In March 1976, the USA’s most famous skier, Spider Sabich, was shot and killed in Aspen, CO, by his singer/actress girlfriend, Claudine Longet. Cocaine was found in her bloodstream. Spider’s blood was found on his bathroom floor, and he died in the ambulance en route to the hospital. Claudine got away with a $250 fine. This still ranks as the single biggest scandal in skiing history, and almost none of us have heard of it.
Not many people talk about Spider Sabich anymore, but in the 1970s, his name was ubiquitous in the ski world. Sabich was one of the most well know American ski racers in the late 60s and early 70s. His story told of soaring success and horrific tragedy. Even Robert Redford’s character in “Downhill Racer” is allegedly based on Spider Sabich’s life.
Spider grew up skiing at Edelweiss ski area in Kyburz, California, near modern-day Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort. He torched the ski racing competition in high school and was taken on a scholarship to ski with Billy Kid at Colorado University in Boulder.
In 1968, Spider made the Olympics and placed 5th in the slalom event. He was blue-eyed, blond-haired, good-looking, skilled with the ladies, and the most famous skier in America at the time. He was on top of the world.
“He was so charming and very sexy. It was the same type of charisma you see in movie stars.” longtime friend Dede Brinkman/Sacramento Bee.
Spider moved to Aspen and joined the USA’s Professional Ski Racing Tour in 1970 and dominated it. His star only grew brighter.
“Spider was a babe magnet. Just catching his overflow was fine with me.”
– Spider’s brother Steve
Spider began participating in celebrity ski racing events in the 70s designed to drum up support and fans for the US Pro Tour that he was on.
In 1972, Spider met Claudine Longet, singer and Hollywood starlet, at a celebrity ski race in Bear Valley, California. They felt an intense mutual attraction and immediately became an item. He was 31, and she was 34. Spider was the top racer on the US tour (reportedly earning around $200,000 a year from winnings and endorsements). She was a well-known French actress and singer (likely most famous for her marriage and subsequent divorce to Andy Williams). They became the Aspen celebrity couple.
Spider invited Claudine and her three kids to move in with him in Aspen in 1973. Spider had been living as an unruly, partying bachelor and his new life with Claudine and her children was a major change. After Claudine and the kids came, his wild days were abruptly ended. Naturally, there were conflicts between the two.
Once, she threw a glass of wine at Spider’s head at a nightclub when he wasn’t giving her enough attention. She forbade him from attending the ‘Best Breast’ bash in Aspen (the 70s were different). Alcohol, cocaine, and other drugs regularly flowed through Claudine and Spider’s veins. The power couple was weakening.
“Spider smoke, drank and did whatever all of us did. Let’s not forget, those were the ’60s and ’70s.”
– brother Steve Sabich
The drugs, fame, and tension between Spider and Claudine were reaching a new high in 1976.
On March 21st, 1976, Spider came home from skiing at Aspen. He stripped down to his thermal underwear and went into the bathroom for a shower. Claudine Longet walked into the bathroom with an imitation WWII model Luger pistol and shot him in the stomach.
Sabich died slowly. His life-blood left pouring on the bathroom floor. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Longet claimed it was an accident. She claimed that she was showing the gun to him when it went off. She informed detectives that their relationship was under no duress.
The trial was front-page news. The town of Aspen was in upheaval.
Hunter S. Thompson, who lived in Aspen at that time, said the trial was “like fouling your own nest.”
Four days of testimony led to the jury taking only four hours to return a verdict. The sought-after charge of felony reckless manslaughter was traded in for a conviction of misdemeanor criminally negligent homicide.
Claudine Longet was given a fine of $250 and thirty days in country jail to be served “at a time of her choosing.” She took years to serve the sentence and did it mostly on weekends.
The Spider Sabich tragedy struck the world heavily. Few believed Longet’s story. The media went wild. Even Saturday Night Live & the Rolling Stones reacted with skits and songs. SNL had a skit with Chevy Chase called the “Claudine Longet Invitational Ski Shoot.” The Stones delayed their release of “Emotional Rescue” in 1980 while lawyers got them to cut a song with these lyrics:
“Oh, Claudine/Now only Spider knows for sure/But he ain‘t talkin‘ about it any more/Is he, Claudine?/There‘s blood in the chalet/And blood in the snow/She washed her hands of the whole damn show/The best thing you could do, Claudine.”
