Claudine Longet
Encyclopedia
Claudine Georgette Longet (born 29 January 1942) is a French singer and recording artist who was popular during the 1960s and 1970s. She is also an actress and a dancer.
Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to pop singer Andy Williams
from 1961 until 1975. She has maintained a private profile since 1977, following her conviction for misdemeanor
negligent homicide in connection with the death of former Olympic skier "Spider" Sabich.
. She also acted in the 1964 theatrical feature film of the same title. Many of her acting roles during the 1960s were in episodes of television adventure series that included Twelve O'Clock High
, Combat!, The Name of the Game
, The Rat Patrol
and Hogans Heroes Episode #20: It Takes a Thief ... Sometime.
She appeared many times on The Andy Williams Show
series and specials. She also occasionally appeared as a singer on other variety and music programs, including those of singers Bobby Darin
and Tom Jones
. Williams called Longet — a beautiful, athletic, slender, petite sleek brunette with large doe eyes — "my favorite French singer."
Her career breakthrough occurred in 1966. She had a guest-starring role in the season-one finale of the NBC
television adventure series Run for Your Life
, which starred Ben Gazzara
. In the episode "The Sadness of A Happy Time," she performed her English-French bilingual rendition of Jobim's
bossa nova
song "Meditation" ("Meditação"), singing with a very soft angelic voice filled with longing and melancholy but also with a cheerful optimism. The episode was first broadcast on 16 May 1966.
A&M Records
cofounder Herb Alpert
was among the viewers whom Longet charmed with her performance of "Meditation." When Alpert met Longet by happenstance at a club in New Orleans
later in 1966, he offered her a recording contract with his company. Longet recorded singles, and five albums, for A&M Records
between 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 costarred with Peter Sellers
in the MGM motion picture The Party
, a box office hit that Blake Edwards
wrote, produced, and directed. Elvis Presley
reportedly identified The Party as his favorite film. Longet sang "Nothing to Lose" (music by Henry Mancini
and lyrics by Don Black) in the film.
In 1971, she joined Williams' Barnaby Records
label. She released singles and two albums for Barnaby, We've Only Just Begun in 1971 and Let's Spend the Night Together in 1972. She also recorded songs for a projected third album for Barnaby that went unreleased. Many of the songs for the planned third album finally appeared on the 1993 compact disc release titled Sugar Me, after the Lynsey de Paul
song that Longet covered in the early 70's but the masters for some of the other songs are missing and presumed lost.
In 1975, she appeared as "The Flower" (a nonsinging role) with Richard Burton
, Jonathan Winters
, and others, on the children's album The Little Prince, based on the Antoine de Saint Exupéry novel. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Album for Children
in 1976.
She has enjoyed success on the music popularity charts. Her 1967 debut album, Claudine
, peaked at #11 on the Billboard pop albums chart in the United States. Claudine
became a RIAA-certified gold album, selling more than 500,000 copies. Subsequent albums The Look of Love
peaked at #33 in 1967 and Love is Blue peaked at #29 in 1968 on the Billboard pop albums chart in the U.S.
Longet's musical cohort on her charting albums was arranger Nick De Caro. He also arranged her other two albums on A&M, Colours (1968) and Run Wild, Run Free (1970), and We've Only Just Begun on Barnaby.
She also has had hit singles in America on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Her charting singles include "Here, There and Everywhere
" (music and lyrics by John Lennon
and Paul McCartney
), "Hello, Hello" (composed by Terry MacNeil and Peter Kraemer), "Good Day Sunshine
" (composed by Lennon and McCartney), "Small Talk" (music and lyrics by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon
), and "Love is Blue" (music by André Popp
and French lyrics by Pierre Cour
[Pierre Lemaire]). Another song, "Wanderlove" (music and lyrics by Mason Williams
), went to #7 on the singles charts in Singapore and still occasionally gets airplay on Asian radio. She remains popular in Japan, where all of her original albums were reissued on compact disc.
in 1960 when she was 18 and he was 32. Longet was experiencing problems with her car and had pulled over to the side of the road. Driving by, Williams stopped to offer assistance. She was the lead dancer of the Folies Bergère revue at the Tropicana Resort & Casino
. They married on 15 December 1961 in Los Angeles, and 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 1970 and divorced in January 1975. According to Williams, they remain "very good friends" to the present day.
and his wife, Ethel Kennedy. During the mid-1960s, they regularly socialized at Longet's and Williams's residences in Bel Air and Palm Springs
and at the Kennedy residences at Hickory Hill
and New York City. They also took summer cruises on the Salmon River
in central Idaho and on the Colorado River
.
