'McMillan & Wife' TV Legend Susan Saint James Recalled Iconic Co-Star Rock Hudson's Tragic Last Days

Photo byClassic TV Preservation Society

[Note: Unless otherwise indicated, all quotes and commentary that appear in this article are from an interview the author conducted with those mentioned.]

Back in the Day

Decades ago, the TV series, McMillan & Wife (NBC, 1971-1977), starring Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James, was one of the most popular programs on the air. With a hybrid comedy-mystery premise, the show harkened back to the classic Thin Man of the 1930s and '40s.

Years after the show ended, dear friends Saint James and Hudson, who died of AIDS in 1985, remained in contact. In an interview from 2021, Saint James shared fond and poignant memories of Hudson, including two tributes to the actor, the first of which transpired while he was alive.

Since 1981, Saint James has been married to Dick Ebersol, the veteran TV executive, senior adviser for NBC Universal Sports and Olympics — and, from 1980 to 1985, executive producer of Saturday Night Live (NBC, 1975 - Present).

The actress has always been very much aware of the special place that McMillan & Wife holds in the hearts of its fans, particularly when it comes to her TV spouse Hudson.

A Closer Look

Shortly before Rock Hudson passed away, Susan Saint James received a call from the actor's manager. The representative told her that his client would be honored at an Atlantic City event and requested her to be one of the speakers. As Saint James recalled, "There were four women who were asked, including Carol Burnett. And they all knew Rock really well or had worked with him. So, Dick and I thought, 'Well, this will be fun,' especially because Dick had also known Rock socially in Hollywood for years."

The event transpired on a Saturday night, Saint James and Ebersol had flown in the Friday before. The next morning, however, there was a hurricane, and none of the other speakers could attend the festivities except Saint James. "So, Rock joked and was like, 'Okay — it's all on you...stretch it out. Make it long,'" she recalled.

"But by the time it was all over," she added, "...the skies were clear, and they sent a helicopter to take him back home. And he invited Dick and me back to his apartment with his press agent, and none of us until the sun came up on Sunday morning. We stayed up all night and had the best time, telling hilarious stories. And I felt like that was a blessing because Rock had recently had open-heart surgery. He smoked as a younger man and had a serious heart condition. So, he looked kind of gray.

"As it turned out," she continued, "he was already suffering from either HIV or AIDS and we didn't know that; I don't even know if he knew it then. And it wasn't long before he died."

"A Gift"

The second Rock Hudson tribute that Saint James attended took place at his Los Angeles home and was hosted by Elizabeth Taylor, another of the actor's dear friends and co-stars.

According to Saint James, Taylor told her, "You've actually worked with Rock more than any of us because you did years of movie-length shows" [those being, Giant, 1956, and The Mirror Crack'd, 1981].

Fortunately, Saint James had the chance to speak with Hudson, shortly before his demise. "I got to tell him, 'I love you, and I'm praying for you,'" she said. "It was so perfectly special that we got to spend time together," either at Hudson's apartment that night after the event in Atlanta, or during their last conversation on the phone. "It was a gift."