Onyx Bugett | TalkLife News
Published October 28, 2026
Susan Saint James, the actor whose television career connected audiences to both crime drama and domestic comedy, died October 26 at 80. Her work remains familiar to viewers who knew her through McMillan & Wife, Kate & Allie and The Name of the Game.
The Television Academy’s official profile records her date of death and her Emmy-winning career. Associated Press reporting published October 27 also reported the death, citing a representative’s account to People.
A career with more than one defining role
Saint James won an Emmy in 1969 for her supporting performance as Peggy Maxwell in The Name of the Game. The Academy records eight nominations and one win across her career.
Her role as Sally McMillan opposite Rock Hudson brought further recognition in the 1970s. Later, she starred with Jane Curtin in Kate & Allie, a sitcom that ran from 1984 to 1989. The Academy lists lead comedy actress nominations for that performance in 1984 and 1985.
Those records matter because they distinguish an actual award win from the many later nominations sometimes collapsed into an obituary’s shorthand. Her Emmy came for The Name of the Game, not for Kate & Allie.
Beyond the screen credits
AP also described Saint James’ long involvement with Special Olympics and her decision to focus on raising her younger children after Kate & Allie ended. She later made occasional guest appearances rather than disappearing entirely from television.
A career remembrance can hold both parts of that history: the public roles that made a performer recognizable and the choices made outside a continuing starring role. Neither needs to be reduced to a single label.
For TalkLife audiences, revisiting her work offers a way into conversations about friendship, family and the television people watched together. Judgments about a performance’s lasting influence remain matters of criticism and personal memory; the programs, dates and award record provide a factual starting point.