The scandal was worldwide, not just ski-worldwide. The world mourned the loss of one of its last international ski stars during skiing’s unrivaled heyday. People couldn’t understand how Claudine Longet could have possibly gotten away with murdering their California Golden Boy, Spider Sabich.
Oh what a lucky man. . . he was – ELP
Lucky men are well just damn lucky until they push it too far.
There is no mention of ballistics evidence which is crucial evidence
the rich live in their own world and at best the rest of us are just the backdrop.
If you watch the Peter Sellers film in which she appeared,
You will see that played guitar and sang tunefully. She was also very beautiful. This is not a newly revealed story
but has always been available on web sites.
I think the story is about cocaine and the party lifestyle. As Claudine was the mother of Andy William’s children,I expect he paid the damages to the dead skier’s family.All very tragic and terrible. Personally , for what it’s worth, they had been taking drugs and partying and it seems to have been a dreadful accident. Excellent lawyer to have not only got her off but also married her !
Any man in a married or gf relationship takes the risk woman lying next to him may start shooting or slashing him to death while he sleeps. Happens all the time. Especially today when courts favor woman versus the single white male. I sleep very soundly and alone.
…Claudine Longet was a horrible, dreadful singer and a lousy actress. She murdered that young man and totally got away with it. Luckily, her career was over as a result. That, however, doesn’t make up for the incredible, painful loss suffered by the Sabich family.
The gun had a defect in it and that had a bearing on this case. Look it up.
Has anyone seen Claudine Longet recently? I’m curious to know what she looks like now. Does she still live in Aspen?
But guess what happened “after” to her convertible while she was parked in Aspen ? Most in Aspen hated her!
I ‘met’ Andy in Vegas–he was a good singer but a jerk.
She Threaten to Play . Andy Williams Albums
Cocaine is a a Helluva drug.
I was a close friend of Peter Brinkmans and Spider partied with Peter and I and others, he was a good guy. Claudine was older than Spider, had kids and he wasn’t about to settle down with her. She was hot-headed and got by with murder, a sadness and I will never forget the unjustice to Spider over that.
I remember when this happened! Andy Williams – America’s Mr. Nice Guy – her ex came to her rescue. I would imagine because his three kids were also living with Spider. Tragic Spider and those kids.
The whole Longet trial was pure farce, with Andy Williams there every day, and Jack Nicholson sitting on the front row, who really knows why the jury believed her, did money talk? We’ll never know as Andy is gone and probably the only one who really knows.
I met Spider at Heavenly Valley long before the murder, I was a close friend of Peter Brinkman, who was a friend of Spider’s, we had some fun times partying and skiing times. I was shocked at Spider’s untimely death but not surprised at all at the verdict, sad, Spider’s unjustice will never be forgotten. I’ve often thought about Spider and know he would have still made stats with his skiing if he had been allowed to stay around the circut. RIP, SS. You won’t be forgotten!!
So she was showing him a gun? …. so she Showing a gun To his Back while he’s making his way into the shower, yes oh ok
I was 22 at the time, i remeber this well. One of the pics posted here are in snowmass…which i skied the first day open!! Everybody wanted to be Spider!! When i moved to the vally in 81 i got several duis and along with it driving under suspension tickets!! Got an Aspen lawyer and may,82 everything dismissed!! 5 days in pitkin county jail but i sid it over 3 friday nights and each friday covered 2 days of sentence!!! They even offered lol which i took a saturday morning 545am wakeup call. My gf their at 600am to pick me up!! Good for two days of sentence. My communiry service i did with carbondale fire dept!! If youre going to get in trouble….Aspen was the place to do it!!!
As a young skier he was one of my heroes and his untimely death haunts me to this day.
I was actually in Bear Valley the weekend of that celebrity ski race when he met Claudine Longet. I got an autograph from Billy Kidd and rode a chairlift with Jill St. John. I would have been 14 years old. What an amazing talent. Sadly, all the kids in that family seemed to come to tragically young endings.
I wish I could have met him but more importantly I wish he hadn’t died so young.
Wow! Great read! I had never heard of this!
Has anyone seen Claudine Longet recently? I’m curious to know what she looks like now. Does she still live in Aspen?
