Claudine Longet Dies at 84: French Singer and Actress’s Death Sparks Renewed Interest in Spider Sabich Case and Hollywood Past
Claudine Longet, the French-born singer and actress best known for her soft vocal style, her marriage to entertainer Andy Williams, and her role in the 1960s film The Party, has died at the age of 84, according to reports confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter. She passed away on May 14, 2026, after decades of living a quiet and private life in Aspen, Colorado.
Longet rose to fame during the 1960s as a recording artist signed to A&M Records, where her whisper-like vocal delivery and easy-listening style helped her secure multiple charting albums on the Billboard 200. She became a recognizable face in entertainment circles not only for her music career but also for her high-profile marriage to crooner Andy Williams, with whom she shared three children.
Her acting career included appearances in television series such as Run for Your Life and The Rat Patrol, but her most memorable screen performance came in the 1968 cult comedy The Party, directed by Blake Edwards and starring Peter Sellers.
However, Longet’s life and career were permanently overshadowed by the 1976 death of her boyfriend, Olympic skier Spider Sabich, in Aspen. Longet claimed the shooting was accidental while Sabich was showing her how to handle a firearm, but she was later convicted of criminally negligent homicide in 1977. She received a 30-day jail sentence, a ruling that sparked widespread controversy and media attention at the time.
Following the trial, Longet stepped away from public life almost entirely. She later married her defense attorney, Ronald Austin, and settled into a life of privacy in Aspen, rarely appearing in public or engaging with the entertainment industry again.
Despite the scandal that defined her later years, Longet’s musical catalog remains part of the soft-pop era of the 1960s and 1970s, remembered for its calm, intimate tone that contrasted sharply with the turbulence of her personal history.
Her death marks the end of a complex and controversial chapter in Hollywood history—one that continues to draw public interest decades later due to its blend of celebrity romance, tragedy, and courtroom drama.
Details surrounding the official cause of death and memorial arrangements have not yet been publicly released.