Emmy-winning actress Susan Saint James, known for “McMillan & Wife” and “Kate & Allie,” died Monday, Oct. 26, at 80 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Her representative confirmed her death, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The Associated Press also reported the news, citing a representative through People magazine.
Saint James won an Emmy in 1969 for her role as Peggy Maxwell on “The Name of the Game.” She later starred opposite Rock Hudson in “McMillan & Wife” and Jane Curtin in the CBS sitcom “Kate & Allie,” which ran from 1984 to 1989. She largely stepped away from acting after the sitcom ended and supported the Special Olympics, according to the AP report carried by Click2Houston.
Saint James is survived by her husband, former NBC executive Dick Ebersol, four children and seven grandchildren, the AP reported. In a statement to People cited by the outlet, her family described her as someone who “never met a stranger” and said she taught her children to be kind and look out for others.
Ebersol’s name is also associated with a separate, decades-old tragedy—not a new plane crash. On Nov. 28, 2004, a private plane carrying Ebersol and sons Charlie and Teddy crashed during takeoff in snowy conditions in Montrose, Colorado. Their 14-year-old son Teddy, the pilot and a flight attendant died; Ebersol and Charlie survived with serious injuries, according to the AP report. Saint James had left the plane in Colorado before the crash.
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