Claudine Longet took off for a Mexican getaway with her Aspen lawyer, Ron Austin, who left his wife and family to be with her and were married in 1985 and still live in Aspen today
The Saturday Night Live skit featured Chevy Chase and Jane Curtain. Curtain’s character was named Jessica Antlerdance. Try to say Antlerdance without smiling.
I remember that sketch. “Oh no..looks like Claudine Longet has accidentally shot downhill racer ( fake name), that’s just too bad ” repeated 4 or 5 times. It’s no wonder SNL has to keep apologizing for their idiotic “Humor”, even back in ’76-’77.
Who laughed at Gilda Radner’s “Mr. Goodbar Sleepytime playset” skit? Mr. Goodbar movie & murder, was based on a real NY murder of a school teacher in ’73. Funny stuff, eh? Nothing against Gilda (RIP) except very poor judgement.
Their latest apology in 2018, was because some dumb hipster with grey/purple hair thought that a veteran & congressman who lost his eye in war & wears an eye patch, was quote: “Funny looking”
Point being, don’t get your “News” from actors, any actors, as. they are song & dance people, generally with only a high school education if that.
I don’t have an opinion either way about what happened during Claudine and Spider’s last moments together. I wasn’t there and don’t think anyone else was either. I do know a couple of Claudine and Andy’s kids and feel sorry that they might be reading this. It seems that many of you were very close to the situation at the time (and hence there must have been many more), and even closer to Spider; what confuses me is, if it was so obvious that there was tension between the two, and the relationship was disintegrating, why weren’t there dozens of people testifying to this fact, or were there?
Dave, your generalization about women “as they start getting older” is unpleasant to say the least.
I remember the case quite well. I was 15-years old at the time, and it was all over the news. (Back in 1976, we had only 3 television channels.) It gave us a taste of what was to come with other high-profile murders, such as JonBenet Ramsey and Nicole Brown Simpson. I remember being touched to see Claudine’s ex-husband, Andy Williams, by her side every day, the couple holding hands as they entered the courtroom. (Of course, I had watched the Andy Williams Christmas specials every year, where Claudine was prominently featured.) I don’t remember if I felt Claudine was guilty of the murder back then, but based on what I have learned since then, I definitely think she killed him in a rage and got away with murder. What angers me is she apparently testified that there were no problems between them and that they loved each other very much. That was a blatant lie, but one she knew she would get away with because her diary had been ruled inadmissible in court. I know the prosecutors couldn’t introduce the diary or the gun because of mistakes the police made, but I think they should have tried to prove that she murdered him in a rage. They could have called witnesses that would have testified that Spider tried to get her to move out several times, before giving her a strict deadline. It was no coincidence that she killed him within weeks of that deadline.
My take on the Andy-Claudine was that is was cooked up by hew lawyer as sympathy. She later married the damn lawyer!!
Her blood test, which obviously showed positive for alcohol and a bunch of cocaine, was also ruled inadmissible. I saw her and a mutual friend of mine doing lines in the bathroom at Little Nells the night of the murder and the booze was flowing too. I was at the next table and there were many “bathroom breaks.” This is NOT a made-up story. I remember it very well because someone stole my expensive down-filled leather mittens that were clipped to my ski parka that was on my barstool! When my roommate told me the next morning what had happened I was shocked to the core, but amazingly not surprised.
AND one of my life’s biggest regrets was moving back to the Virgin Islands very shortly after the murder. I wish I had stayed to testify.
Sandy ~ sounds like cognitive dissonance on your part. It’s obviously not easy for you to understand or comprehend the actual circumstances that occurred based on the fact that you have no basis in fact for your unfounded comments.
Get a LIFE!!
Wow! Clare D., how dare you spread such vicious gossip! As a member of Spider’s extended family, I am furious that you would repeat such unfounded nonsense! Shame on you!
An acquaintance, who was a neighbor of Spider and Claudine, knew them well. What could not come out at the time, for obvious reasons, was that Claudine came home earlier than expected from an out-of-town trip. She caught Spider doing her daughter and as a mom, could not believe what she was seeing. I think if I caught my boyfriend having sex w/my young daughter, I possibly would have had the same reaction. Her daughter was either 13 or 14 at the time. It would be called ‘statutory rape’ if Spider had gone to trial, but to drag a young girl into such proceedings would be further trauma having been raped by him. I don’t think you could call it ‘consensual sex’ being that she was a minor and possibly under the influence of drugs/alcohol in order to have her be ‘compliant.’ I, too, would have lost it on him. This scumbag ‘ladies man’, as if that was legit, take advantage of a young girl, is akin to what Bill Cosby has been getting away w/for yrs, until recently. These two d-bags were cut from the same cloth…gag!
