Susan Saint James

American actress and activist

Susan Saint James

Saint James in 1966

Born|

Susan Jane Miller

(1946-08-14) August 14, 1946 (age 77)

Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Education| Connecticut College
Occupation(s)| Actress, activist
Years active| 1966–2011
Known for|

* Kate & Allie
* McMillan & Wife
* The Name of the Game
* Love at First Bite

Spouses|

Richard Neubert

(m. 1967; div. 1968)​

Tom Lucas

(m. 1971; div. 1977)​

Dick Ebersol

(m. 1981)​

Children| 5, including Charlie Ebersol

Susan Saint James (born Susan Jane Miller; August 14, 1946) is an American actress and activist, most widely known for her work in television during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s,[1] especially the detective series McMillan & Wife (1971–1976) and the sitcom Kate & Allie (1984–1989).

## Early life[edit]

Saint James was born Susan Jane Miller in Los Angeles, California, to a Connecticut family, the daughter of Constance (Geiger) Miller, a teacher, and Charles Daniel Miller, who worked for Mitchell Camera and later became the president of the Testor Corporation.[2] Saint James was raised in Rockford, Illinois, where she began modeling as a teenager.[1] In her younger school years she attended the Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest, Illinois. She later attended Connecticut College.[1]

## Career[edit]

Saint James's first screen role was in the TV movie Fame Is the Name of the Game (1966) with Tony Franciosa, launching her career when it became a series two years later. Among her other early television appearances were two episodes of the first season of Ironside ("Girl in the Night", December 1967 and two months later, playing a different role in the episode "Something for Nothing"). She also had a supporting role in Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (1968), the sequel to The Trouble with Angels.[citation needed]

From 1968 to 1971, as a result of her first role in Fame Is the Name of the Game, Saint James had a regular part in the series The Name of the Game, winning an Emmy Award for her role as research assistant Peggy Maxwell in 1969 and establishing her as a popular young actress. The series format, set at a large media company, featured rotating lead characters played by Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack - generally only one of their characters seen each week. Saint James provided a measure of series continuity by appearing as a research assistant at various times to all three. She appeared in approximately half the episodes, usually in a supporting role, although her Peggy Maxwell was the primary character in the second-season episode "The King of Denmark," alongside Franciosa's "Jeff Dillon". As well, in the first-season story "Pineapple Rose" (a Gene Barry segment), Saint James was prominently featured when her character was kidnapped in a case of mistaken identity.[citation needed]

Saint James as Peggy Maxwell in the television series The Name of the Game, 1969

In 1967, Saint James had a small part in the pilot episode of the Robert Wagner crime-caper series It Takes a Thief. This led to a recurring role playing a new character, Charlene "Chuck" Brown, Alexander Mundy's fellow thief and "casual" love interest. She was featured in four episodes of the series from 1968 to 1970. She went on to appear in the pilot episode of the western series Alias Smith and Jones (1971).[citation needed]

Then came her first starring role as Rock Hudson's younger supportive wife, Sally McMillan, in the popular, light-hearted crime series, McMillan & Wife (1971–1976), for which she received four Emmy Award nominations.[citation needed]

Saint James left the show due to a contract dispute but went on to further her career as an actress in feature films, such as co-starring with Peter Fonda in the film Outlaw Blues (1977). She achieved significant success in the vampire comedy Love at First Bite (1979) and followed up with a role in the comedy How to Beat the High Cost of Living (1980), co-starring Jessica Lange and Jane Curtin. Between films, she made a guest appearance in the March 3, 1980, episode of M*A*S*H (episode 192: "War Co-Respondent"). After other film ventures failed to establish her, she returned to television, starring in the comedy series Kate & Allie opposite Jane Curtin from 1984 until 1989. She received three more Emmy Award nominations for this role.[citation needed]

Saint James was a celebrity guest commentator for the World Wrestling Federation's WrestleMania 2 event in 1986 along with Vince McMahon.[citation needed]

Susan Saint James's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star.

