Claudine Longet obit

Claudine Longet, Singer-Actress Who Shot Skier Spider Sabich, Dies at 84

Married to Andy Williams, she recorded pop albums and starred with Peter Sellers in ‘The Party’ before being convicted of criminally negligent homicide. 

She was not on the list.

Claudine Longet, the French-born singer, actress and ex-wife of Andy Williams who was at the center of a scandalous 1976 trial and media circus after she fatally shot her boyfriend, Olympic skier Spider Sabich, has died. She was 84.

Her death was reported Thursday by her nephew Bryan Longet. No details of her death were immediately available.

The enchanting, doe-eyed Longet recorded albums of breathy pop for A&M Records before she sang the Henry Mancini-Don Black song “Nothing to Lose” in Blake Edwards’ The Party (1968), in which she portrayed an aspiring actress alongside Peter Sellers.

A onetime Las Vegas showgirl, Longet had married “Moon River” crooner Williams in December 1961 and appeared on his long-running NBC variety show and Christmas specials, often with their three children.

After she and Williams divorced in 1975, Longet and the kids were living with the California-born Sabich at his chalet in Starwood, Colorado, when she shot him on March 21, 1976, in his bathroom with a .22-caliber German‐made gun that had been purchased by his father. She claimed the gun accidentally discharged as he was showing her how it worked.

Longet was with the 31-year-old Sabich in the ambulance when he died on the way to the hospital from a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. A month later, she was charged with reckless manslaughter and faced as many as 10 years in prison.

At her Aspen trial, Williams escorted her to and from the courtroom, testified on her behalf and provided legal assistance. “I thought it was unfair, I thought she was innocent, I thought it was an accident,” he told Cynthia Bowers in a 2009 interview for CBS Sunday Morning.

With the prosecution facing significant hurdles because of mishandled evidence and illegal search practices, a jury after four days of testimony and 3 1/2 hours of deliberations convicted Longet, 36, of criminally negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, in January 1977. She was given two years’ probation, fined $250 and sentenced to 30 days in jail (she was able to serve most of her sentence on weekends).

The Sabich family later filed a civil suit against Longet for $1.3 million, but the case was settled out of court. Longet agreed not to speak publicly about Sabich or the murder and to never publish a book about her life and the trial, and her career as a singer and actress was done.

Claudine Georgette Longet was born in Paris on Jan. 29, 1942. Her father was a businessman specializing in X-ray technology; her mother was a doctor. She was in a production of The Turn of the Screw when she was 10, then appeared on French television and in plays in Milan and Venice.

Hired by nightclub impresario Lou Walters (Barbara Walters’ father), Longet had moved to Las Vegas and was dancing in a Folies Bergère revue at the Tropicana in 1960 when she first met Williams alongside a highway in town.

“My manager and I were driving down there and we saw this lovely girl and her girlfriend, who was also quite pretty, pushing this car,” he told Bowers. “And so, being gallant — and also because they looked pretty good — we stopped to see if we could help them.”

They started dating, and after Williams proposed to her in Paris — she had returned home to her parents, who were alarmed that she was dating an older man — they wed at a church in Bel-Air on Dec. 15, 1961 (she was 19, he was 34).

In 1963, Longet appeared for the first time on The Andy Williams Show and acted on episodes of McHale’s Navy and Dr. Kildare. She later guest-starred on installments of Combat!, 12 O’Clock High, Mr. Novak and Hogan’s Heroes before playing a novelist named Nicole who has a romance with Ben Gazzara’s character on the first-season finale of NBC’s Run for Your Life.

On the May 1966 episode, Longet mimicked playing the guitar and sang an English-French version of the bossa nova song “Meditation.” That got her a contract at Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss’ new A&M label, which released “Meditation” as a single. Her first album, 1967’s Claudine, produced by Tommy LiPuma, sold more than a million copies.

