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Saturday Night Live paid tribute to a longtime member of the show’s family last night on air.
This weekend’s episode of the NBC sketch comedy show featured a title card before the goodnights, in memory of to two-time SNL host Susan Saint James, who remained close to the show over the years.
While guest-hosting for the first time in 1981, Saint James met SNL executive producer Dick Ebersol, whom she married that year. They shared three sons and were married until her death.
Saint James hosted SNL once again in 1983, in addition to making appearances in several episodes and specials over the years.
Last month, a rep for the actress announced that she died at age 80 of pancreatic cancer on Oct. 26. In a statement, Saint James’ family remembered her being “generous with her time and energy, which she valued more than money, and instinctively drawn to whoever needed lifting up. She taught her children to pause, be kind and look out for other people.
“She never met a stranger,” they continued. “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. Her defining act: weeks after losing her youngest son, Teddy, in the November 28, 2004 plane crash, she delivered his eulogy as a note to each of her other children and her husband, giving them words to heal. Even in the deepest grief of her life, she put everyone else first. Days after the crash she sat with Tim Russert to thank the people who had reached out and to tell them the family was okay.”
The family added, “She brought that same fire and positivity to everything that followed, and never lost it. She is survived by her husband, Dick Ebersol, her four children–Sunshine Lucas, Harmony Lucas, Charlie Ebersol and Willie Ebersol–her seven grandchildren; her sister, Mary Mercedes Dewey, as well as her beloved service dog, Lola.”
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https://deadline.com/2026/11/snl-pays-tribute-susan-saint-james-title-card-1237216895/
Glenn Garner
Almontather Rassoul