In her mid-40s, Saint James retired after Kate & Allie ended.[1][3] In addition to motherhood (her second-youngest son was born during the fourth season of Kate & Allie), she has been an active volunteer with the Special Olympics (an organization she began actively supporting in 1972)[4][5] She has served on the Special Olympics board[3] and was Civitan International's celebrity chairperson for their Special Olympics involvement.[6] She also is a board member of the Telluride Foundation.[7]

In 1998, Saint James, her sister Mercedes Dewey and friend Barrie Johnson founded "Seedling and Pip", a baby gift basket business. Saint James occasionally has emerged from retirement to appear in television series guest roles, such as the mother of (her real-life niece) Christa Miller in the first season of The Drew Carey Show, and ten years later, as a defense attorney on the February 28, 2006, episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She also starred in a Warner Theatre (Torrington, Connecticut) 1999 production of The Miracle Worker.[3] On June 11, 2008, Saint James was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[8]

## Personal life[edit]

Saint James in 1970

In the late 1970s, during an interview, she stated: "About eight and a half years ago, my husband and I decided to stop eating meat and then about six months later we stopped eating fish. … I had two beautiful births as a vegetarian; they were great labors—no bleeding, no complications, no problems. The diet worked perfectly for me."[9]

While guest-hosting Saturday Night Live in 1981, Saint James met the SNL executive producer Dick Ebersol. They married within the year and had three sons: Charles, William, and Edward (Teddy. In March 2002, Saint James filed for divorce from Ebersol, but the couple reconciled later that summer.[3]

On November 28, 2004, a private plane carrying Dick, Charles and Teddy crashed during an attempted takeoff from Montrose Regional Airport in Colorado. Dick and son Charles survived, but son Teddy, age 14, died, as did the pilot Luis Alberto Polanco Espaillet and flight attendant Warren T. Richardson III.[10]

Saint James is the aunt of actress Christa Miller. She holds honorary degrees from six Connecticut institutions: the University of Connecticut, the University of Bridgeport, Southern Connecticut State University, Albertus Magnus College, the University of New Haven,[1] and Goodwin College.[11] She was a featured speaker at The Women's Conference in 2007, at a session called "Beyond Courage: Overcoming the Unimaginable."[5]

## Filmography[edit]

Susan Saint James in a Civitan International public service announcement in 1986

### Film[edit]

Year  | Film  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1968  | P.J. | Linette Orbison  |
1968  | Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows | Rosabelle  |
1968  | What's So Bad About Feeling Good? | Aida  |
1968  | Jigsaw | Ida  |
1970  | The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County | Mrs. Martha Kid  |
1977  | Outlaw Blues | Tina Waters  |
1979  | Love at First Bite | Cindy Sondheim  | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress
1980  | How to Beat the High Cost of Living | Jane  |
1981  | Carbon Copy | Vivian Whitney  |
1982  | Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder | Katherine Cross  |

### Television films[edit]

Year  | Film  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1966  | Fame Is the Name of the Game | Peggy Chan  |
1967  | Ready and Willing | Julia Preston  |
1972  | Magic Carpet | Timothea Lamb  |
1976  | Scott Free | Holly  |
1978  | Night Cries | Jeannie Haskins  |
1978  | Desperate Women | Esther Winters  |
1979  | The Girls in the Office | Rita Massaro  |
1979  | Sex and the Single Parent | Sally  |
1979  | S.O.S. Titanic | Leigh Goodwin  |
1982  | The Kid from Nowhere | Samantha 'Sam' Kandal  |
1983  | I Take These Men | Carol Sherwood  |
1983  | After George | Susan Roberts  |

### Television series[edit]

Year  | Film  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1967  | Ironside | Elaine Moreau  | Episode: "Girl in the Night"
1968  | Ironside | Verna Cusack  | Episode: "Something for Nothing"
1968  | It Takes a Thief | Stewardess Anne Edwards  | Episode: "A Thief Is a Thief"
1968–70  | It Takes a Thief | Charlene "Charlie" Brown  | 4 episodes
1968–71  | The Name of the Game | Peggy Maxwell  | 36 episodes
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (1970–71)
1970  | McCloud | Officer Keach  | Episode: "Walk in the Dark"
1971  | Alias Smith and Jones | Miss Porter  | Episode: "Alias Smith and Jones"
1971–76  | McMillan & Wife | Sally McMillan  | 34 episodes
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (1972–74)
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (1972–73)
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
1980  | M*A*S*H | Aggie O'Shea  | Episode: "War Co-Respondent"
1984–89  | Kate & Allie | Katherine "Kate" McArdle  | 122 episodes
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (1983–84)
1989  | Tattingers | Susan  | Episode: "Broken Windows"
1996  | The Drew Carey Show | Lynn O'Brien  | Episode: "Drew and Kate and Kate's Mom"
2006  | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Monica Bradshaw  | Episode: "Gone"
2011  | Suits | Joy McAfferty  | Episode: "Bail Out"

