Claudine Longet, the French-born star and ex-wife of crooner Andy Williams who became notorious for the fatal shooting of Olympic skier Vladimir “Spider” Sabich, has died. She was 84.
Her death was confirmed by her nephew, Bryan Longet, who posted a social media tribute on Thursday. Translated from French by The Times, he wrote, “You have been a true inspiration in my life and you will always be. … Another star in the sky. Thank you for everything, my aunt.”
Born in Paris on Jan. 29, 1942, Longet was the daughter of a doctor and an X-ray manufacturer. From a young age, she showed a knack for singing and dancing and envisioned her name on the marquee. In 1960, when she turned 18, American impresario Lou Walters (father of Barbara Walters), saw Longet dancing on French television and hired the ingénue to join the Tropicana casino’s flashy new production. She bid Paris adieu and sashayed to Las Vegas, where she starred in the Folies Bergère revue.
While working as a showgirl in Sin City, Longet met then-fellow Vegas performer Andy Williams one evening when her car broke down on the side of the road. Williams happened to be passing by as the young dancer was pushing her car down the highway with a friend, and Williams along with his manager stopped to help and was quickly charmed. The two were married on Christmas Day the following year, in 1961.
In 1962, Williams released “Moon River,” and the crooner’s career took off. The newlyweds left Las Vegas and moved into an oceanfront mansion in Malibu where they started a family, and over the next several years welcomed daughter Noelle and sons Christian and Robert, or “Bobby,” who was named after the couple’s close friend Robert F. Kennedy. Also in 1962, Williams’ eponymous variety show debuted and quickly became a hit. Longet was a regular on the show, and the family-oriented Christmas TV specials, often featuring the whole Williams clan, were a ratings juggernaut.
In addition to her regular appearances on “The Andy Williams Show,” Longet acted in television and film. Notably, the chanteuse captivated audiences singing Henry Mancini and Don Black’s “Nothing to Lose” in the 1968 comedy “The Party,” in which she played an aspiring actress. From 1967 to 1972, she also released seven studio albums, five with A&M Records, including her debut single and album titled “Claudine,” and two with Barnaby Records. Her music was known for its breathy, lounge-pop quality, and she sang in both English and French.
By 1970, Williams and Longet’s marriage was on the rocks, and the pair separated, and in 1975, they officially divorced. The Emmy-winning host chalked it up to the pair growing apart. He told CBS’ “This Morning” during a 2009 appearance that he was never home. “It was all my fault, and I just didn’t take care of my marriage,” he said, noting that he regretted the split. The two stayed friendly afterward, and Williams stood by Longet when tragedy and scandal struck a year later, in 1976.
Longet met Olympian skier Sabich in Bear Valley at a celebrity skiing exhibition in 1972. There was an instant attraction between the two, and Longet relocated to Aspen, Colo., and ultimately moved into the pro skier’s ritzy Starwood chalet around 1975. On March 21, 1976, Longet shot Sabich in the abdomen with an imitation World War II .22-caliber German‐made pistol. Her daughter, Noelle, who was in the house at the time, testified that she heard Sabich yell out, “Claudine! Claudine!”
According to The Times’ archives, Longet told authorities that she found the handgun and asked Sabich how to use it. During Longet’s trial, Aspen Det. David Garms testified that Longet insisted the shooting was an accident. Garms said that Longet told him she’d pointed the gun at Sabich and then “jokingly said ‘bang, bang.’” She told investigators she thought the safety was on, and a ballistics expert said the safety did not work.
Longet was with Sabich in the ambulance when he died en route to the Aspen hospital. The “Love Is Blue” singer was subsequently questioned by investigators and charged with felony reckless manslaughter weeks later. She initially faced up to 10 years in prison. But in January 1977, after four days of testimony and 3½ hours of deliberations, Longet was acquitted of the felony charge and convicted of a misdemeanor charge of negligent homicide.
Ex-husband Williams accompanied Longet to her trial and told “This Morning” years later that he supported his ex-wife because he believed in her innocence.
“I did because I thought it was unfair,” he said. “I thought she was innocent. I thought it was an accident.”
During the trial, she testified in her signature French accent that she and Sabich were the “best of friends.”
“There were times over the four years that we would disagree. … [T]here would be times he would be a little bit offended by the attention I got and I would be a little bit offended by the attention he got, but we were the best of friends and we loved each other very much,” she told the court, per The Times archives.
Longet was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail “at a time of her own choosing.”
“There is not really much to say,” she told reporters outside the courtroom, per The Times archives. “Only that I have too much respect for living things to do that. I’m not guilty.”
The parents of Sabich filed a civil suit against Longet for $1.3 million later the same year, but the case was settled out of court two years later. Longet was reportedly forbidden from speaking or writing about the shooting. As for her career in showbiz — she was finished.
The Sabich case became an absolute sensation in the media, not just in America but also globally, and Longet was internationally labeled Aspen’s femme fatale. Pop culture had its way with the incident as well. The Rolling Stones’ song “Claudine” was withheld from their 1978 album, “Some Girls,” due to legal considerations but was featured on the 2011 reissue of the album.
“You’re the prettiest girl I ever seen / I want to see you on the movie screen / I hope you never try to make a sacrifice of me, Claudine,” belted Mick Jagger in what may have been considered a diss track or a tribute depending on whom you ask. “Nah ah / Don’t get, don’t get trigger happy with me, Claudine.”
In an April 1976 episode, “Saturday Night Live” also took aim at the deadly affair with a sketch titled, “The Claudine Longet Invitational,” in which Chevy Chase and Jane Curtin play sports commentators who offer a play-by-play of a competition in which male skiers are “accidentally” shot by Longet as they race down the slopes.
The producers read an apology on air the following week.
Local Aspen attorney Ron Austin, who was on Longet’s defense team, left his wife shortly after the trial concluded to be with the embattled starlet. The two married in 1985 and remained in Aspen following Longet’s conviction but also spent time at their second home in Hawaii. In 2023, the pair listed her $60-million Red Mountain Ranch estate, according to Robb Report.
Longet’s last known public appearance was in 2003 on the A&E channel’s Andy Williams “Biography” documentary, in which she only recorded voiceover. “To this day people stop me in the street and say how much they loved the Christmas show.”
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