On or before 4 June 1968, the day of the 1968 Democratic Party presidential primary
in California, Kennedy — a contending Democratic presidential candidate — and his wife made tentative arrangements with Williams and Longet to visit a trendy local disco called The Factory. According to Williams, Robert Kennedy told them that he would make a hand signal at the conclusion of his televised speech at the Ambassador Hotel to confirm their get-together.
Shortly after midnight on 5 June, Longet and Williams watched Senator Kennedy's televised primary victory speech in Kennedy's suite in his hotel. When they saw Kennedy make the "little hand gesture." Williams rushed down to the hotel ballroom, he heard loud noises in the hallway and learned that Kennedy had been shot. Longet and Williams eventually joined Kennedy's family and friends at the Good Samaritan Hospital
in Los Angeles, where doctors labored to save the Senator's life. They stayed at the hospital for about 24 hours. After Kennedy died during the early morning hours of 6 June, Longet and Williams went into his hospital room and saw Ethel Kennedy asleep near her husband.
Longet and Williams attended Senator Kennedy's funeral Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral
in New York City on 8 June. A television camera captured Williams consoling a sobbing Longet during the Mass. After Kennedy's brother Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy delivered a brief and emotional eulogy, Williams and a choir sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic
" in what a Washington Post reporter described as a "hauntingly slow tempo." Outside the cathedral on the streets of New York, thousands of people were listening to the Mass over loudspeakers. When they heard Williams singing, they began singing with him.
After the funeral Mass, Longet and Williams boarded the 21-car funeral train that took Senator Kennedy's body to Washington, D.C. and Arlington National Cemetery
for burial. Longet and Williams were with Senator Kennedy's body, Ethel Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, and other Kennedy family members in the end car of the train. The front page of the 9 June 1968 edition of the Washington Post has a large photograph that depicts Ted Kennedy and Longet standing together on the rear platform of the funeral train as it passed through North Philadelphia.
Longet and Williams named their son Bobby (who was born in August 1969) in remembrance of Robert Kennedy.
, home on 21 March 1976. At trial, Longet said the gun discharged accidentally as Sabich was showing her how it worked. Williams publicly supported Longet throughout the trial, even escorting her to and from the courthouse.
The Aspen police made two procedural errors that aided Longet's defense: Without warrants, they took a blood sample from her and confiscated her diary. 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. In addition, the gun was mishandled by non-weapons experts. As they were unable to cite any of the disallowed material, prosecutors did use the autopsy report to suggest that when Sabich was struck he was bent over, facing away, and at least 1.80 m (6 ft) from Longet, which would be inconsistent with the position and relative distance of someone demonstrating the operation of a firearm.
The jury convicted her of a lesser charge — misdemeanor criminal negligence — and sentenced her to pay a small fine and spend 30 days in jail. The judge allowed Longet to choose the days to be served, believing that this arrangement would allow her to spend the most time with her children. She chose 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, Ron Austin, who was married at the time; Longet and Austin later married and still live in Aspen.) After the criminal trial, the Sabich family initiated civil proceedings to sue Longet. The case was eventually resolved out of court, with the proviso that Longet never tell or write about her story.
Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to pop singer Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
from 1961 until 1975. She has maintained a private profile since 1977, following her conviction for misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
negligent homicide in connection with the death of former Olympic skier "Spider" Sabich.
Career
After about a one-year hiatus, Longet resumed her professional career in late 1962. Her first appearances as an actress on television were in two 1963 episodes of the comedy series McHale's NavyMcHale's Navy
McHale's Navy is an American television sitcom series which ran for 138 half-hour episodes from October 11,1962, to August 31, 1966, on the ABC network. The series was filmed in black and white and originated in a one-hour drama called Seven Against the Sea, broadcast on April 3, 1962...
. She also acted in the 1964 theatrical feature film of the same title. Many of her acting roles during the 1960s were in episodes of television adventure series that included Twelve O'Clock High
Twelve O'Clock High (TV series)
Twelve O'Clock High or 12 O'Clock High is an American drama series set in World War II. This TV series originally broadcasted on ABC-TV for two-and-one-half TV seasons from September 18, 1964, through January 13, 1967; was based on the motion picture Twelve O'Clock High...
