The official cause of death of Emmy -winning actress Susan Saint James has been confirmed. The actress, who passed away on Monday, October 26, at the age of 80, died from metastatic pancreatic cancer , according to a death certificate obtained by People magazine.
“She never met a stranger,” her family said in a statement to People. “Every person she met became the most important person in the room at that moment, from a fellow board member to the clerk at the shoe store, who usually walked away knowing her entire life story.”
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Saint James portrayed Peggy Maxwell, a research assistant who worked with the show’s three rotating lead characters, played by Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry and Robert Stack. However, she departed the NBC series ahead of its sixth and final season following a contract disagreement. Her character was subsequently written out of the show through a plane crash storyline. After leaving television, Saint James explored opportunities in films. Saint James made a successful return to the small screen in the CBS sitcom Kate & Allie Although her film career did not achieve the same level of success as her television work. Her performance earned her two additional Emmy nominations.
Born on August 14, 1946, in Los Angeles , California, Saint James spent much of her childhood in Rockford, Illinois. She began her television career in 1966 with the movie Fame Is the Name of the Game, starring alongside Tony Franciosa. Her career gained momentum when the production was developed into the television series The Name of the Game in 1968. Her performance earned her an Emmy Award in 1969. She appeared opposite Peter Fonda in Outlaw Blues (1977), starred alongside George Hamilton in the vampire comedy Love at First Bite (1979), and featured with Jessica Lange and Jane Curtin in How to Beat the High Cost of Living (1980). In 1981, she also appeared in Carbon Copy, a romantic comedy featuring Denzel Washington in his first movie role. The series ran from 1984 to 1989, with Saint James playing the outgoing Kate opposite Jane Curtin’s more reserved Allie.