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e "Susan Saint James". Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2008-08-27. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
2. ^ "Mother of actress Susan Saint James dies at 95 in Litchfield". The Register Citizen.
3. ^ a b c d "Where Are They Now? — Susan St. James uses her mom-sense". People. November 26, 2002. Archived from the original on 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
4. ^ "Special Olympics Announces Official Launch of Urban Strategy in New York City" (Press release). Special Olympics. November 2006.
5. ^ a b Speaker Spotlight: Susan Saint James Archived 2007-11-09 at the Wayback Machine, The Women's Conference.
6. ^ Armbrester, Margaret E. (1992). The Civitan Story. Birmingham, AL: Ebsco Media. p. 149.
7. ^ Board of Directors, Telluride Foundation.
8. ^ "Photo: Susan Saint James receives star on Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles - LAP2008061104 - UPI.com". UPI.
9. ^ Berry, Rynn (1979). "Susan Saint James". The Vegetarians. Brookline, MA: Autumn Press. pp. 46–47. ISBN 0-394-73633-8.
10. ^ Body of Ebersol’s Son Found Under Airplane’s Wreckage, Los Angeles Times, November 30, 2004.
11. ^ "2016 Graduates Urged to Make an Impact - Goodwin College". 10 June 2016.

## External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Susan Saint James.

* Susan Saint James at IMDb
* Susan Saint James at AllMovie
* Susan Saint James at Rotten Tomatoes

Awards for Susan Saint James

* v
* t
* e

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

1959–1975|

* Barbara Hale (1959)
* Pamela Brown (1962)
* Glenda Farrell (1963)
* Ruth White (1964)
* Lee Grant (1966)
* Agnes Moorehead (1967)
* Barbara Anderson (1968)
* Susan Saint James (1969)
* Gail Fisher (1970)
* Margaret Leighton (1971)
* Jenny Agutter (1972)
* Ellen Corby (1973)
* Joanna Miles (1974)
* Ellen Corby (1975)

1976–2000|

* Ellen Corby (1976)
* Kristy McNichol (1977)
* Nancy Marchand (1978)
* Kristy McNichol (1979)
* Nancy Marchand (1980)
* Nancy Marchand (1981)
* Nancy Marchand (1982)
* Doris Roberts (1983)
* Alfre Woodard (1984)
* Betty Thomas (1985)
* Bonnie Bartlett (1986)
* Bonnie Bartlett (1987)
* Patricia Wettig (1988)
* Melanie Mayron (1989)
* Marg Helgenberger (1990)
* Madge Sinclair (1991)
* Valerie Mahaffey (1992)
* Mary Alice (1993)
* Leigh Taylor-Young (1994)
* Julianna Margulies (1995)
* Tyne Daly (1996)
* Kim Delaney (1997)
* Camryn Manheim (1998)
* Holland Taylor (1999)
* Allison Janney (2000)

2001–present|

* Allison Janney (2001)
* Stockard Channing (2002)
* Tyne Daly (2003)
* Drea de Matteo (2004)
* Blythe Danner (2005)
* Blythe Danner (2006)
* Katherine Heigl (2007)
* Dianne Wiest (2008)
* Cherry Jones (2009)
* Archie Panjabi (2010)
* Margo Martindale (2011)
* Maggie Smith (2012)
* Anna Gunn (2013)
* Anna Gunn (2014)
* Uzo Aduba (2015)
* Maggie Smith (2016)
* Ann Dowd (2017)
* Thandiwe Newton (2018)
* Julia Garner (2019)
* Julia Garner (2020)
* Gillian Anderson (2021)
* Julia Garner (2022)
* Jennifer Coolidge (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame

