Claudine Longet, singer and actor at center of a notorious manslaughter trial, dies at 84

NEW YORK (AP) — Claudine Longet, the French singer and actor who was at the center of a highly publicized manslaughter trial after she was charged with the fatal shooting of her boyfriend, Olympic skier Vladimir “Spider” Sabich, has died at age 84.

Longet's nephew, Bryan Longet, announced her death in a social media post on Thursday. “You have been a true inspiration in my life and you will always be," he wrote. "Another star in the sky. Thank you for everything, my aunt.”

Reached by phone by The Associated Press, he confirmed Longet had died but did not reveal the cause of her death.

Longet was a native Parisian who had been acting since childhood. She appeared in numerous TV shows, recorded such hit albums as “Claudine” and was widely known for the bossa nova-style ballad “Nothing to Lose,” a highlight of the 1968 movie “The Party” that starred Longet and Peter Sellers.

At the time, she was married to singer Andy Williams, whom she had met in the early '60s while dancing in a Las Vegas revue. But by the mid-1970s, she and Williams were divorced and she was living near Aspen, Colorado, with Sabich, who had competed for the United States in the 1968 Olympics.

On March 21, 1976, a day that would long be scrutinized, she shot him at their home with a Luger pistol that she would contend he had been showing her and fired accidentally. Sabich, 31, died of a single shot to his abdomen; Longet had accompanied him in the ambulance to the hospital.

Her trial in Aspen attracted worldwide attention. Williams was among those present, escorting her to and from the courthouse, paying for her legal fees and otherwise supporting his former wife and the mother of their three children.

“I thought it was unfair, I thought she was innocent, I thought it was an accident,” Williams told “CBS This Morning” in 2009.

Longet had been charged with reckless manslaughter, but law enforcement officials made such critical errors as taking a blood sample from Longet without a warrant. After four days of deliberation in January 1977, the jury found her guilty of negligent homicide. She was given two years’ probation, fined $250 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, eventually served on dates of her choosing.

Longet's career in entertainment was effectively over, though, and for a time she was the subject of mockery in popular culture, from a skit on “Saturday Night Live” to the Rolling Stones rocker “Claudine,” which featured a taunting refrain, “Claudine's back in jail again.” (The song was unreleased for decades).

Longet later married her defense attorney, Ron Austin, and lived with him in Aspen. After Sabich's family filed a $1.3 million lawsuit in 1977 against her, the two sides reached a settlement that barred Longet from ever discussing Sabich or the trial.

Associated Press writer Samuel Petrequin in London contributed to this report.

FILE - Claudine Longet, left, and Andy Williams arrive at Pitkin County Courthouse in Aspen, Colo., Jan. 3, 1977, for jury selection Longet's manslaughter trial. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Claudine Longet, left, and Andy Williams appear at the premiere of "My Fair Lady" in Los Angeles on Oct. 28, 1964. (AP Photo/Harold Matosian, File)

FILE - Claudine Longet and Vladimir "Spider" Sabich, right, appear at the Benson and Hedges Slalom Classic ski meet at Mount Snow in West Dover, Vt., on Jan. 6, 1974. (AP Photo/J. Walter Green, File)

FILE - Claudine Longet and Vladimir "Spider" Sabich, right, appear at the Benson and Hedges Slalom Classic ski meet at Mount Snow in West Dover, Vt., on Jan. 6, 1974. (AP Photo/J. Walter Green, File)

SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2026--

Singapore has set its sights on becoming Asia's leading hub for sustainable finance and next-generation aviation fuels. However, new data released today tells a more complicated story. Singapore Changi Airport ranked 9th among the world's most carbon-intensive airports in 2023, generating 14.3 million tonnes of CO₂ — equivalent to the emissions produced by more than 20 coal-fired power stations.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260515821105/en/

The findings come from the 2026 Airport Tracker, published today by ODI Global in partnership with T&E (Transport & Environment), and are based on data provided by the ICCT. The tracker covers 1,300 airports worldwide and reveals that Asia-Pacific has overtaken all other regions to become the largest contributor to aviation emissions, accounting for 32% of global aviation CO₂ — more than Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa combined. Globally, just 100 airports are responsible for approximately two-thirds of total passenger flight emissions. Furthermore, fewer than 2.3% of airports have a credible net-zero Scope 3 emissions plan — the category covering over 90% of an airport's actual climate footprint.

Jude Lee, Regional Policy and Program Director, APAC, T&E (Transport & Environment), said,"Singapore is positioning itself as a hub for sustainable finance and future fuels, and that ambition makes transparent disclosure of aviation's real emissions all the more critical. The race among global aviation hubs is no longer just about passenger volumes. It is increasingly about who can demonstrate the most credible, MRV-backed decarbonisation pathway."

Sam Pickard, Research Associate, ODI Global, said,"Since the Paris Agreement, aviation emissions have risen steadily while other sectors have begun to decarbonise. A genuine strategy that includes demand management is sorely needed."

Denise Auclair, Head of Travel Smart Campaign, T&E, said,"It's high time to align airport capacity with our climate, air quality and noise protection goals — and prioritise citizens' health over unchecked expansion."

As the European Union moves to extend carbon pricing to all departing international flights — a policy that could generate over €12.7 billion annually — the question for Singapore and its Asia-Pacific peers is no longer whether aviation emissions will carry a price, but whether they are ready when they do.

Attached: Policy Brief Airports and aviationemissions.pdf

Top airports ranked by total CO₂ emissions (Image: T&E)