Claudine Longet

Claudine Longet(born January 29, 1942)is a Franco-American singer, actress, dancer, and recording artist popular during the 1960s and 1970s.
Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to American singer and television entertainerAndy Williamsfrom 1961 until 1975. She has maintained a private profile since 1977, following her conviction for negligent homicide in connection with the shooting death of her boyfriend, former Olympic skierSpider Sabich.
Her first appearances as an actress on TV were in two 1963 episodes ofMcHale's Navy. She acted in the 1964 theatrical feature film of the same title. Many of her acting roles during the 1960s were in episodes of TV adventure series that includedTwelve O'Clock High,Combat!,The Name of the Game,The Rat Patrol,Hogan's Heroes, andAlias Smith and Jones. Longet was cast as Sharhri Javid in the 1965 episode "The Silent Dissuaders" of the NBC education drama series,Mr. Novak, starringJames Franciscus.
She appeared many times onThe Andy Williams Showseries and specials. She occasionally appeared as a singer on other variety and music programs, including those of singersBobby DarinandTom Jones. Williams described Longet as "a beautiful, athletic, slender, petite brunette with large doe eyes--my favorite French singer."
Her career breakthrough occurred in 1966. She guest-starred in the season-one finale of the seriesRun for Your LifestarringBen Gazzara. In the episode "The Sadness of a Happy Time", she performed her English-French bilingual rendition ofAntônio Carlos Jobim'sbossa novasong "Meditation" ("Meditação"). The episode was broadcast on 16 May 1966.
A&M RecordscofounderHerb Alpertwas among the viewers whom Longet charmed with her performance of "Meditation". When Alpert met Longet at a club in New Orleans in 1966, he offered her a recording contract with his company.Longet recorded singles, and five albums, forA&M Recordsbetween 1966 and 1970.
"Meditation" was Longet's first single release for A&M. Other Jobim compositions that she has recorded include "A Felicidade," "How Insensitive" ("Insensatez"), and "Dindi".
In 1968, Longet co-starred withPeter SellersinThe Party, a box-office hit thatBlake Edwardswrote, produced, and directed. Longet sang theHenry ManciniandDon Blacksong "Nothing to Lose" in the film.
In 1971, she joined Williams'sBarnaby Recordslabel. She released singles and two albums for Barnaby:We've Only Just Begunin 1971 andLet's Spend the Night Togetherin 1972. She also recorded songs for a projected third album for Barnaby that went unreleased. Many of the songs for the planned third album appeared on the 1993 CD titledSugar Me,  after theLynsey de Paulsong that Longet recorded in the early 1970s, but the masters for some of the other songs are missing and presumed lost.
In 1975, she appeared as the Flower (a non-singing role) on the children's albumThe Little Prince, based on the novel byAntoine de Saint-Exupéry. The album won theGrammy Award for Best Album for Childrenin 1976.
She has enjoyed success on the music popularity charts. Her 1967 debut album,Claudine, peaked at number 11 on theBillboardpop albums chart in the US.Claudinebecame a RIAA-certifiedgold album, selling more than 500,000 copies. Subsequent albumsThe Look of Lovepeaked at number 33 in 1967 andLove Is Bluepeaked at number 29 in 1968 on theBillboardpop albums chart in the U.S.
Longet's musical cohort on her charting albums was arranger Nick DeCaro. He also arranged her other two albums on A&M,Colours(1968) andRun Wild, Run Free(1970), as well asWe've Only Just Begun(1971) on Barnaby.
She had hit singles in America on theBillboardAdult Contemporary chart. Her charting singles include her version of "Here, There and Everywhere" (music and lyrics byJohn LennonandPaul McCartney), "Hello, Hello" (composed by Terry MacNeil and Peter Kraemer), "Good Day Sunshine" (composed byJohn LennonandPaul  McCartney), "Small Talk" (music and lyrics by Garry Bonner andAlan Gordon), and "Love is Blue", a 1967 Eurovision Song Contest entry that gained fourth place (music byAndré Poppand French lyrics byPierre Cour). Another song, "Wanderlove" (music and lyrics byMason Williams), went to number seven on the singles charts in Singapore. She remains popular in Japan, where all of her original albums were reissued on CD.