She would record three more LPs for A&M before jumping to Williams’ new Barnaby imprint for 1969’s We’ve Only Just Begun. She and her husband separated around that time — “We just sort of grew apart, I was never home … it was all my fault, I just didn’t take care of my marriage,” he said — though she would continue to appear on his TV shows through 1974. (Her last album was 1972’s Let’s Spend the Night Together.)

Meanwhile, Longet also showed up in the 1965 McHale’s Navy feature and Massacre Harbor (1968) and on TV in The Name of the Game, The F.B.I., The Bold Ones, Love, American Style, Alias Smith and Jones and The Streets of San Francisco.

Longet and Williams were close friends of Robert F. Kennedy and his wife, Ethel, and they were watching his televised primary victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles upstairs in the senator’s suite on June 4, 1968.

After Kennedy was shot shortly after midnight in the hotel by Sirhan Sirhan, the couple joined RFK’s family and other friends at Good Samaritan Hospital, and they were there when he was pronounced dead on June 6, nearly 26 hours after the shooting.

Longet and Williams attended Kennedy’s funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York on June 8 — Williams and a choir performed “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” — and were on the funeral train that took his body to the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington for burial.

She and charismatic Vladimir “Spider” Sabich, who was the model for Robert Redford’s character in Downhill Racer (1969), first met in 1972 at a celebrity skiing exhibition in Bear Valley, California.

At the time of the shooting, they had been living together for a couple of years but their relationship was on the rocks, as she wrote in her diary. (Since officers failed to attain a search warrant, that evidence was inadmissible in court.)

After her sentencing, Longet told reporters she was not bitter. “Because of the many cards and letters I’ve received, the prayers, I feel very good about everybody,” she said.

Her case was spoofed on Saturday Night Live in April 1976 when sportscasters played by Chevy Chase and Jane Curtin offered play-by-play of skiers being “accidentally shot” by Longet while competing in “The Claudine Longet Invitational” in Vail, Colorado. Announcer Don Pardo would read an apology on the air the next week.

The Rolling Stones also recorded a derisive song called “Claudine” for Some Girls that didn’t make it on their 1978 album, apparently for legal reasons.

Longet and one of her defense attorneys, Ronald Austin, moved in together shortly after her sentencing — he was married with two children at the time — and they wed in June 1985, remaining in the Aspen area on a 5.4-acre estate for years before moving to Hawaii.

She had three children with Williams, sons Christian and Bobby (who was named for RFK) and daughter Noelle, who reportedly died in 2023.

 

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The Legendary Curse of the Hope Diamond

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TV Movie

Marie Antoinette

1975

 

The Streets of San Francisco (1972)

The Streets of San Francisco

7.3

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Michelle Carl

1973

1 episode

 

Henry Mancini in The Mancini Generation (1972)

The Mancini Generation

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1973

2 episodes

 

Pete Duel and Ben Murphy in Alias Smith and Jones (1971)

Alias Smith and Jones

7.6

TV Series

Michelle Monet

1971

1 episode

 

Dick Martin and Dan Rowan in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967)

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

8.0

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Guest Performer (uncredited)

1971

2 episodes

 

How to Steal an Airplane (1971)

How to Steal an Airplane

7.2

TV Movie

Michelle Chivot

1971

 

Love, American Style (1969)

Love, American Style

6.8

TV Series

Susan (segment "Love and the Minister")

1970

1 episode

 

The Bold Ones: The Lawyers (1969)

The Bold Ones: The Lawyers

7.1

TV Series

Suzanne Rockford

1969

1 episode

 

The F.B.I. (1965)

The F.B.I.

7.4

TV Series

Danielle Chabrol

1969

1 episode

 

The Name of the Game (1968)

The Name of the Game

7.6

TV Series

Lianne Jevret

1968

1 episode

 

The Party (1968)

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7.4

Michele Monet

1968

 

Ben Gazzara in Run for Your Life (1965)

Run for Your Life

7.6

TV Series

Nicole

1966–1967

2 episodes

 

Combat! (1962)

Combat!

