# Claudine Longet dead at 84 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** olympic-sports\ **Created:** [May 17, 2026, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141 "2026-05-17T12:06:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/1 "2026-05-17T12:06:19Z")
The aspiring singer and actress who was convicted of negligent homicide in the death of Olympic skier Spider Sabich has died. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/2 "2026-05-17T12:27:14Z")
She was the only reason I watched Andy Williams. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/3 "2026-05-17T13:05:18Z")
The only association I have with her name is the SNL sketch about the Claudine Longet Ski Invitational, where downhill skiers have to avoid “accidental” sniper fire. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/4 "2026-05-17T13:18:17Z")
That and the cookie bear. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/5 "2026-05-17T14:14:00Z")
This sounds like a very interesting story. Can someone provide some more details? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/6 "2026-05-17T14:37:35Z")
What a hot topic that was for a New York minute. And now I’ve learned that the Rolling Stones recorded and then suppressed (for a while) a terrific song about her. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/nkDO05kj6cs/maxresdefault.jpg "Claudine") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkDO05kj6cs) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/7 "2026-05-17T14:59:01Z")
Her biggest hit in the U.S. was the song “L’amour est bleu” (“Love Is Blue”), which made it to #28 on the Adult Contemporary charts. The original version of the song was by Vicki Leandros, and the best-known version in the U.S. was an instrumental by Paul Mauriat. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Rby89j-Wb-k/maxresdefault.jpg "Love Is Blue (L'amour Est Bleu)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rby89j-Wb-k) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/8 "2026-05-17T15:14:30Z")
Huh, I didn’t know that whole history. The Marty Robbins (1972) version is the one I’m more familiar with, apparently resurrected on Umbrella Academy. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gais6TIWTqQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Marty Robbins - Love Is Blue (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gais6TIWTqQ) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/9 "2026-05-17T15:15:12Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > This sounds like a very interesting story. Can someone provide some more details? I remember all of this happening; I was 11 years old, and updates on the story and the trial were a fixture on the network TV newscasts. As per [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudine_Longet#Arrest_and_trial) (the “Williams” named in it is Andy Williams): > [@](#): > > Longet was arrested and charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend, Olympic skier [Vladimir “Spider” Sabich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_Sabich), at his home in [Aspen, Colorado](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspen,_Colorado), on March 21, 1976. At her trial, Longet claimed the gun accidentally discharged as Sabich was showing her how it worked[[12]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudine_Longet#cite_note-12). Williams publicly supported Longet throughout the trial, paid for her legal defense team, and escorted her to and from the courthouse. Asked later about his unwavering support of his ex-wife, Williams said, “She is the mother of my children and we never stopped being friends. We just didn’t want to be married anymore.”[[13]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudine_Longet#cite_note-13) > > The [Pitkin County](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitkin_County,_Colorado) Sheriff’s Office and 9th [Colorado Judicial district](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judiciary_of_Colorado#District_courts)’s investigative office made two procedural errors that aided Longet’s defense: They both took a blood sample from her and seized her diary without first obtaining a warrant. According to prosecutors, the sample showed the presence of [cocaine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine) in her blood, and her diary reportedly contradicted her claim that her relationship with Sabich had not soured. To further muddle the prosecution’s case, the gun was mishandled by weapons non-experts.[[14]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudine_Longet#cite_note-GQ-14) As they were unable to cite any of the disallowed material, prosecutors used the [autopsy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopsy) report to suggest that when Sabich was shot, he was bent over, facing away, and at least 1.80 metres (5 ft 11 in) from Longet, which would be inconsistent with the position and relative distance of someone who is demonstrating the operation of a firearm.[[15]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudine_Longet#cite_note-ReferenceA-15)[[14]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudine_Longet#cite_note-GQ-14) > > The jury convicted her of [negligent homicide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negligent_homicide)[[16]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudine_Longet#cite_note-Guilty-16) and sentenced her to pay a small fine and spend 30 days in jail.[[17]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudine_Longet#cite_note-Sentenced-17) The trial judge, [George E. Lohr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_E._Lohr), allowed Longet to choose the days to be served, believing this arrangement would allow her to spend time with her children. She decided to serve most of her sentence on weekends. Critical reaction to the verdict and sentencing was exacerbated when she subsequently vacationed with her then-married defense attorney, Ronald D. Austin. Longet and Austin later married. As of 2023, they still lived in Aspen.[[15]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudine_Longet#cite_note-ReferenceA-15) ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/10 "2026-05-17T15:49:26Z")