Longet and Williams met in Las Vegas in 1960 while she was dancing lead in the Folies Bergère revue at theTropicana Resort & Casino. Longet was having trouble with her car and had pulled over to the side of the road. Driving by, Williams stopped to offer assistance. She was 18 and he was 32. They married on 15 December 1961 in Los Angelesand had three children: Noëlle (born on 24 September 1963), Christian (born on 15 April 1965), and Robert ("Bobby") (born on 1 August 1969). They legally separated in 1970and divorced in January 1975.According to Williams, they remained "very good friends."
Longet and Andy Williams were close friends of SenatorRobert F. Kennedyand his wife,Ethel Kennedy. During the mid-1960s, the couple hosted the Kennedys at their residences in Bel Air, California, and Palm Springs, California, and spent time at the Kennedy residences atHickory Hilland New York City.They took summer cruises together on the Salmon River in central Idaho and on the Colorado River.
On or before 4 June 1968, the day of the 1968Democratic Party presidential primaryin California, Kennedy—a contending Democratic presidential candidate—and his wife made tentative arrangements with Williams and Longet to visit Los Angeles's The Factory nightclub. According to Williams, Robert Kennedy told them that he would make a hand signal at the conclusion of his televised speech at theAmbassador Hotelto confirm their get-together.
Shortly after midnight on 5 June, Longet and Williams were watching Senator Kennedy's televised primary victory speech in Kennedy's suite at The Ambassador. When Williams rushed down to the hotel ballroom, he heard loud noises in the hallway and learned thatKennedy had been shot. Longet and Williams eventually joined Kennedy's family and friends atGood Samaritan Hospital, where doctors labored to save the senator's life. They stayed at the hospital for 24 hours.
Longet and Williams attended Kennedy's funeral atSt. Patrick's Cathedralin New York City on 8 June. A television camera captured Williams consoling a sobbing Longet during the mass. After Kennedy's brotherEdward M. "Ted" Kennedydelivered a brief and emotional eulogy, Williams and a choir sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". After the funeral mass, Longet and Williams accompanied Ethel Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, and other Kennedy family members on the 21-car funeral train that took Senator Kennedy's body to Washington, D.C., andArlington National Cemeteryfor burial. The front page of the 9 June 1968 edition of theWashington Postfeatured a large photograph of Ted Kennedy and Longet standing together on the rear platform as the train passed through North Philadelphia.
Longet and Williams named their son Robert (born in August 1969) after Robert F. Kennedy.
Longet was arrested and charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend, Olympic skierVladimir "Spider" Sabich, at his home inAspen, Colorado, on 21 March 1976. At her trial, Longet claimed the gun accidentally discharged as Sabich was showing her how it worked.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."
ThePitkin CountySheriff's Office and 9thColorado Judicial district's investigative office made two procedural errors that aided Longet's defense: They took a blood sample from her without first obtaining a warrant, and they seized her diary without a warrant. According to prosecutors, the sample showed the presence of 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.As they were unable to cite any of the disallowed material, prosecutors used the autopsy report to suggest that when Sabich was shot, he was bent over, facing away, and at least 1.80 m (5'11") from Longet, which would be inconsistent with the position and relative distance of someone who is demonstrating the operation of a firearm.
The jury convicted her ofnegligent homicideand sentenced her to pay a small fine and spend 30 days in jail.The trial judge,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 defense attorney, Ronald D. Austin, who was married then. Longet and Austin later married. As of 2023, they still live in Aspen.
After the criminal trial, the Sabich family initiated civil proceedings to sue Longet. The case eventually was resolved out of court, with the provision that Longet never discuss or write about the killing or the settlement.