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Susan Saint James, star of Kate & Allie and McMillan & Wife, dies at 80

Actress Susan Saint James, an Emmy winner known for McMillan & Wife and Kate & Allie, died Monday 26 October 2026 of pancreatic cancer at 80, a representative told People.

6 outlets · 3L · 2C · 1R First reported Account updated
Image: Variety
Image: Deadline
Image: Daily Mail
Image: TVLine
Image: The Hollywood Reporter
Image: The Independent

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The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actress known for "McMillan & Wife" and "Kate & Allie", died on Monday 26 October 2026 at the age of 80. Mixed · 2A representative confirmed her death to People magazine. Mixed · 2Her family's statement described her as "generous with her time and energy" and said "She never met a stranger."

Left · 1The statement called her "defining act" the eulogy she gave weeks after her youngest son, Teddy, died in the 28 November 2004 plane crash, delivered as a note to each of her other children and her husband. Centre · 1It added that days after the crash she sat with Tim Russert to thank those who had reached out and to say the family was okay. Left · 1Saint James became a television fixture in the late 1960s with NBC's "The Name of the Game", playing research assistant Peggy Maxwell, a role that brought three Emmy nominations and a supporting actress win in a drama series in 1969.

Left · 1She played Sally McMillan, wife of a San Francisco police commissioner, opposite Rock Hudson in "McMillan & Wife" from 1971 to 1976, earning three more Emmy nominations. Left · 1In 1984 she co-starred with Jane Curtin in the CBS sitcom "Kate & Allie" as two divorced mothers raising their children together in Manhattan; it ran six seasons and brought her two more Emmy nominations. Left · 1Her films included "Outlaw Blues" (1977), "Love at First Bite" (1979) and "How to Beat the High Cost of Living" (1980).

Left · 1Born Susan Jane Miller in Los Angeles on 14 August 1946, she grew up in Rockford, Illinois, and largely retired from Hollywood after "Kate & Allie" ended in 1989, though she made occasional appearances including on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Suits". Left · 1She was a longtime Special Olympics advocate and received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2008. Mixed · 2She is survived by her husband, former NBC executive Dick Ebersol, four children (Sunshine Lucas, Harmony Lucas, Charlie Ebersol and Willie Ebersol), seven grandchildren, her sister Mary Mercedes Dewey and her service dog, Lola.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left3 outlets

Framing
A full career obituary led by her Emmy-winning TV roles, with career, biography and honours alongside the family tribute.
Emphasis
Emmy nominations and win, series history, film credits, Special Olympics work, Walk of Fame star.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not name her children or sister, or mention her service dog.
For example
“Saint James became a television fixture in the late 1960s with NBC’s “The Name of the Game,”” — Variety

Centre2 outlets

Framing
A short breaking-news notice built around the family statement, with a fuller obituary promised.
Emphasis
The family statement and the survivors list, including the children's names.
Leaves out or plays down
Gives little career detail, no Emmy history or biography.
Charged language
“husky-voiced”
For example
“A full obituary is forthcoming…” — Deadline

Right1 outlet

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

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