NBC’s McMillan & Wife was a beloved classic police procedural television show from the 1970s which was defined by the on-screen chemistry of its two leads, Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James, so when the latter left the show, it quickly fell apart.

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Hudson played the titular San Francisco defense-attorney-turned-police-commissioner Stuart “Mac” McMillan and, although Susan Saint James was simply the “wife” Sally in the title, she quickly became a fan favorite thanks to her wit and resourcefulness. As a character, Sally was crucial in helping Mac solve the main crime mystery of each episode, and as an actress, Saint James’s charm and beauty kept viewers glued to the screen.

Where is Sally in Season 6 of McMillan & Wife?

The writers of McMillan & Wife killed Sally off in a plane crash between seasons 5 and 6, alongside her and Mac’s son, who had never been seen and barely mentioned on screen but was born in the season 4 finale. With McMillan now a widower and other core actors like Nancy Walker and John Schuck also stepping back, the dynamics of the show shifted significantly in the final season. The partnership and back-and-forth of the iconic fictional couple evolved into a solo police detective show as McMillan never remarried.

Why did Susan Saint James leave McMillan & Wife?

Susan Saint James left McMillan & Wife after five years reportedly over contract disputes, forcing NBC to rename the show as just McMillan for its sixth and final outing. The actress went on to film 122 episodes of CBS’s Kate & Allie as well as movies like Outlaw Blues with Peter Fonda, Love at First Bite, and others.

Why did Susan Saint James stop acting?

When the 1990s rolled around, Saint James felt like she needed to hit the brakes and focus on her family. She told CNN in 2002, “I thought everything was fine because I was one of those people juggling knives and melons and then [saying], ‘Toss me in a razor blade.'” By that point, the actress had four kids, and her hectic lifestyle had begun reflecting in her health as she developed kidney stones. Although she pops for the occasional one-episode cameo on TV, in 2021, the now 77-year-old told Page Six she never caught the “bug to go back” to acting.

Tragedy struck the actress’s family in 2004 when Saint James’s 14-year-old son Teddy died in a plane crash. His father NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol and 21-year-old brother Charlie who were also in the jet, survived.