, Combat!, The Name of the Game
The Name of the Game (TV series)
The Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack that ran from 1968 to 1971 on NBC, totaling 76 episodes of 90 minutes. It was a pioneering wheel series, setting the stage for the likes of The Bold Ones and the NBC Mystery Movie in the 1970s...
, The Rat Patrol
The Rat Patrol
The Rat Patrol is an American television program that aired on ABC during the 1966–1968 seasons. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers who are part of a long-range desert patrol group in the North African campaign during World War II...
and Hogans Heroes Episode #20: It Takes a Thief ... Sometime.
She appeared many times on The Andy Williams Show
The Andy Williams Show
The Andy Williams Show is a television variety show which ran from 1959 to 1971 , and a short-lived run in syndication, beginning in the fall of 1976...
series and specials. She also occasionally appeared as a singer on other variety and music programs, including those of singers Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
and Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
. Williams called Longet — a beautiful, athletic, slender, petite sleek brunette with large doe eyes — "my favorite French singer."
Her career breakthrough occurred in 1966. She had a guest-starring role in the season-one finale of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television adventure series Run for Your Life
Run for Your Life (TV series)
Run for Your Life is an American television drama series starring Ben Gazzara as a man with only a short time to live. It ran on NBC from 1965 to 1968. The series was created by Roy Huggins, who had previously explored the "man on the move" concept with The Fugitive.-Synopsis:Gazzara plays lawyer...
, which starred Ben Gazzara
Ben Gazzara
-Early life:Gazzara was born Biagio Anthony Gazzara in New York City, the son of Italian immigrants Angelina and Antonio Gazzara, who was a laborer and carpenter. Gazzara grew up on New York's tough Lower East Side. He actually lived on E. 29th Street and participated in the drama program at...
. In the episode "The Sadness of A Happy Time," she performed her English-French bilingual rendition of Jobim's
Antônio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim , also known as Tom Jobim , was a Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist. He was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within...
bossa nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
song "Meditation" ("Meditação"), singing with a very soft angelic voice filled with longing and melancholy but also with a cheerful optimism. The episode was first broadcast on 16 May 1966.
A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
cofounder Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
was among the viewers whom Longet charmed with her performance of "Meditation." When Alpert met Longet by happenstance at a club in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
later in 1966, he offered her a recording contract with his company. Longet recorded singles, and five albums, for A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
between 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
Dindi
"Dindi" is a song composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim, with lyrics by Aloysio de Oliveria. English lyrics were added by Ray Gilbert. Antonio Carlos Jobim wrote this piece especially for Brazilian singer Sylvia Telles whose nickname was Dindi...
."
In 1968, Longet costarred with Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
in the MGM motion picture The Party
The Party (film)
The Party is a 1968 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards, starring Peter Sellers and Claudine Longet. The film has a very loose structure, and essentially serves as a series of set pieces for Sellers's improvisational comedy talents...
, a box office hit that Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
wrote, produced, and directed. Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
reportedly identified The Party as his favorite film. Longet sang "Nothing to Lose" (music by Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
and lyrics by Don Black) in the film.
In 1971, she joined Williams' Barnaby Records
Barnaby Records
Barnaby Records was an American record company founded by singer Andy Williams in 1963 with his purchase of soon-to-be-liquidated Cadence Records....
label. She released singles and two albums for Barnaby, We've Only Just Begun in 1971 and Let's Spend the Night Together in 1972. She also recorded songs for a projected third album for Barnaby that went unreleased. Many of the songs for the planned third album finally appeared on the 1993 compact disc release titled Sugar Me, after the Lynsey de Paul
Lynsey De Paul
Lynsey de Paul is an English singer-songwriter. Allmusic journalist, Craig Harris stated, "one of the first successful female singer-songwriters in England, de Paul has had an illustrious career".-Early life:De Paul was born to Meta and Herbert Rubin, a property developer...
song that Longet covered in the early 70's but the masters for some of the other songs are missing and presumed lost.
