TV Quote of the Day (‘M*A*S*H,’ With a Great Star Turn by Susan Saint James)

Aggie O’Shea, reporter [played by Susan Saint James]: “I like the way you are with the boys in post-op. “

Captain Dr. B.J. Hunnicutt [played by Mike Farrell]: “Thank you.”

Aggie: “There’s a certain gentleness about you in the midst of all this craziness that’s very attractive, and…Can I be direct?”

B.J. [smiling]: “Please, I hate the way you beat around the bush!”

Aggie: “Well, you haven’t said or done anything that can remotely be considered a pass, despite all the openings I’ve given you. I don’t know whether to be flattered or insulted.”

B.J. [confused]: “I feel like I’m about three feet over my head.”

Aggie: “Just relax and gloat.”

B.J. “Hey, you’re really something.”

Aggie: “Oh, let’s not lose control.”

B.J. “Oh, you want direct.”

Aggie: “Yeah.”

B.J.: “You’re one of the most…You’re an extraordinarily attractive woman, but…”

Aggie: “Hold it right there. Back up one. Go over that first part again, up to the ‘but’.”

B.J. “You’re an extraordinarily attractive woman.”

Aggie: “Thank you. As for the second part, I think I know what ‘but’ means, so I’ll quit while I’m ahead.”—M*A*S*H, Season 8, Episode 23, “War Co-Respondent,” original air date Mar. 3, 1980, written and directed by Mike Farrell

Over its 12-year run, M*A*S*H featured many notable guest stars. But few made as great an impact, or were as fondly recalled, as Susan Saint James, who died late last month at age 80 of pancreatic cancer.

The actress had not yet landed her co-starring role in the sitcom Kate and Allie, but she had already become a favorite of TV viewers in The Name of the Game and McMillan and Wife.

At the time of the episode’s premiere, younger viewers of the series might not have realized that Saint James’ character—with her Irish-sounding first and last names, globetrotting journalism assignments, and considerable physical allure—was modeled on Marguerite Higgins, who had achieved the height of her fame with her Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Korean War but has faded into history after her death, at only age 46, in 1966.

Mike Farrell had already worked with Saint James on the TV movie Sex and the Single Parent, so when it came time to cast O’Shea, he knew from that project and her previous work that Saint James would perfectly fit the intelligent, free-spirited, vivacious character.

Inevitably, film and TV fans of a certain age find themselves wishing that a long-retired star will somehow find a material that will lure them in front of the cameras again and remind you all over again of the shining talent they displayed in their youth. 

For me, Saint James was one such luminary. After Kate and Allie ended its run in the late 1980s, she largely concentrated on her family—an emphasis reinforced by the tragic death of a teenage son in a 2004 jet crash.

After her death, I saw dozens of tributes to her, from co-workers to just ordinary people who met her by chance. All confirmed that she was down-to-earth, warm-hearted, and deeply kind.

But the most succinct summary of her might have been offered by her old co-star Farrell, who wrote: “Goodbye, Susan. You were a remarkable talent, a beautiful soul, and a cherished part of television history.”