1990s

| 1994|

* Mary Jobe Akeley
* Anni Albers
* Marian Anderson
* Beatrice Fox Auerbach
* Emma Fielding Baker
* Evelyn Longman Batchelder
* Catharine Beecher
* Jody Cohen
* Prudence Crandall
* Katharine Seymour Day
* Fidelia Fielding
* Charlotte Perkins Gilman
* Dorothy Goodwin
* Ella Grasso
* Estelle Griswold
* Mary Hall
* Alice Hamilton
* Katharine Hepburn
* Katharine Martha Houghton Hepburn
* Isabella Beecher Hooker
* Emeline Roberts Jones
* Barbara B. Kennelly
* Clare Boothe Luce
* Rachel Taylor Milton
* Alice Paul
* Ellen Ash Peters
* Ann Petry
* Sarah Porter
* Theodate Pope Riddle
* Edna Negron Rosario
* Margaret Rudkin
* Susan Saint James
* Lydia Sigourney
* Virginia Thrall Smith
* Smiths of Glastonbury
* Hilda Crosby Standish
* Harriet Beecher Stowe
* Gladys Tantaquidgeon
* Betty Tianti
* Hannah Bunce Watson
* Chase G. Woodhouse

|

1995|

* Helen M. Feeney
* Caroline Hewins
* Donna Lopiano
* María Colón Sánchez

1996|

* Edythe J. Gaines
* Madeleine L'Engle
* Susanne Langer

1997|

* Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt
* Annie Dillard
* Margo Rose
* Laura Wheeler Waring

1998|

* Dorrit Hoffleit
* Constance Baker Motley
* Rosa Ponselle
* Lillian Vernon
* Mabel Osgood Wright

1999|

* Jane Hamilton-Merritt
* Sophie Tucker
* Ann Uccello
* Florence Wald

2000s

| 2000|

* Emily Barringer
* Adrianne Baughns-Wallace
* Mary Goodrich Jenson

|

2001|

* Laura Nyro
* Catherine Roraback
* Maria Miller Stewart

2002|

* Florence Griswold
* Eileen Kraus
* Miriam Therese Winter

2003|

* Dotha Bushnell Hillyer
* Clarice McLean

2005|

* Martha Coolidge
* Helen Frankenthaler
* Rosalind Russell

2006|

* Helen Keller
* Mary Townsend Seymour
* Anne Stanback

2007|

* Dorothy Hamill
* Joan Joyce
* Glenna Collett-Vare

2008|

* Jewel Plummer Cobb
* Patricia Goldman-Rakic
* Barbara McClintock
* Joan A. Steitz

2009|

* Martha Minerva Franklin
* Carolyn M. Mazure
* Helen L. Smits

2010s

| 2010|

* Anne M. Mulcahy
* Martha Parsons
* Maggie Wilderotter

|

2011|

* Isabelle M. Kelley
* Denise Nappier
* Patricia Wald

2012|

* Anne Garrels
* Annie Leibovitz
* Faith Middleton

2013|

* Rosa DeLauro
* Barbara Franklin
* Linda Lorimer
* Augusta Lewis Troup

2014|

* Beatrix Farrand
* Jennifer Lawton
* Marian Salzman

2015|

* Margaret Bourke-White
* Carolyn Miles
* Indra Nooyi

2016|

* Rebecca Lobo
* Jane Pauley
* Joyce Yerwood

2017|

* Kristen Griest
* Ruth A. Lucas
* Regina Rush-Kittle

2018|

* Lucia Chase
* Anika Noni Rose
* Tina Weymouth

2019|

* Marian Chertow
* Nell Newman
* Martha Langevin
* Elizabeth George Plouffe

2020s

| 2020|

* Josephine Bennett
* Frances Ellen Burr
* Catherine Flanagan
* Sarah Lee Brown Fleming
* Clara Hill (suffragist)
* Elsie Hill
* Helena Hill
* Emily Pierson

|

2021|

* Enola G. Aird
* Patricia Baker
* Donna Berman
* Khalilah L. Brown-Dean
* Glynda C. Carr
* Callie Gale Heilmann
* Jerimarie Liesegang
* Kica Matos
* Marilyn Ondrasik
* Pamela Selders
* Teresa C. Younger

2022|

* Cora Lee Bentley Radcliffe
* Jennifer Rizzotti
* Lhakpa Sherpa
* Suzy Whaley

2023|

* Lisa Cortés
* Laura Cruickshank
* Carla Squatrito
* Regina Winters-Toussaint

Authority control databases

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Artists|

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Other|

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