In 1975, she appeared as "The Flower" (a nonsinging role) with Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
, Jonathan Winters
Jonathan Winters
-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
, and others, on the children's album The Little Prince, based on the Antoine de Saint Exupéry novel. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Album for Children
Grammy Award for Best Album for Children
The Grammy Award for Best Album for Children has been awarded since 1959. Prior to 1992, the award was known as Best Recording for Children and was therefore open to any audio recording, whether it was an album, a single song, a recording of a book, or the audio from a television show or movie...
in 1976.
She has enjoyed success on the music popularity charts. Her 1967 debut album, Claudine
Claudine (Claudine Longet album)
Claudine was Claudine Longet's debut LP album. It was her first serious attempt to start a music career after she had appeared on a number of variety shows and released the single Meditation in 1966. Longet's records were part of the effort of Herb Alpert's A&M Records to expand the label's...
, peaked at #11 on the Billboard pop albums chart in the United States. Claudine
Claudine (Claudine Longet album)
Claudine was Claudine Longet's debut LP album. It was her first serious attempt to start a music career after she had appeared on a number of variety shows and released the single Meditation in 1966. Longet's records were part of the effort of Herb Alpert's A&M Records to expand the label's...
became a RIAA-certified gold album, selling more than 500,000 copies. Subsequent albums The Look of Love
The Look of Love (Claudine Longet album)
The Look of Love was Claudine Longet's second LP album. The sessions were arranged by Nick De Caro and engineered by Bruce Botnick. In the U.S., The Look of Love reached # 33 on the Billboard pop albums chart.-Track listing:...
peaked at #33 in 1967 and Love is Blue peaked at #29 in 1968 on the Billboard pop albums chart in the U.S.
Longet's musical cohort on her charting albums was arranger Nick De Caro. He also arranged her other two albums on A&M, Colours (1968) and Run Wild, Run Free (1970), and We've Only Just Begun on Barnaby.
She also has had hit singles in America on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Her charting singles include "Here, There and Everywhere
Here, There and Everywhere
"Here, There and Everywhere" is a song written primarily by Paul McCartney , recorded for The Beatles 1966 album Revolver. In his biography Many Years From Now, McCartney said the song is one of his favourites. Beatles' producer George Martin has also mentioned it as one of his favourite McCartney...
" (music and lyrics by John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
), "Hello, Hello" (composed by Terry MacNeil and Peter Kraemer), "Good Day Sunshine
Good Day Sunshine
"Good Day Sunshine" is a song by The Beatles on the 1966 album Revolver. It was written mainly by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Leonard Bernstein praised the song for its construction in a 1967 CBS News documentary...
" (composed by Lennon and McCartney), "Small Talk" (music and lyrics by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon
Alan Gordon
Alan Gordon may refer to:*Alan Gordon , mystery writer whose works are based on Shakespearean characters*Alan Gordon , Scottish footballer*Alan Gordon , American soccer player...
), and "Love is Blue" (music by André Popp
André Popp
André Charles Jean Popp is a French composer, arranger and screenwriter.Born in Fontenay-le-Comte, Vendée, he started his career as a church organist, filling the place of his father who had been called up to serve in World War II in 1939. Popp studied music at the Saint Joseph Institute...
and French lyrics by Pierre Cour
Pierre Cour
Pierre Cour was a French songwriter who wrote songs for several generations of artists. He wrote a number of successful songs in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s...
[Pierre Lemaire]). Another song, "Wanderlove" (music and lyrics by Mason Williams
Mason Williams
Mason Williams is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his guitar instrumental "Classical Gas". He is also a comedy writer, known for his writing on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and Saturday Night Live...
), went to #7 on the singles charts in Singapore and still occasionally gets airplay on Asian radio. She remains popular in Japan, where all of her original albums were reissued on compact disc.
Marriage to Andy Williams
Longet and Williams met in Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
in 1960 when she was 18 and he was 32. Longet was experiencing problems with her car and had pulled over to the side of the road. Driving by, Williams stopped to offer assistance. She was the lead dancer of the Folies Bergère revue at the Tropicana Resort & Casino
Tropicana Resort & Casino
Tropicana Las Vegas is located on the Las Vegas Strip, in the township of Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Resort Inc. and operated by Alex Yemenidjian's Armenco Holdings. It offers 1,658 rooms and is attached to a casino...
. They married on 15 December 1961 in Los Angeles, and 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 1970 and divorced in January 1975. According to Williams, they remain "very good friends" to the present day.
