Actress Susan St. James, star of the series "McMillan & Wife", has died at the age of 80

-American actress Susan St. James, who co-starred with Rock Hudson in the crime television series “McMillan & Wife” in the 1970s, and Jane Curtin in the comedy series “Kate & Allie” in the 1980s, has passed away at the age of 80. People magazine reported, quoting a representative of the late artist, that she died on Monday, and she had previously been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Her family said in a statement to the magazine: “She did not consider anyone a stranger to her; every person she met became at that moment the most important person in the place, whether it was a colleague on the board of directors or an employee in a shoe store, as these people often left knowing her entire life story.” Susan Jane Miller was born on August 14, 1946, in Los Angeles, and grew up in the northern Illinois city of Rockford, where her father moved to work.

She began her modeling career as a teenager in Paris. At the age of 20, she returned to Los Angeles and obtained a 7-year contract with Universal Studios.

Her first television appearance was in the movie “Fame is the Name of the Game” in 1966. Her big breakthrough came when the work was turned into a television series called “The Name of the Game” in 1968, in which Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack alternated in the starring roles.

St. James gave the series a continuing character through her role as "Peggy Maxwell", a research assistant who worked with the three main characters, and for this role she won an Emmy Award in 1969. The major breakthrough in the series "McMillan & Wife" St. James achieved her widest fame through the portrayal of the character "Sally McMillan", the bold wife of "Stuart McMillan", the San Francisco Police Commissioner, played by Rock Hudson, in the successful series that was shown between 1971 and And 1976.

For this role, she received 3 Emmy Award nominations. St. James left the NBC series before its sixth and final season due to a contractual dispute, as her character was terminated in a plane crash.

She starred in the 1977 film “Outlaw Blues” alongside Peter Fonda, and she also participated in George Hamilton in the 1979 film “Love at First Bite,” a satirical film about vampire stories. In 1980, she joined Jessica Lange and Jane Curtin in the comedy “How to Beat the High Cost of Living,” and she also starred in the 1981 romantic comedy “Carbon Copy,” which marked the film debut of actor Denzel Washington.

After moderate success in cinema, St. James returned to work again with Jane Curtin in the comedy series “Kate & Allie” on the CBS network, which ran from 1984 to 1989. Playing Kate, the free-spirited and outgoing character opposite the more reserved and reserved Allie, St. James earned two additional Emmy nominations.

While guest hosting "Saturday Night Live" in 1981, St. James met Dick Ebersol, who was the show's executive producer and later president of sports for NBC. The couple married just 6 weeks after meeting, and had three children: Charlie, Willie, and Teddy (in addition to St. James' two sons, Sunshine and Harmony, from her previous marriage to beauty expert Tom Lucas).

Teddy died at the age of 14 following a private plane crash in 2004, an accident that also claimed the lives of the pilot and the flight attendant, while Ebersol and their son Charlie survived after suffering serious injuries. About two years before the tragedy that befell the family, St. James filed for divorce from Ebersol in 2002, but they reconciled later that same year.

In a statement to People magazine at the time, she said: “We got a second chance, and I am now amazingly happier, which is a good sign.” In his 2022 memoir, “From Saturday Night to Sunday Night,” Ebersol described St. James as “the greatest partner” he “ever had.”

After "Kate & Allie", St. James retired from acting after the series ended, choosing to devote herself to raising her younger children in Litchfield, Connecticut, while Ebersol took a management position at NBC Sports. St. James then appeared in short guest roles on several series.

In 1998, she founded, in collaboration with her sister Mercedes Dewey and a friend of theirs, a company specializing in providing gift baskets for newborns, focusing specifically on books. She has also been a supporter of Special Olympics over the years, serving as a volunteer and board member.