On December 18, 1993, James died of cancer of unknown origin in his home in Burbank, California at age 41. He is survived by his wife, Christine Pan James and his daughter from a previous marriage, debi james . His wife is a writer and actor, his daughter a model and singer.
His last roles were in the feature film Bloodfist V: Human Target with Don "The Dragon" Wilson and the pilot for the TV series M.A.N.T.I.S.. The pilot first aired on Fox just a few weeks after his death. He was also scheduled to star as Jax Briggs in 1995's Mortal Kombat until his death. Eulogies at Steve's funeral service were delivered by Sidney Poitier (as his wife Chris was employed by Mr. Poitier), his father Hubie James, his friend John A. Gallagher and Christine Pan James. His urn resides on the mantle of his wife's and his home in Burbank, California.[1]