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Claudine Longet, the French-born star and ex-wife of crooner Andy Williams<\/a> who became notorious for the fatal shooting of Olympic skier Vladimir \u201cSpider\u201d Sabich, has died. She was 84.<\/p>\n 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, \u201cYou have been a true inspiration in my life and you will always be. … Another star in the sky. Thank you for everything, my aunt.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a>), saw Longet dancing on French television and hired the ing\u00e9nue to join the Tropicana casino\u2019s flashy new production. She bid Paris adieu and sashayed to Las Vegas, where she starred in the Folies Berg\u00e8re revue.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n In 1962, Williams released \u201cMoon River,\u201d and the crooner\u2019s 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 \u201cBobby,\u201d who was named after the couple\u2019s close friend Robert F. Kennedy. Also in 1962, Williams\u2019 eponymous variety show debuted and quickly became a hit. Longet was a regular on the show, and the family-oriented Christmas TV specials<\/a>, often featuring the whole Williams clan, were a ratings juggernaut. <\/p>\n In addition to her regular appearances on \u201cThe Andy Williams Show,<\/a>\u201d Longet acted in television and film. Notably, the chanteuse captivated audiences singing Henry Mancini and Don Black\u2019s \u201cNothing to Lose<\/a>\u201d in the 1968 comedy \u201cThe Party,\u201d 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 \u201cClaudine,\u201d and two with Barnaby Records. Her music was known for its breathy, lounge-pop quality, and she sang in both English and French. <\/p>\n By 1970, Williams and Longet\u2019s 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\u2019 \u201cThis Morning\u201d during a 2009 appearance that he was never home. \u201cIt was all my fault, and I just didn\u2019t take care of my marriage,\u201d he said<\/a>, 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. <\/p>\n 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\u2019s ritzy Starwood chalet around 1975. On March 21, 1976, Longet shot Sabich in the abdomen with an imitation World War II .22-caliber German\u2010made pistol. Her daughter, Noelle, who was in the house at the time, testified that she heard Sabich yell out, \u201cClaudine! Claudine!\u201d<\/p>\n According to The Times\u2019 archives, Longet told authorities that she found the handgun and asked Sabich how to use it. During Longet\u2019s trial, Aspen Det. David Garms testified that Longet insisted the shooting was an accident. Garms said that Longet told him she\u2019d pointed the gun at Sabich and then \u201cjokingly said \u2018bang, bang.\u2019\u201d She told investigators she thought the safety was on, and a ballistics expert said the safety did not work. <\/p>\n Longet was with Sabich in the ambulance when he died en route to the Aspen hospital. The \u201cLove Is Blue\u201d 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 3\u00bd hours of deliberations, Longet was acquitted of the felony charge and convicted of a misdemeanor charge of negligent homicide. <\/p>\n Ex-husband Williams accompanied Longet to her trial and told \u201cThis Morning\u201d years later that he supported his ex-wife because he believed in her innocence. <\/p>\n \u201cI did because I thought it was unfair,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cI thought she was innocent. I thought it was an accident.\u201d <\/p>\n During the trial, she testified in her signature French accent that she and Sabich were the \u201cbest of friends.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere 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,\u201d she told the court, per The Times archives.<\/p>\n Longet was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail \u201cat a time of her own choosing.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThere is not really much to say,\u201d she told reporters outside the courtroom, per The Times archives. \u201cOnly that I have too much respect for living things to do that. I\u2019m not guilty.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a> forbidden from speaking or writing about the shooting. As for her career in showbiz \u2014 she was finished.<\/p>\n The Sabich case became an absolute sensation in the media, not just in America but also globally, and Longet was internationally labeled Aspen\u2019s femme fatale.<\/a> Pop culture had its way with the incident as well. The Rolling Stones\u2019 song \u201cClaudine<\/a>\u201d was withheld from their 1978 album, \u201cSome Girls,\u201d due to legal considerations but was featured on the 2011 reissue of the album. <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re 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,\u201d belted Mick Jagger in what may have been considered a diss track or a tribute depending on whom you ask. \u201cNah ah \/ Don\u2019t get, don\u2019t get trigger happy with me, Claudine.\u201d <\/p>\n In an April 1976 episode, \u201cSaturday Night Live<\/a>\u201d also took aim at the deadly affair with a sketch titled, \u201cThe Claudine Longet Invitational,\u201d in which Chevy Chase and Jane Curtin play sports commentators who offer a play-by-play of a competition in which male skiers are \u201caccidentally\u201d shot by Longet as they race down the slopes. <\/p>\n The producers read an apology on air the following week. <\/p>\n Local Aspen attorney Ron Austin, who was on Longet\u2019s 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\u2019s 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<\/a>. <\/p>\n Longet\u2019s last known public appearance was in 2003 on the A&E channel\u2019s Andy Williams \u201cBiography\u201d documentary, in which she only recorded voiceover. \u201cTo this day people stop me in the street and say how much they loved the Christmas show.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n