Susan Saint James 937621 224583454 2008-07-09T14:58:12Z SU Linguist 2500013 typo on page number in reference {{Infobox actor |name = Susan Saint James |image = Replace this image female.svg |imagesize = |caption = |birthdate={{Birth date and age|1946|8|14|df=y}} |location=[[Los Angeles, California]], [[United States|U.S.]] |birthname = Susan Jane Miller |yearsactive = 1966-1989 |spouse = [[Dick Ebersol]] |homepage = |emmyawards = [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Drama Series|Outstanding Continued Performance by a Supporting Actress]]<br/>1969 ''[[The Name of the Game (TV series)|The Name of the Game]]'' }} '''Susan Saint James''' (born [[August 14]], [[1946]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[actress]] and [[activist]], most widely known for her [[Primetime Emmy Award|Emmy Award]]-recognized work in television during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.<ref name="cwhof">{{cite web | title=Susan Saint James| url=http://www.cwhf.org/browse_hall/hall/people/st_james.php | work=Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame | date= | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> Born '''Susan Jane Miller''' in [[Los Angeles, California]] to a [[Connecticut]] family, Saint James was raised in [[Rockford, Illinois]] where she began [[model (person)|modeling]] as a teenager.<ref name="cwhof"/> During this time, she attended the [[Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart]] in [[Lake Forest, Illinois]]. She later attended the [[Connecticut College |Connecticut College for Women]].<ref name="cwhof"/> St. James became a household name at the age of 22, starting as an editorial assistant, Peggy Maxwell, on ''[[The Name of the Game (TV series)|The Name of the Game]]'', then as [[Rock Hudson]]'s younger supportive wife, Sally McMillan in the popular [[1970]]s crime drama, ''[[McMillan and Wife]]'', and as [[Jane Curtin]]'s childhood friend, Kate McArdle, in the [[1980]]s sitcom, ''[[Kate & Allie]]''. ==Career== At the age of 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 (TV series)|Ironside]]'' ("Girl In The Night", Dec 1967 and two months later, playing a different role in the episode "Something For Nothing"). She landed a role in the series ''[[The Name of the Game (TV series)|The Name of the Game]]'', winning an [[Emmy Award]] for her role in [[1969]]. She appeared in the pilot episode of ''[[Alias Smith and Jones]]'', shown at the beginning of 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 [[film]]s and achieved a significant success in the [[Vampire films|vampire comedy]] ''[[Love At First Bite]]'' ([[1979]]). 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 Entertainment|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.<ref name="cwhof"/><ref name="peoplecnn">{{cite news | author= | title=Where Are They Now? - Susan St. James uses her mom-sense| url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/11/26/people.watn.stjames/index.html | work=[[People (magazine)|People]] | date=2002 | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> 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)<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.specialolympics.org/Special+Olympics+Public+Website/English/Press_Room/Global_News_Archive/2006+Global+News+Archive/New+York+City+Urban+Initiative.htm |title=Special Olympics Announces Official Launch of Urban Strategy in New York City |date=November 2006 |publisher=[[Special Olympics]] }}</ref><ref name="twc">[http://www.californiawomen.org/conference_speaker.html?year=07&speaker=33 Speaker Spotlight: Susan Saint James], [[The Women's Conference]].</ref>; she has in the past also served on their board<ref name="peoplecnn"/> and served as [[Civitan International]]'s celebrity chairperson for their Special Olympics involvement.<ref>{{cite book |last= Armbrester |first= Margaret E. |title= The Civitan Story |year= 1992 |publisher= Ebsco Media |location= Birmingham, AL |pages= 149 }}</ref> In 1998 Saint James, her sister Mercedes Dewey and friend Barrie Johnson founded "Seedling and Pip"<ref>[http://www.seedlingandpip.com/ Seedling and Pip official website]</ref>, a baby gift basket business. She is also a board member of the Telluride Foundation<ref>[http://www.telluridefoundation.org/boardofdirectors.html Board of Directors], Telluride Foundation.</ref> 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]]''.<ref name="peoplecnn"/> 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.<ref name="peoplecnn"/> 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.<ref>[http://msnbc.msn.com/ID/6645487 Interview about Teddy], ''[[Today (NBC program)|The Today Show]]'', 2004-12-03.</ref> [[Teddy Ebersol Field|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]].<ref name="cwhof"/> Saint James was a featured speaker at [[The Women's Conference]] in 2007, [[The Women's Conference#Conference Agenda 2007|at a session]] called "Beyond Courage: Overcoming the Unimaginable."<ref name="twc"/> ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *{{imdb|0756634}} *[http://www.lifetimetv.com/shows/ip/portraits/0230/0230_bio.html Susan Saint James: A Free Spirit Navigates Hollywood], a [[Lifetime (TV network)|Lifetime]] "Intimate Portrait" {{EmmyAward DramaSupportingActress 1950-1975}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint James, Susan}} [[Category:1946 births]] [[Category:American television actors]] [[Category:American philanthropists]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Connecticut]] [[Category:People from Los Angeles, California]] [[es:Susan Saint James]] [[fr:Susan Saint James]] [[sh:Susan Saint James]]