Claudine Longet is a former actress and singer that never really caught a break during her time in the spotlight. Instead, she caught homicide charges! Despite having appeared alongside famous comedic actor Peter Sellers in the 1968 film The Party and having released a hit album with A&M Records, not much ever came of Claudine’s career in the entertainment industry. Instead, she ended up retreating into a private life outside of show business after being charged with the murder of her romantic partner. Join Facts Verse as we explore how beautiful Claudine Longet got away with murder, and take a look at where she is now.
Claudine Longet’s Early Life
Claudine Longet was born on January 29, 1942, in France’s capital city of Paris. Although her mother and father were both in the medical profession, Claudine started showing interest in becoming a performer from a young age. Claudine’s father was a doctor, while her mother worked in the manufacturing of X-ray machines. Of course, Claudine would end up straying fairly far from her parents’ paths when she made her entrance into show business. During her late teen years, Claudine could be found working as a professional dancer at a popular cabaret joint by the name of Folies Bergère, which was located in her home city of Paris. During her days dancing in Paris, Claudine caught the attention of a man by the name of Lou Walters. Lou owned a club in Las Vegas. And he invited Claudine out to the popular American city to become one of his dancers.
After receiving her life-changing invitation from Lou Walters to come and dance in Las Vegas, Claudine officially arrived in America! Though she started out as a dancer for Lou, she quickly grew in popularity until she was on her way to becoming a star. In 1961, Claudine married pop-music legend Andy Williams. 1961 was also the year that Breakfast at Tiffany’s was released. And the movie made famous use of Andy’s song “Moon River”. Claudine was thrilled to be married to a celebrity, though she wasn’t content with just being the wife of one. Claudine still had her sights set on becoming a star herself, and Andy would help her do it!
In addition to having popular songs featured in hit movies, Andy Williams was also the host of his own variety show for much of the 1960s. That variety series was appropriately titled The Andy Williams Show. And it was the vessel that turned Claudine Longet into a celebrity. The show came on the air in 1962, shortly after Claudine and Andy had gotten married. Andy wasn’t afraid to give Claudine a chance to shine on his variety series, and she certainly did so!
How Claudine Got Her Record Contract
Shortly after doing some breakout work as both a singer and an actress on her husband’s variety series, Claudine Longet offered the chance to sign a record contract with A&M Records. Andy was friends with popular musician Herb Alpert, of the band Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Herb also happens to be one of the founders of A&M Records, and his and Andy’s friendship helped secure Claudine her record contract with the label. It also didn’t hurt that Claudine’s television performances up until that point had been very popular. With hordes of fans calling up after each of the burgeoning star’s appearances to see who she was.
While many nowadays think of Claudine Longet primarily as a former actress. The former star actually had a bigger singing career than she did an acting career. Claudine’s acting career mostly relegated to a handful of appearances in popular television shows. Comparatively, she released five records through A&M Records alone! Following her days with A&M Records, Claudine has continued releasing music into the new millennium. The reason that she left A&M Records behind was because her husband Andy had opened up his own record label, and Claudine became one of that label’s first big stars.
Though Claudine Longet has released innumerable albums over the course of her singing career, none of those albums have been quite as big of hits as her first one. Claudine’s first album called Claudine, and it released on the aforementioned label of A&M Records. The record is said to have sold over a million copies. And yielded a handful of hits that entered into the popular-music charts. Claudine released in 1967, and the popular star entered into the 1970s with the hope that she’s going to have a long and successful career in the entertainment industry ahead of her.
Despite her hopes, Claudine Longet ended up losing much of her celebrity status over the course of the 1970s, and a good amount of this loss of popularity stemmed from the actress’s murder charges. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
Claudine’s Marriage to Andy Williams Ended Amicably
After marrying Andy Williams in 1961, Claudine Longet and her new husband went on to have several children over the course of the 1960s. The pair had three children in all, though these three children weren’t enough to keep the couple satisfied within the parameters of their marriage. By the end of the 1960s, it has said that Claudine and Andy had experienced enough of each other. However, it seems that the pair’s breakup was mutual. And that there were no hard feelings that came from the separation.