A woman who killed her previous boyfriend would have to very special for me to marry her. I might sleep with one eye open. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/11 "2026-05-17T15:54:03Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > A woman who killed her previous boyfriend would have to very special for me to marry her. Definitely. And, as the Wikipedia summary of her trial indicates, had the police followed proper procedures during their investigation, Longet likely would spent years in prison, rather that the unbelievably light sentence which she received. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/12 "2026-05-17T16:01:50Z")
She was basically a Las Vegas showgirl who attached herself to men who would take care of her. Andy Williams financed her music “career”, which consisted of whispering song lyrics that were more annoying than anything else. I remember the whole Spider Sabich debacle and the outrage over how she got away with it. Yeah, I know: ‘don’t speak ill of the dead’. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/13 "2026-05-17T16:07:38Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Her biggest hit in the U.S. was the song “L’amour est bleu” (“Love Is Blue”), which made it to #28 on the Adult Contemporary charts. The original version of the song was by Vicki Leandros, and the best-known version in the U.S. was an instrumental by Paul Mauriat. I had no idea there were lyrics to that song. I’m more familiar with the Paul Mauriat instrumental from the late 1960s, but only because it featured heavily in an episode of _Millennium_ from the 1990s. A serial killer kept his victims trapped underground with _Love is Blue_ playing on a continuous loop. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/14 "2026-05-17T16:10:01Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > She was basically a Las Vegas showgirl who attached herself to men who would take care of her. Can you expand on that? She seems to have had a pretty good early career. She enjoyed some chart success. Her 1967 debut album, _[Claudine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudine_(Claudine_Longet_album))_ , peaked at number 11 on the _Billboard_ pop albums chart in the United States. _Claudine_ became a RIAA-certified [gold album](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_album), selling more than 500,000 copies. Subsequent Longet albums _[The Look of Love](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Look_of_Love_(Claudine_Longet_album))_ peaked at number 33 in 1967 and _Love Is Blue_ peaked at number 29 in 1968 on the _Billboard_ pop albums chart in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/15 "2026-05-17T16:13:31Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Can you expand on that? She seems to have had a pretty good early career. She did, though it appears that it was, in no small part, due to the influence of Williams (who regularly featured his then-wife on his TV specials) and Herb Alpert (who signed her to a record contract). ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/16 "2026-05-17T16:24:50Z")
I don’t see how this is different from any other musical artist. People must have liked the music, they certainly bought it. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/17 "2026-05-17T16:32:45Z")
There are also people who think Yoko Ono is a talented musician. I can’t explain it; it just. . .is. For her to be that popular in the mid-to-late 60s, when rock music was hitting its stride, is certainly curious to me. I guess there were still enough people clinging to crooners and the like to explain her popularity. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/18 "2026-05-17T16:41:49Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I don’t see how this is different from any other musical artist. People must have liked the music, they certainly bought it. Perhaps so. Contemporary articles on her indicate that a big part of her success was due to a very charming personality, but that may or may not be revisionist history after the murder. She had a very breathy, whispery singing style, and combined with her accent, it likely came across as very sexy. > [@Chefguy](#): > > There are also people who think Yoko Ono is a talented musician. Ehhh, that’s different, I think. Ono was, first and foremost, an avant-garde performance artist, and her singing was almost undoubtedly not meant to be appealing or melodic in a traditional sense. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/19 "2026-05-17T17:19:40Z")
Nine-year-old me had a huge crush on Claudine after seeing her in _ **McHale’s Navy** _ (both the TV series and the movie, I think), where she was Ensign Parker’s (Tim Conway’s) wanna-be girlfriend. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141/20 "2026-05-17T17:42:36Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > There are also people who think Yoko Ono is a talented musician. I can’t explain it; it just. . .is. For her to be that popular in the mid-to-late 60s, when rock music was hitting its stride, is certainly curious to me. I guess there were still enough people clinging to crooners and the like to explain her popularity. Claudine Longet and Yoko Ono were both women who were married to musicians/singers more popular than them, and both were associated with someone who was killed. The resemblance ends there. Longet was a conventional singer. Ono was (is?) an avant garde artist who wrote and performed some very bizarre music, often featuring her screeching and making animal noises. Rock may have been hitting its stride in 1968, but a lot of other music was very popular at the time. Some songs from the 1968 Billboard Hot 100: “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro “This Guy’s in Love with You” by Herb Alpert “Grazing in the Grass” by Hugh Masakela “Those Were the Days” by Mary Hopkin “The Look of Love” by Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 “(Theme from) The Valley of the Dolls” by Dionne Warwick “Classical Gas” by Mason Williams “MacArthur Park” by Richard Harris “Delilah” by Tom Jones “The Unicorn” by The Irish Rovers “Cab Driver” by The Mills Brothers “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” by Dionne Warwick [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claudine-longet-dead-at-84/1030141.md?page=2)