8.4

TV Series

ClaudetteBabette

1964–1967

2 episodes

 

The Rat Patrol (1966)

The Rat Patrol

7.4

TV Series

Marianne Bertaine

1966–1967

2 episodes

 

John Banner, Robert Clary, Bob Crane, Richard Dawson, Ivan Dixon, Larry Hovis, and Werner Klemperer in Hogan's Heroes (1965)

Hogan's Heroes

7.8

TV Series

Michelle

1966

1 episode

 

12 O'Clock High (1964)

12 O'Clock High

8.1

TV Series

Liane GoletSuzanne Arnais

1965–1966

2 episodes

 

Ernest Borgnine, Carl Ballantine, Tim Conway, Joe Flynn, and Yoshio Yoda in McHale's Navy (1965)

McHale's Navy

6.3

Andrea Bouchard

1965

 

James Franciscus in Mr. Novak (1963)

Mr. Novak

7.4

TV Series

Shahri Javid

1965

1 episode

 

Kraft Suspense Theatre (1963)

Kraft Suspense Theatre

7.7

TV Series

Marie Ange

1964

1 episode

 

Dr. Kildare (1961)

Dr. Kildare

7.0

TV Series

Mme. Dupres

1963

1 episode

 

McHale's Navy (1962)

McHale's Navy

7.4

TV Series

Yvette Gerard

1963

2 episodes

 

Writer

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TV Special

Writer

1974

 

The Andy Williams Christmas Special

8.9

TV Special

Writer

1973

 

Soundtrack

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2023

1 episode

 

Rose Hotel (2021)

Rose Hotel

6.8

Short

performer: "My Favorite Things"

2021

 

Hannelore Elsner, Uschi Glas, and Jutta Speidel in Club der einsamen Herzen (2019)

Club der einsamen Herzen

6.1

TV Movie

performer: "Sugar Me"

2019

 

Chuck, Lost Object Found (2018)

Chuck, Lost Object Found

performer: "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye"

2018

 

Julie Delpy, Dany Boon, Karin Viard, and Vincent Lacoste in Lolo (2015)

Lolo

5.7

performer: "Small Talk"

2015

 

Tomas von Brömssen, Josefin Neldén, Jonathan Andersson, Adam Lundgren, and Disa Östrand in Shed No Tears (2013)

Shed No Tears

6.9

performer: "Nothing to Lose"

2013

 

James Franco, Seth Rogen, and Danny McBride in Pineapple Express (2008)

Pineapple Express

6.9

performer: "Love is Blue" (L'Amour est Bleu)

2008

 

Daddy Cool (2008)

Daddy Cool

5.0

performer: "Love is Blue" (L'Amour est Bleu)

2008

 

Michael Douglas, Candice Bergen, Albert Brooks, Ryan Reynolds, Lindsay Sloane, and Maria Ricossa in The In-Laws (2003)

The In-Laws

5.8

performer: "Un Homme et une Femme"

2003

 

The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)

The Kid Stays in the Picture

7.3

performer: "Wanderlove"

2002

 

Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham in Gilmore Girls (2000)

Gilmore Girls

8.2

TV Series

performer: "God Only Knows" (uncredited)

2001

1 episode

 

How to Steal an Airplane (1971)

How to Steal an Airplane

7.2

TV Movie

performer: "Sadness of a Happy Time"

1971

 

Flip (1970)

Flip

7.4

TV Series

performer: "C'est si bon"

1971

1 episode

 

A Flea in Her Ear (1968)

A Flea in Her Ear

5.5

performer: "A Flea in Her Ear"

1968

 

The Party (1968)

The Party

7.4

performer: "Nothing to Lose"

1968

 

Ben Gazzara in Run for Your Life (1965)

