| Susan Saint James |
Susan Saint James in a Civitan International public service announcement. |
| Born |
Susan Jane Miller
August 14, 1946 (1946-08-14) (age 63)
Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation |
Actress |
| Years active |
1966—present |
| Spouse(s) |
Dick Ebersol (1981 - present) 3 children; Tom Lucas (1971 - 1977) (divorced) 2 children; Richard Neubert (1967 - 1968) (divorced) |
Susan Saint James (born August 14, 1946) is an American actress and activist, most widely known for her work in television during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.[1]
Born Susan Jane Miller in Los Angeles, California to a Connecticut family, Saint James was raised in Rockford, Illinois where she began modeling as a teenager.[1] During this time, she attended the Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest, Illinois. She later attended the Connecticut College for Women.[1] Saint James became a household name at the age of 22, starting as an editorial assistant, Peggy Maxwell, on The Name of the Game. Then came starring roles as Rock Hudson's younger supportive wife, Sally McMillan, in a popular 1970s crime drama, McMillan and Wife, and as Jane Curtin's childhood friend, Kate McArdle, in a 1980s sitcom, Kate & Allie.
Career
At 20, she moved to California where she began her acting career. Among her early television appearances were two episodes of the first season of Ironside ("Girl In The Night", Dec 1967 and two months later, playing a different role in the episode "Something For Nothing"). She also started in the sequel to The Trouble with Angels: Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (1968).
She landed a role in the series The Name of the Game, winning an Emmy Award for her role in 1969. At this same time she played the recurring role of Chuck (Charlene Brown), Alexander Mundy's "friend with benefits" on the series It Takes a Thief. She appeared in the pilot episode of Alias Smith and Jones 1971. From 1971 until 1976, she played Sally McMillan opposite Rock Hudson in the series McMillan and Wife and received four Emmy Award nominations.
She left the show to further her career as an actress in feature films and achieved a significant success in the vampire comedy Love At First Bite (1979). Between films, she made a guest appearance in a 1980 episode of M*A*S*H.
After other film ventures failed to establish her, she returned to television, appearing in the comedy series Kate & Allie opposite Jane Curtin from 1984 until 1989. She received a further three Emmy Award nominations for this role.
Saint James was also a celebrity and commentator for World Wrestling Federation (WWF)'s WrestleMania 2 event in 1986 along with Vince McMahon.
In her mid-40's, Saint James proclaimed herself retired after Kate & Allie ended.[1][2] In addition to motherhood (her youngest son was born during the fourth season of Kate & Allie), she's been an active volunteer with the Special Olympics (an organization she began actively supporting in 1972)[3][4]; she has in the past also served on their board[2] and served as Civitan International's celebrity chairperson for their Special Olympics involvement.[5] In 1998 Saint James, her sister Mercedes Dewey and friend Barrie Johnson founded "Seedling and Pip"[6], a baby gift basket business. She is also a board member of the Telluride Foundation[7]
Saint James has occasionally emerged from retirement to appear in TV 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.[2]
On June 11, 2008, Saint James was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Personal life
When she was 21, she married aspiring writer-director Richard Neubert, but their marriage only lasted a year. Saint James then got married a second time, to Thomas Lucas (a makeup artist), and they had a daughter, Sunshine Lucas (born 1972), and a son, Harmony Lucas (born 1974). The marriage lasted a few years.
While guest-hosting Saturday Night Live in 1981, Saint James met her future third husband, then-SNL executive producer Dick Ebersol. They dated immediately and married within the year. The marriage produced three sons, Charles, William, and Edward (Teddy). In March 2002, Saint James filed for divorce from Ebersol, but the couple reconciled later that summer.[2] Ebersol is currently chairman of NBC television sports.
On November 28, 2004, a plane carrying Ebersol and two of their sons crashed in Colorado; Ebersol and son Charles survived, but son Teddy (age 14 at the time) perished, as did the pilot and flight attendant.[8] Teddy Ebersol's Red Sox Fields at Lederman Park is named in memory of her son.
Saint James holds honorary degrees from five Connecticut institutions: The University of Connecticut, the University of Bridgeport, Southern Connecticut State University, Albertus Magnus College, and the University of New Haven.[1] Saint James was a featured speaker at The Women's Conference in 2007, at a session called "Beyond Courage: Overcoming the Unimaginable."[4]
References
External links
