” her family shared.
Saint James is survived by her husband, Dick Ebersol; sons Charlie and William, whom she shared with Ebersol; son and daughter Harmony and Sunshine from her second marriage to makeup artist and manager Tom Lucas; her sister, Mercedes; her niece, actress Christa Miller; seven grandchildren; and her cherished service dog, Lola.
Remembered fondly by those who knew her both personally and professionally, her family encapsulated her spirit by observing, “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.”