Clare- you and your acquaintance’s story about Spider’s death are totally fabricated nonsense…..the truth is much sadder than your concoction.
Sandy
Sandy ~ sounds like cognitive dissonance on your part. It’s obviously not easy for you to understand or comprehend the actual circumstances that occurred based on the fact that you have no basis in fact for your unfounded comments.
Sounds intriguing…except that nothing I have read or heard about this case talks about her coming home from an out-of-town trip, unless the bar she visited before coming home and shooting Spider was way far away. Your story, even if told to you by an acquaintance who was a neighbor of Spider’s and Claudine’s, could be a load of gossip.
You’re delirious.
Claire- I’ve seen first hand what women, as they start getting older and losing their boyfriends, will stoop to. This is exactly that kind of thing. Claudine in her coked up rege thought this story might help her cause. Truth is, Spider wanted her gone for some time, and she continued using the kids as a means to stay close. He gave her an ultimatum he’d been wrestling with, so she shot him dead- Sadly, that’s the truth. She’s a murderer- End of story.
Your acquaintance is out of her mind and you are nuts for believing her!! Noelle was 12.
Sure Claudine, sure. Is this the best your lawyer husband could come up with for you to post?
Then why was claudine still stubbornly insistent on refusing to move from his home if she caught her daughter being raped by Spider? The relationship was clearly over, but she refused to face reality and move on, and now allegedly she caught her ex-boyfriend sexually assaulting her little girl, yet she remained?! What kind of mother is she?
My Uncle was in 2 Cosby, Poitier films, saw him regularly at the Playboy mansion & Pips, a private club owned by Hugh Hefner, Lucille Ball was there playing backgammon almost daily , I lived with my Uncle for 3 years 1976 to 1979 and was around him often thereafter and met some very interesting people, very rich, famous, lotsa coke and Quaaludes, dextroamphetamine pills, weed, everyone did Quaaludes, I had a buddy in High School (University High W LA) that had a Quaalude pillow, it even said RORER 714 on it which is what the ludes said. I never heard or saw anyone ever “slipped” a lude, they are huge! about like swallowing 2 marbles and it would take 3 or 4 to knock you out cold but thats near death too!
I know with that many girls he was using his fame and promising things and apparently crushed them and they added up .
Even character actor’s have women stalking them, one night my Uncle and I went to Westwood to see The Betsy, when we came out there were two girls sitting in his Rolls Royce Corniche convertible and took them to his home in Coldwater canyon, this is very intoxicating for someone who has never been to Beverly Hills besides drive through it, Bill Cosby as you can imagine is hilarious if he wants to be, he can keep the place rolling all night long, to think he needed to rape women, especially ones that looked like them is hard to fathom
No Claudine was skiing all day and partying at Little Nell’s afterwards. I was at the next table.
I think it was a tragic accident. cant believe a girl makings such lovely songs could do this…
She was a drug addict!! Drug addicts do stupid shit!! Just ask the millions of young black men without means for adequate legal representation which would send them to rehab instead of prison.
She may of Threaten to Play Andy Williams Songs non Stop So they said Frigg it let her go
Andy’s legal goons overwhelmed the local D.A.. Justice is for the rich, don’t ya know?
To this day, especially since I’m a bit of a scoundrel myself, I think of Spider and that terrible tradgedy.
Remember guys: It’s always a dame.
Claudine and Andy were friends of Robert Kennedy….. this is an important piece of information, you understand me, right?
I met Spider 2 weeks before he was killed. He visited the ski shop where I was working part time as a ski technician in Calgary, Alberta during a promotion tour for K2 skis. Almost immediately after arriving at the shop, he came to the back area of the shop where we worked on the skis and introduced himself to us. Quite amazing for him to take the time to come and visit the grunts in the back! I still have 2 of his Demetre Spider style sweaters from that era. We were collectively shocked and saddened two weeks later when the news broke about his shooting.
Terry, that’s a very cool story. Interesting to hear how he was in real life. Thanks a ton for sharing.
