Claudine Longet, French singer who killed Olympic skier and her own career, dead at 84
Claudine Longet, a former singer and killer of an Olympic skier, has died aged 84.
Longet was a French-American singer who first found acclaim through her music and on TV, as well as being married to the classic entertainer, Andy Williams.
However, her career was left in ruins in 1976 after she fatally shot the Olympic skier Spider Sabich, and was subsequently charged with criminally negligent homicide after a trial took place for the crime the following year.
The news of Longet’s death was announced by her nephew, Bryan Longet, in an Instagram Stories post made on May 14th, where he wrote, “Even though she is no longer physically with us, her light, elegance, talent and kindness will continue to live on through the memories, music, photos and love she leaves behind.”
The statement added: “As many of you know, Claudine was not only an icon to me — she was also my aunt, and someone incredibly special in my life. Since I was a little boy, I always told her that I would remain her number one fan, and that will never change,” revealing no cause of death for the singer at this time.
Longet married Williams in 1961, having three children with the star before they divorced in 1975. However, during this time, she started out on a successful TV career, often appearing on her husband’s variety shows and Christmas specials between 1963 and 1967.
She also had a relatively fruitful stint in the music business, scoring a number of chart hits, particularly with her debut record Claudine, which was released in 1967.
However, her life would take a notorious turn when, after divorcing Williams, she went to live in a ski chalet with Olympic star Sabich, fatally shooting him in the abdomen inside the bathroom of their home in 1976.
Longet repeatedly claimed that the incident was an accident, alleging that the gun was fired as Sabich was showing her how to use it, but she was eventually convicted of criminally negligent homicide following a trial in January 1977.
She was sentenced to 30 days in jail, two years’ probation, and a $250 fine, in a punishment that was roundly seen as too lenient by Sabich’s fans and family. Longet managed to settle the case for $1.3 million with the latter, though she never spoke about it publicly afterwards.
The crime became the subject of huge notoriety, spurring an infamous Saturday Night Live segment which the show eventually had to apologise for, as well as The Rolling Stones creating a song called ‘Claudine’ from their Some Girls era, although it was ultimately never released.
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