Relationship with Robert F. and Ethel Kennedy
Longet and Andy Williams were close friends of Robert F. "Bobby" KennedyRobert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
and his wife, Ethel Kennedy. During the mid-1960s, they regularly socialized at Longet's and Williams's residences in Bel Air and Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
and at the Kennedy residences at Hickory Hill
Hickory Hill (McLean, Virginia)
Hickory Hill is a large brick house in McLean, Virginia, in the United States, believed to have been built ca. 1840 . The land on which it is built is part of a Lee family tract of land called Langley. General George B...
and New York City. They also took summer cruises on the Salmon River
Salmon River (Idaho)
The Salmon River is located in Idaho in the northwestern United States. The Salmon is also known as The River of No Return. It flows for through central Idaho, draining and dropping more than between its headwaters, near Galena Summit above the Sawtooth Valley in the Sawtooth National...
in central Idaho and on the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
.
On or before 4 June 1968, the day of the 1968 Democratic Party presidential primary
Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1968
The 1968 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1968 U.S. presidential election...
in California, Kennedy — a contending Democratic presidential candidate — and his wife made tentative arrangements with Williams and Longet to visit a trendy local disco called The Factory. According to Williams, Robert Kennedy told them that he would make a hand signal at the conclusion of his televised speech at the Ambassador Hotel to confirm their get-together.
Shortly after midnight on 5 June, Longet and Williams watched Senator Kennedy's televised primary victory speech in Kennedy's suite in his hotel. When they saw Kennedy make the "little hand gesture." Williams rushed down to the hotel ballroom, he heard loud noises in the hallway and learned that Kennedy had been shot. Longet and Williams eventually joined Kennedy's family and friends at the Good Samaritan Hospital
Good Samaritan Hospital (Los Angeles)
Good Samaritan Hospital is a hospital in Los Angeles, California, United States. The hospital has 408 beds.-History:Good Samaritan Hospital was founded in 1885, although the current hospital was built in 1976...
in Los Angeles, where doctors labored to save the Senator's life. They stayed at the hospital for about 24 hours. After Kennedy died during the early morning hours of 6 June, Longet and Williams went into his hospital room and saw Ethel Kennedy asleep near her husband.
Longet and Williams attended Senator Kennedy's funeral Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral
St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York
The Cathedral of St. Patrick is a decorated Neo-Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral church in the United States...
in New York City on 8 June. A television camera captured Williams consoling a sobbing Longet during the Mass. After Kennedy's brother Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy delivered a brief and emotional eulogy, Williams and a choir sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
"The Battle Hymn of the Republic" is a hymn by American writer Julia Ward Howe using the music from the song "John Brown's Body". Howe's more famous lyrics were written in November 1861 and first published in The Atlantic Monthly in February 1862. It became popular during the American Civil War...
" in what a Washington Post reporter described as a "hauntingly slow tempo." Outside the cathedral on the streets of New York, thousands of people were listening to the Mass over loudspeakers. When they heard Williams singing, they began singing with him.
After the funeral Mass, Longet and Williams boarded the 21-car funeral train that took Senator Kennedy's body to Washington, D.C. and Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
for burial. Longet and Williams were with Senator Kennedy's body, Ethel Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, and other Kennedy family members in the end car of the train. The front page of the 9 June 1968 edition of the Washington Post has a large photograph that depicts Ted Kennedy and Longet standing together on the rear platform of the funeral train as it passed through North Philadelphia.
Longet and Williams named their son Bobby (who was born in August 1969) in remembrance of Robert Kennedy.
Arrest and trial
Longet was arrested and charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend, Olympic skier Vladimir "Spider" Sabich, at his Aspen, ColoradoAspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
, home on 21 March 1976. At trial, Longet said the gun discharged accidentally as Sabich was showing her how it worked. Williams publicly supported Longet throughout the trial, even escorting her to and from the courthouse.
The Aspen police made two procedural errors that aided Longet's defense: Without warrants, they took a blood sample from her and confiscated her diary. 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. In addition, the gun was mishandled by non-weapons experts. As they were unable to cite any of the disallowed material, prosecutors did use the autopsy report to suggest that when Sabich was struck he was bent over, facing away, and at least 1.80 m (6 ft) from Longet, which would be inconsistent with the position and relative distance of someone demonstrating the operation of a firearm.