Hello there ski friends ! I am in the market for a XL or mens tall vintage Demetre Spider Sabich sweater , red and yellow and navy , or navy red and white ! must be in super nice condition ! I out grew my sweater and need a larger one ! photos and price and availability ! . Thanks Eric Westman.
today the outcome would have been different
I don’t know if it would have been different. Celebrity and money is a heady combination, one that usually doesn’t allow a famous person to be convicted of their crimes. Just look what happened with OJ Simpson and Robert Blake, both of whom were, in my opinion, guilty as sin in those murders.
Don’t forget the criminality of the Clinton’s and the massive cover up of their many crimes, which are obvious for anyone to see.
I was really close to the situation as I lived in Aspen at the time and was acquainted with both of them. Claudine was very heavy cocaine user and I was at Little Nell’s the night of the murder and saw her in the bathroom a few times doing lines. Spider and I “speed-dated” a few times when he was crashing at a friends house and he was definitely trying to get her out, but he knew it would be hard for the kids–Spider had a big heart like that. I got a free mogul shredding class from him! I left Aspen before the trial and I wish I hadn’t as I most definitely testified for the prosecution–one of my life’s huge regrets. I idolized Claudine Longet when I was a teen. I was cocktail waitressing at Andre’s, a hugely popular bar, and she preferred to go to the bar to get drinks for her table because she wanted to flirt with the cute bartender. Crappy thing to do to someone whose income depended on tips!! And Clare D you are absolutely nuts!! Spider loved those kids–Noelle was 12 at the time.
Oh, FFS! Mr Steed! Get over it!!
Dont forget the orange man n office USA an the many crimes that are now being exposed
Enough already. This has nothing to do with our President!!
Only in your brainwashed fantasy world.
More crimes than the orange joke who’s our so-called “president” now? I don’t think so. BTW: it should be “Clintons,” no apostrophe for plural.
Oh fuck off!
I met Spider at the Son of K2 racing camp at Crystal Mt. Washington in June 1972
He was a guest coach and I did make a run alone with him while he gave me advice, really nice guy.
Claudine was also at the camp and saw them together all the time at the pool after skiing.
One interesting thing is that we were all given a certificate at the end of the camp and I have both their signatures on the back.
Who would have known what would happen.
I am writing from Switzerland, being a collector of autographs of skiers who won a World Cup race and guess what – the most wanted signature is the one of Spider Sabich. You eventually might be of help to complete my collection? Looking forward to your reply. Appreciating.
i met spider in Vail in Nov. ’71 as he was teaching a seminar to young racers–typical selflessness. I was in Colorado racing myself. His advice to the young racers was: don’t wait for the gate to come to you, attack the gate. Spot on! We spoke, he was very congenial and enthusased. I’ve read all the info on the case presented to the public, and it is clear: she was drugged up, angry, and shot him at a distance of 6 feet or so. out of anger and humiliation at being ejected from his life. The Mayberry Cops screwed up the evidence, and created enough doubt to let her slime out with the lesser felony. But make no mistake, forensic shortcomings aside, she killed him in rage: at least second degree murder.
But make no mistake, forensic shortcomings aside, she killed him in rage: at least second degree murder.
You were there when the gun went off? Why weren’t you called as a witness?
Oh? And you seem to be the expert Edie
I am writing from Switzerland, being a collector of autographs of skiers who won a World Cup race and guess what – the most wanted signature is the one of Spider Sabich. You eventually might be of help to complete my collection? Looking forward to your reply. Appreciating.
Andy and Barney would have done a much better job than you insinuate.
I remember this all happening at the time, and when the ex-Mrs. Williams got off easy, it warranted no more than a shrug.
Big surprise.
Thanks to Velvetanne. Great infos. I bought K2 skis because of Spider, I also got a woolen sweater with the stripes like Spider. I live in Montreal, Canada. I went to a race on Mount-Royal, but Spider was not there, he was hurt. Could not believe when I heard the news. He had a great life, cut short. Thanks for the memories.
I lived in Aspen when this happened as a 23 yr old artist/cocktail slinger/ skier and ran with that crowd and YES their relationship was a mess because I partied with Spider a few times (if you know what I mean.) I was young, full of life, and very cute. His murder was devastating. I left Aspen before the trial and regret not being a witness for the prosecution. I moved to the Virgin Islands–as far away from snow as you can get. To this day I can’t bear to watch any kind of alpine skiing. Claudine should still be rotting in jail to this day as far as I’m concerned. I saw her in the bathroom of Little Nells that afternoon tooting it up and she was probably high as a kite when it happened, but we’re all responsible for our actions. Spider was a beautifu,l kind, if not a little reckless, person, but he didn’t deserve to die like that.
