Susan Saint James, Emmy-winning star of 'McMillan & Wife' and 'Kate & Allie', dies at 80 after pancreatic cancer. Her legacy lives on in kindness, advocacy, and the quiet courage she showed after losing her son in a 2004 plane crash.
Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actress whose husky voice and radiant warmth made her a fixture on American television for nearly six decades, has died at 80. The cause was pancreatic cancer, confirmed by her representatives to People on October 26, 2026. She passed away in Los Angeles, where she was born on August 14, 1946, and where she spent much of her life — first as a model in Rockford, Illinois, then as a star who never quite left the spotlight, even when she stepped back from it.
Her death marks the end of an era defined by intelligent comedy, quiet strength, and a rare kind of presence: one that made every person feel seen. Even in grief, she gave first. That was Susan. That was always Susan.
She never met a stranger. And no one walked away unchanged. Her final act — weeks after losing her youngest son Teddy in a 2004 plane crash, was writing a eulogy not for the world, but for her family. A note.
A letter. Healing in ink. She delivered it with grace. She lived it with fire.
The crash claimed Teddy, a pilot, and a flight attendant. Dick Ebersol and their older son Charles survived. The pain didn’t define her, but it shaped her. She spoke publicly about loss, not to draw attention, but to help others carry theirs.
In a 2006 interview with Oprah, she said she’d never touched Teddy’s clothes. Never moved his things. Because he wasn’t gone. He was still hers.
Still home. Her career began in earnest in 1966 with Fame Is the Name of the Game, a TV movie that became The Name of the Game. She played Peggy Maxwell, research assistant, and won an Emmy in 1969. Then came McMillan & Wife, a hit series that ran from 1971 to 1977.
She played Sally McMillan, wife of San Francisco’s police commissioner, Rock Hudson’s character. She earned four Emmy nominations for the role. But she left early. Contract dispute.
Her character was killed off in a plane crash. The show didn’t survive another season. The irony? It echoed the tragedy that would come later.
In 1984, she returned to television, not as a detective’s wife, but as a woman rebuilding her life. Kate & Allie premiered on CBS. She played Kate McArdle, the free-spirited, modern mother who shares a home with Jane Curtin’s conservative, high-strung Allie. Their friendship, their kids, their lives, blended, messy, real.
The show was groundbreaking. Ahead of its time. It prefigured Grace and Frankie. It was smart, warm, unapologetically female.
Saint James earned two more Emmy nods. She didn’t just play a role. She lived it. When the cast reunited in 2021 during the pandemic, she said: “It wasn’t like we went back and said, ‘You don’t know what you got till it’s gone.’ It was just fun.” That was her truth.
No grand speeches. Just joy. After Kate & Allie ended in 1989, she largely retired. Came back occasionally, on Law & Order: SVU, Suits, Upload.
But her legacy wasn’t built on appearances. It was built on belief. She believed in inclusion. In second chances.
In people. She was a longtime advocate for the Special Olympics, joining in 1972. She served on the board of Special Olympics Connecticut. Founded the Susan Saint James Poker Tournament.
The organization created the Susan Saint James Leadership Award in her name. “She believed deeply in the power of inclusion,” they said. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008. At the ceremony, she credited her success not just to talent, but to the people who helped her grow, especially those in the Special Olympics community.
“You can guess that being associated with them turned out to be getting to know some pretty amazing people,” she said. “Now I’m cozy with the first lady of the state of California.” She married three times. First to Richard Neubert (1967–68). Then to makeup artist Thomas Lucas (1971–77), with whom she had two children: Sunshine and Harmony.
Then to Dick Ebersol, former NBC Sports president and SNL executive producer, whom she met while hosting Saturday Night Live in 1981. They were together for 45 years. She leaves behind four children, Sunshine, Harmony, Charlie, Willie, and seven grandchildren. Her husband, Dick Ebersol, survives her.
So does her sister, Mary Mercedes Dewey. And so do countless others, those who knew her, loved her, or simply met her once and never forgot. She taught them to pause. To be kind.
To look out. She was generous with her time. With her energy. With her heart.
She valued kindness over money. And in the end, she gave everything. Even when she had nothing left. Rest now, Susan.
You’ve earned it. The room is full. But you’re still the most important person in it.
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