Though Claudine and Andy’s marriage essentially over by the start of the 1970s. Their divorce wasn’t finalized until 1975. By this point, Claudine had already moved on to, and in with, another man. That man was an Olympic skier by the name of Spider Sabich. And Claudine would charged with murdering him by the time that the decade was up. By the time of the finalization of Claudine and Andy’s divorce, Claudine had moved herself and her three children in with the Olympic skier. Sadly, things would soon turn tragic.
One thing about Claudine Longet is that she’s always loved skiing. Some have suggested that Claudine and Andy met while skiing. Though there seems to be a handful of different stories about how the two met. After separating from Andy and long before the finalization of their divorce. Claudine moved her and her kids to Aspen, Colorado, in the early 1970s. Claudine did this so that she could be close to the slopes. And this is how she ended up meeting Spider Sabich. Following the finalization of Claudine and Andy’s divorce, the two remained great friends up until Andy’s death in 2012. This greatly helped the two co-parent their children, with one of their kids claiming that he barely even aware of the fact that his parents divorced while growing up.
Claudine’s Romance with Spider Sabich Ended in Tragedy
As a result of their shared passion for skiing, Claudine Longet and Spider Sabich fell quickly in love. This is how the two ended up moving in together. Though their relationship would end in tragedy one night when Claudine apparently shot her new romantic partner at point-blank range with a pistol. According to Claudine, Spider was trying to show her how to use a firearm and the gun went off on accident. However, Spider’s family has never satisfied with the story that Claudine gave. Though it seems that Claudine and Spider never had much domestic trouble during their relatively short-lived relationship. Spider’s family has always felt that Claudine’s side of the story has never added up. The gunshot killed Spider, and Claudine charged with his murder. However, she ended up getting away with it!
Although Spider Sabich’s family didn’t take Claudine
Longet’s word for it that the gunshot that killed the Olympic skier was a complete accident, the courts ended up being another story. The courts could find no motive for Claudine to have killed her romantic partner. And were led to believe that the murder had truly been an accident. Because of this, though Claudine convicted of the crime, she only ended up having to serve around a month in total.
Not only that, but Claudine apparently given the option to serve this month sentence over the course of several weekends, while she’s allowed to go home during the weekdays. Many people considered Claudine to be guiltier than she let on. And those people understandably perturbed that the star essentially got off scot-free with the murder of a famous Olympic athlete. Some such perturbed parties included Spider’s aforementioned family. Though they would go on to get their due in civil court following Claudine’s sentencing.
After Claudine given such a light sentence for murdering her romantic partner. The family of that romantic partner ended up taking Claudine to civil court. In the case, Spider Sabich’s family said to have asked for upwards of a million dollars! However, the matter ended up settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Part of the settlement dictated that Claudine could never talk about the crime again. And she’s made good on that promise! Following Claudine serving out her sentence, she has refused to talk about the murder. And has essentially stayed completely out of the public spotlight for the past four decades.
Claudine Longet and Her Lawyer Got Each Other Off
A shockingly short sentence is not the only happy ending that came for Claudine during her murder trial. Claudine’s attorney during the case was a local Aspen lawyer by the name of Ron Austin. During the trial, Claudine and Ron ended up falling in love! Some may assume that Claudine seduced her lawyer because she thought it would help with her case. But the fact of the matter is that it seems that the two actually legitimately attracted to each other. The two ended up tying the knot in 1985, and are still together to this day! Of course, the two still reside in Aspen, Colorado.
Claudine Longet definitely murdered Olympic skier Spider Sabich. But the world will likely never know whether or not she did it on purpose. Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Claudine Longet convicted of homicide. And that she only had to serve a month in jail for it? As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
