Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actress known for Kate & Allie and McMillan & Wife, has died at the age of 80. A family representative confirmed the actress died on Monday 26 October after being diagnosed with cancer, according to People.
Career and tributes
Saint James, who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was nominated for an Emmy three times for her work on The Name Of The Game and won once. Her final role was in an episode of legal drama Suits, the show that made Meghan Markle famous, in 2011.
Jamie Lee Curtis, 67, was among those paying tribute, recalling how she was compared to Saint James when she was starting out in Hollywood. Curtis wrote: "I auditioned for a spot as a Universal Studios 'contract player' which was a remnant of the old studio system from the golden age of Hollywood."
Family statement
In a statement, the family representative said: "She taught her children to pause, be kind and look out for other people." The statement added: "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."
The statement continued: "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."
Personal life
Saint James was married to scriptwriter Richard Neubert from 1967 to 1968 and make-up artist Tom Lucas from 1971 to 1977, with whom she had daughter Sunshine and son Harmony. She met television executive Dick Ebersol in 1981 while hosting Saturday Night Live and they married that same year. They had three children: Charles, William and Edward, known as Teddy.
Teddy died in November 2002 at the age of 14 in a private jet crash which was also carrying Dick and Charles.
