Susan Saint James Dies at 80 Following Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis

Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actress best known for Kate & Allie and for playing Rock Hudson’s wife on McMillan & Wife, has died at 80. 

A representative for James confirmed to People that she died after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Over a celebrated television career, James earned some of Hollywood’s most prestigious recognition, including an Emmy for Kate & Allie in 1985 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008. 

In a statement shared with People, her family remembered James as someone who was “generous with her time and energy,” valuing those qualities more than money. She was instinctively drawn to people who needed encouragement and taught her children to “pause, be kind and look out for other people.”

“She never met a stranger,” the statement continued. “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 family also highlighted what they called her defining act: weeks after her youngest son, Teddy, died in the November 28, 2004, plane crash, James delivered his eulogy as a personal note to each of her other children and to her husband, offering them words of comfort and healing. 

“Even in the deepest grief of her life, she put everyone else first,” her family said. Days after the crash, she appeared with Tim Russert to thank those who had reached out and reassure them that the family was okay.

“She brought that same fire and positivity to everything that followed, and never lost it.” 

James is survived by her husband, Dick Ebersol; her four children—Sunshine Lucas, Harmony Lucas, Charlie Ebersol and Willie Ebersol; seven grandchildren; her sister, Mary Mercedes Dewey; and her beloved service dog, Lola.

James became widely recognized as Sally McMillan, the on-screen wife of Rock Hudson’s character, in the police procedural McMillan & Wife, which ran from 1971 through 1976. 

She received two Emmy nominations for portraying Kate McArdle, a divorced mother who shared a New York City home with her best friend, another divorced single mother.

Born in Los Angeles in 1946, James entered the modeling world as a teenager. She later spent a year working in France before returning to Los Angeles.

After studying acting, she signed with Universal Pictures at 19, with help from an agent who was close to one of her friends.

“An agent who was friends with my friend got me into Universal and they signed me into a contract at 19,” she recalled in a 2015 interview with Yahoo Beauty.

“They sent me over to read for a part, I met with the director, and he said, ‘Can you read this?’ I read it really fast, I was so nervous. He said, ‘Perfect, just a little bit faster and you’ve got the part.’”

That audition led to her role as Peggy Chan in the 1966 television movie Fame Is the Name of the Game.

She later starred in the show based on the made-for-TV film called Name Of The Game from 1968 until 1971, a show which earned her her sole Emmy win. 

The actress also appeared in episodes of the ABC show It Takes A Thief starring Robert Wagner.

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And beginning in 1971, she was cast as Sally in the NBC series McMillan & Wife with her leading co-star Hudson.

Hudson had also been a prominent figure in the Golden Age of Hollywood, starring in movies such as Giant (1956), Pillow Talk (1959) and Send Me No Flowers (1964).

James received both Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for her role in the detective series.

The creator of the show Leonard B. Stern previously opened up to the Television Academy Foundation about casting James and called her ‘a delight.’

Stern added, ‘Our casting person in New York knew of them and knew talent. He was a divining rod when it came to gifted young people. And Rock felt comfortable with Susan.’

After her exit from McMillan & Wife in 1976, she went on to star in other projects such as the 1977 movie Outlaw Blues with Peter Fonda.

Two years later, she appeared in the comedic horror movie Love At First Bite with George Hamilton and Richard Benjamin.

Her career continued into the 80s where she was cast in another hit series titled Kate & Allie beginning in 1984 alongside Jane Curtin.

James played Kate McArdle in the series and raked in two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

The mom-of-five mostly stepped away from acting afterwards, occasionally making appearances in projects such as The Drew Carey Show in 1996.

She made brief returns to television by taking on guest roles in shows such as Law & Order: SVU and Suits.

Her last acting credit was the series Upload where she appeared in three episodes from 2020-2022.

She has been married to television executive Dick Ebersol since 1981.

The couple had a whirlwind romance after first meeting on Saturday Night Live, which James was hosting at the time. 

Saint James went on a date with Ebersol, an NBC executive, after she rehearsed for the show and were married just over a month later, according to People. 

‘He’s the best. I was divorced six years when I met Dick,’ she told Yahoo. ‘I was kind of thinking it was good. I had a little Porsche. I had my two kids. I had a lot of friends in the music business. I had a good life. And they called me to be on Saturday Night Live. When Dick came to the door, he introduced himself as the producer. We met Sunday night and by Saturday night we were madly in love. Six weeks later, we were married.’

Saint James has three children – Charlie, Willie, and Teddy – with Ebersol, as well as two older children, Sunshine and Harmony, from her previous marriage to Thomas Lucas, whom she divorced in 1977.

Her youngest son, Teddy, was killed in November 2004 at 14-years-old when a charter jet carrying him, his father, and his brother Charlie crashed during takeoff in Colorado.