The jury convicted her of a lesser charge — misdemeanor criminal negligence — and sentenced her to pay a small fine and spend 30 days in jail. The judge allowed Longet to choose the days to be served, believing that this arrangement would allow her to spend the most time with her children. She chose 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, Ron Austin, who was married at the time; Longet and Austin later married and still live in Aspen.) After the criminal trial, the Sabich family initiated civil proceedings to sue Longet. The case was eventually resolved out of court, with the proviso that Longet never tell or write about her story.
Recent years
Longet has never performed again; her public appearances since the trial have been limited to writing liner notes for a 2005 CD compilation and providing voiceover (off-camera) commentary for a 2003 A&E Biography documentary about Williams. Interest in her music has resurged in recent years following several CD releases, inclusion of her songs on television and film soundtracks, and expressions of admiration by several young performers. Her musical legacy is rarely referenced, however, without allusion to the events that took her out of the public eye.Marriages
- Ron Austin (1 June 1985–present)
- Andy WilliamsAndy WilliamsHoward Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
(1961–1975) (divorced), three children — daughter Noelle Williams and sons Christian Williams and Bobby Williams, who was named for Robert F. Kennedy.
Pop culture references
- Season 1, Episode 12 (18 January 2001) of Gilmore GirlsGilmore GirlsGilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
features Longet. They play Longet's version of the song "God Only KnowsGod Only Knows"God Only Knows" is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys. It is the eighth track on the group's 11th studio album, Pet Sounds , and one of their most widely recognized songs. "God Only Knows" was composed and produced by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Tony Asher and lead vocal by Carl...
" (composed by Brian WilsonBrian WilsonBrian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
and Tony AsherTony AsherTony Asher is an American lyricist who co-wrote much of The Beach Boys 1966 album Pet Sounds in conjunction with front man Brian Wilson, including such classic songs as "God Only Knows" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice"...
). Season 5, Episode 22 (15 May 2005 season finale) of the show features Longet's recording of "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" (composed by Randy NewmanRandy NewmanRandall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
, who played piano at the session).
- Season 1, Episode 18 of Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
featured a skit titled "The Claudine Longet Invitational," which parodied the shooting incident, showing skiers making runs down the slopes until they are "accidentally" shot by Claudine Longet, resulting in abrupt wipeouts. Longet's attorneys wrote a cease-and-desist letter to Lorne MichaelsLorne MichaelsLorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
and an apology was given in the next week's show.
- Mick Jagger wrote a song about the murder of Spider Sabich in 1980 that was intended to be on the Rolling Stones album Emotional RescueEmotional RescueEmotional Rescue is the 15th British and 17th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1980. Upon release, the album topped the charts in both the US and UK.-History:...
. The song, titled "Claudine," carried lyrics that painted a graphic picture of some of the more salacious aspects of the affair and killing. However, it was deemed too controversial and it was removed. It was included on several bootleg Rolling Stones albums. In November 2011, the track "Claudine" was released on the Rolling Stones' deluxe reissue of their album "Some Girls."
