She captivated audiences with her natural charm, accessible beauty, and quick wit that set her apart from traditional Hollywood stars. The personality of Susan Saint James, who passed away at 80 from pancreatic cancer, projected a modern and independent femininity that was evident in her somewhat atypical blend of glamour and approachability. Having worked as a model in her teenage years gave her the parameters to move in front of the camera and convey what she wanted to control.
In the early 70s, she became an international star with the series McMillan and Wife (1971-1977), where she was accompanied by one of the most attractive men in film history, Rock Hudson. He, a well-established star who, like many of his colleagues from the past, experienced a golden revival on the small screen, was a great support for Saint James's budding career, having become the last actress to work for so long with the star of Magnificent Obsession (1954) and Giant (1956). They forged a warm and protective bond.
She remembered his kindness, generosity, chivalry, and professionalism. He often joked with the crew, gave them affectionate nicknames, and made many jokes. Saint James was one of his close friends alongside Elizabeth Taylor and Doris Day.
When he fell ill, and before he was diagnosed with AIDS, Susan liked to remember that in her Beverly Hills mansion "we stayed up all night and had a wonderful time, telling hilarious stories. And I felt that was a blessing because Rock had recently undergone open-heart surgery... He looked a bit sallow. Over time, it became clear he was already suffering from HIV or AIDS and we didn't know; I don't even know if he knew at that time. And it wasn't long before he died."
After a brief marriage to aspiring screenwriter and director Richard Neubert, the start of her fame also coincided with the success of her second marriage in 1971 to makeup artist Thomas Lucas, which began a transformative phase where she balanced media stardom with home life. They had two children, Sunshine (54) and Harmony (52). Balancing long filming days with raising young children proved exhausting; nonetheless, she fought hard to secure a shooting schedule that allowed her to breastfeed and care for her babies in the studio dressing room.
Although the marriage ended in divorce in 1977, they maintained a cordial relationship for the sake of raising their children. With the start of the new decade began another period of good fortune both personally and professionally. When Saint James hosted Saturday Night Live in April 1981, she met Dick Eberson, the show's executive producer.
In November of that same year, they said 'I do.' In People magazine, she confessed that "she hadn't planned on getting married again. But we simply fell madly in love with each other." From their beautiful love story came Charlie (44), Willie (40), and Teddy, who unfortunately died in a plane crash at 14 in 2004, which also involved his father and Charlie. In an obituary shared by her family, he was described as "a warm, loving, and energetic young man, with an maturity beyond his years and a wonderfully quirky sense of humor."
In her first interview with Oprah Winfrey to discuss grief and how to carry pain without bitterness, Saint James remarked that "holding onto resentment is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die. That is the motto that guides my life... The amazing thing is that the next day you get up. You brush your teeth. You comb your hair. You call your friends. Life has so much strength. You just keep living."
Before the great tragedy of her life occurred, Susan gradually chose to step away from regular television work after finishing Kate & Allie (1984-1989) to settle in a rural area of Connecticut. With this sitcom co-starring Jane Curtin (79), which marked the second peak in Susan's career, she highlighted to People that "we struck a very sensitive chord with Kate & Allie: there were so many women living that same reality, single mothers figuring things out day by day. The audience connected immediately because it felt authentic, relatable, and what was happening was profoundly real."