Run for Your Life

7.6

TV Series

performer: "Quand tu m'as Parlé" (Insensatez)performer: "Un Amour, un Sourire, une Fleur" (Meditação)

1966–1967

2 episodes

 

The Andy Williams Show (1962)

The Andy Williams Show

7.4

TV Series

performer: "My Favorite Things"performer: "Sunrise, Sunet", "What now my Love ?" (Et Maintenant), "My Guy"

1966

2 episodes

 

Self

Biography (1987)

Biography

7.7

TV Series

Self (voice)

2003

1 episode

 

E! True Hollywood Story (1996)

E! True Hollywood Story

6.5

TV Series

Self

2000

1 episode

 

Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, and Michael Strahan in Good Morning America (1975)

Good Morning America

4.4

TV Series

Self

1977

1 episode

 

Johnny Carson in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

8.5

TV Series

Self - Guest

1968–1975

2 episodes

 

The Andy Williams Christmas Show

TV Special

Self - Singer

1974

 

Merv Griffin in The Merv Griffin Show (1962)

The Merv Griffin Show

6.6

TV Series

Self

1972–1974

5 episodes

 

The Andy Williams Christmas Special

8.9

TV Special

Self - Singer

1973

 

Dean Martin Presents: The Bobby Darin Amusement Co. (1972)

Dean Martin Presents: The Bobby Darin Amusement Co.

TV Series

Self

1972

1 episode

 

Jeff Lowe in The American Sportsman (1965)

The American Sportsman

8.1

TV Series

Self

1972

1 episode

 

Andy Williams, The Osmonds, Bobby Williams, Dick Williams, and Christian Williams in The Andy Williams Christmas Show (1971)

The Andy Williams Christmas Show

8.4

TV Special

Self

1971

 

Monsanto Presents Mancini

TV Special

Self - SingerSelf - Host

1971

 

Don Knotts in The Don Knotts Show (1970)

The Don Knotts Show

7.5

TV Series

Self

1971

1 episode

 

Flip (1970)

Flip

7.4

TV Series

Self

1971

1 episode

 

The Andy Williams Show (1969)

The Andy Williams Show

7.9

TV Series

Self

1969–1970

5 episodes

 

Tom Jones in This Is Tom Jones (1969)

This Is Tom Jones

7.8

TV Series

Self

1969

1 episode

 

The Andy Williams Magic Lantern Show Company

TV Special

Self

1969

 

Andy Williams and The Williams Brothers in The Andy Williams Christmas Special (1968)

The Andy Williams Christmas Special

7.8

TV Special

Self - Singer

1968

 

The Andy Williams Christmas Show (1967)

The Andy Williams Christmas Show

8.0

TV Special

Self - Singer

1967

 

Love, Andy

TV Special

Self

1967

 

Mondo Hollywood: Hollywood Laid Bare! (1967)

Mondo Hollywood: Hollywood Laid Bare!

6.0

Self (uncredited)

1967

 

The Andy Williams Show (1962)

The Andy Williams Show

7.4

TV Series

Self

1963–1967

6 episodes

 

Jack Benny in The Jack Benny Program (1950)

The Jack Benny Program

8.5

TV Series

Self

1964

1 episode

 

Joey Bishop in The Joey Bishop Show (1961)

The Joey Bishop Show

6.6

TV Series

Self (as Mr. and Mrs. Andy Williams)

1964

1 episode

 

Archive Footage

Compression (1995)

Compression

6.4

TV Series

Self (archive footage)

2023

1 episode

 

Power, Privilege & Justice (2002)

Power, Privilege & Justice

8.1

TV Series

Self (archive footage)

2006

1 episode

 

City Confidential (1998)

City Confidential

8.6

TV Series

Self (archive footage)

2003

1 episode

 

Christopher George, Claudine Longet, and Gary Raymond in Massacre Harbor (1968)

Massacre Harbor

6.7

Marianne (archive footage)

1968