U.S. albums
| Year | Title | Label & No. | Billboard Top LPs Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... chart peak position |
Cash Box Top Pop Albums chart peak position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | The Wonderful World of Andy Williams | Columbia CL 2137/ CS 8937 | #9 | #8 | Andy Williams' album; Claudine appears only on "Let It Be Me" ("Je t'Appartiens") (duet with Andy Williams Andy Williams Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,... ); RIAA-certified gold album |
| 1967 | Claudine Claudine (Claudine Longet album) Claudine was Claudine Longet's debut LP album. It was her first serious attempt to start a music career after she had appeared on a number of variety shows and released the single Meditation in 1966. Longet's records were part of the effort of Herb Alpert's A&M Records to expand the label's... |
A&M SP 4121 | #11 | #9 | RIAA-certified gold album |
| 1967 | The Look of Love The Look of Love (Claudine Longet album) The Look of Love was Claudine Longet's second LP album. The sessions were arranged by Nick De Caro and engineered by Bruce Botnick. In the U.S., The Look of Love reached # 33 on the Billboard pop albums chart.-Track listing:... |
A&M SP 4129 | #33 | #23 | |
| 1968 | Love is Blue | A&M SP 4142 | #29 | #31 | |
| 1968 | Colours | A&M SP 4163 | #155 | #80 | |
| 1970 | Run Wild, Run Free Run Wild, Run Free Run Wild, Run Free is a 1969 film directed by Richard C. Sarafian. The film was written by David Rook, based on his novel The White Colt. The film was shot on location in Dartmoor, Devon, England.-Plot:... |
A&M SP 4232 | |||
| 1971 | We've Only Just Begun | Barnaby/ CBS Z 30377 | |||
| 1972 | Let's Spend the Night Together | Barnaby/ MGM BR-15001 | |||
| 1975 | The Little Prince | Warner Brothers | Spoken word children's album with music score | ||
| 2000 | The Very Best of Claudine Longet | Varèse Vintage 302 066 118 2 | Compilation | ||
Notable foreign albums
| Year | Title | Label & No. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Sugar Me | Vivid M131538 | Japanese issue (includes singles and previously unreleased Barnaby recordings) |
| 1998 | A&M Digitally Remastered Best | A&M/ Polydor POCM-1573 | Japanese issue (compilation of key A&M recordings and a few hard-to-find singles) |
| 2003 | Cuddle Up with Claudine Longet | Munster 002 | Spanish issue (2-disc compilation of Barnaby recordings) |
| 2003 | The Party (Original Soundtrack) | BMG France RCA Victor Gold Series 82876524862 | French reissue of 1968 motion picture soundtrack (RCA Victor LSP-3997) (includes Longet's 45 rpm single version of "Nothing to Lose" as a bonus track) |
| 2005 | Hello Hello: The Best of Claudine Longet | Rev-Ola CR REV 119 | British issue (compilation of key recordings for A&M Records) |
Charting U.S. singles
| Year | Single | Billboard Chart Positions | Label & No. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. AC | Christmas | |||
| 1966 | "Meditation" ("Meditação") / "Sunrise, Sunset" | 98/- | -/- | -/- | A&M 817 |
| 1967 | "A Man and a Woman" ("Un homme et une femme") / "Here, There and Everywhere Here, There and Everywhere "Here, There and Everywhere" is a song written primarily by Paul McCartney , recorded for The Beatles 1966 album Revolver. In his biography Many Years From Now, McCartney said the song is one of his favourites. Beatles' producer George Martin has also mentioned it as one of his favourite McCartney... " |
-/126 | -/19 | -/- | A&M 832 |
| 1967 | "Hello, Hello" / "Wanderlove" | 91/- | 8/- | -/- | A&M 846 |
| 1967 | "Good Day Sunshine Good Day Sunshine "Good Day Sunshine" is a song by The Beatles on the 1966 album Revolver. It was written mainly by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Leonard Bernstein praised the song for its construction in a 1967 CBS News documentary... " / "The Look of Love The Look of Love (1967 song) "The Look of Love" is a popular song composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and sung by Dusty Springfield, which appeared in the 1967 spoof James Bond film Casino Royale.-Songwriters:... " |
100/- | 36/- | -/- | A&M 864 |
| 1967 | "Small Talk" / "Man in a Raincoat" | -/- | 12/- | -/- | A&M 877 |
| 1967 | "I Don't Intend to Spend Christmas Without You" / "Snow" | -/- | -/- | -/30 | A&M 895 |
| 1968 | "Love is Blue" / "Think of Rain" | 71/- | 28/- | -/- | A&M 909 |
| 1968 | "Nothing to Lose" / "White Horses" | -/- | -/30 | -/- | A&M 936 |
| 1968 | "Who Needs You" / "Walk in the Park" (with Tommy LiPuma Tommy LiPuma Tommy LiPuma is an American music producer. In his long career, he has worked with many musicians, including Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Natalie Cole, Claudine Longet, Dave Mason, the Yellowjackets, Michael Franks, Diana Krall, and The Story... ) |
-/- | -/23 | -/- | A&M 967 |
| 1968 | "Am I Blue? Am I Blue? "Am I Blue?" is a song written by Harry Akst and Grant Clarke in 1929, and was a big hit that year for Ethel Waters. It has become a standard and has been covered by numerous artists.-Other versions:... " / "A Flea in Her Ear" |
-/- | -/28 | -/- | A&M 1002 |
| 1969 | "Hurry on Down" / "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today" | -/- | 30/- | -/- | A&M 1024 |