Sagan Lewis, ‘St Elsewhere’ Star, Dies at 63 After Cancer Battle

Actress’ other credits include “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “M*A*S*H”

sagan lewis

Sagan Lewis, who starred as Dr. Jacqueline Wade on the hit 1980s medical drama “St. Elsewhere,” died Sunday after a six-year battle with cancer, her husband, “Oz” creator Tom Fontana, said Tuesday. She was 63.

According to Fontana, Lewis died at her home in New York City.

Born Susan Jane Lewis in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1953, Lewis began her career in acting as a young adult.

She joined the cast of “St. Elsewhere,” for which Fontana was a writer, after the series’ showrunner Bruce Paltrow created a regular role for her.

Lewis’ other television credits included “Full Ride,” “Cocaine: One Man’s Seduction,” “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “M*A*S*H,” appearing on the wildly popular military comedy’s finale episode.

Lewis and Fontana, who met in 1978 while Lewis was auditioning for the acting company at Massachusetts’ Williamstown Theatre Festival, were married twice.

After marrying in 1982 at the home of Paltrow and his wife, Blythe Danner, the pair amicably divorced in 1993.

In late 2014, Fontana proposed to Lewis for a second time, and they remarried in July, 2015.

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