Deborah, I was there in Aspen at the time. I think I knew you. Did you work at Don Giovanni’s and live at Silver King?
Hi Jimmy,
Yep that’s me! Petite, dark , curly hair, cute as hell! Aspen was fun fun fun til it wasn’t and that was when Spider was murdered. Went back to live in the Virgin Islands. You?
Deborah,
WOW what are the chances? We hooked up in Jan ’76, 2 months prior to Spider’s death. I just turned 21 and you were a couple years older. You took me out to dinner, which was a first for me. We had a nice evening. You were new in town and I had been living in Aspen for a few years. I was into skiing and you were into having a good time. You talked about the Islands and how you were looking forward on returning. I lived in Aspen until the mid-eighties. I live in the Caribbean now myself although not near the Virgin Islands. It was such a long time ago although I remember you in detail.
Jimmy
Hey Jimmy,
I actually had been in Aspen for a few years if I was working at Don G’s. I did leave after Spi’s death because the whole town seemed to be in mourning and it was! I returned to the Virgin Islands and after doing a few art projects that allowed me to play on big fancy sailboats, I ended up working in the sailboat charter business and eventually earned a 30 ton ocean operator’s license and skippered one of those big fancy sailboats myself! Aspen sure spoiled me for skiing anywhere else, but the party never ends, does it? Better than being a suburban housewife!!!!!
Hi marky here i was there to i think i remember you .and i to ended up moving to florida.the partys just were no fun after that
She was a drug addict!!! Drug addicts do stupid stuff! Just ask the millions of them, mostly young black men, who are now locked up.
Eww. I wouldn’t be telling that story with any pride.
Jealous much?
No shit! Hottest guy in town, babe.
Ewww? Are you kidding? He was gorgeous, sweet, kind, and in an awful relationship with a jealous bitch. He hadn’t been home except to change clothes in weeks and was crashing with friends.
Never met you Debi/Deborah, but calling the girlfriend of a “gorgeous, sweet, kind” man you “partied with….(if you know what I mean,” and by that I assume you mean sleeping with, which means he was steppinng out if it’s true) a “jealous bitch” generally doesn’t come off as totally credible or honorable. I never met Claudine either so I won’t defend her blindly, but have met the kids (and grandkids) who are very nice. What do you gain now by blasting their mother/grandmother?
I grew up in Pollock Pines down the road from Kyburz, and when you were out sking and saw him we were all amazed by his skill. He was a great guy, lots of fun and always nice to everyone. It was very sad when he died and I hope no one ever forgets him.
Judy
I am writing from Switzerland, being a collector of autographs of skiers who won a World Cup race and guess what – the most wanted signature is the one of Spider Sabich. You eventually might be of help to complete my collection? Looking forward to your reply. Appreciating.
I remember this well and have researched it a lot since. He had tried everyway possible to get her to move out – the children lived there and that was a problem or else he would have just forced her out. He told his friends it was over but she just wouldn’t move out. He gave her a deadline. He was getting dressed to fly out and have a date with someone else since he had given her the deadline to move. She evidently found out, was coked up and went beserk flying thru security gates to the house. The gun was hidden in the house. His father was a state trooper and he was a hunter – he would have never shown her how to handle a gun inside a house – she knew exactly where it was and went to it and shot him from the side/back as he was shaving. The local sheriffs weren’t used to a murder – they screwed up things – there was a diary of Claudine’s that outlined how obsessed she was with him. It was thrown out as evidence. She had the money, the name, the power, Andy Williams and a dream legal team. Two sides???? One person is dead and she still lives in Aspen – a long life – – she murdered him when she was coked up out of jealousy. There is plenty online – an A&E story too. 99% of Apsen was behind him.
Good comment! Thanks for sharing.
I’ve done a bit of research myself this afternoon and, interestingly, Bob Beattie, Sabich’s coach and best friend, who was with him shortly before he died, is on the record as saying that he doesn’t think it was a crime of passion – he thinks it was an accident. He certainly knew the victim and Longet better than anyone posting here.
Longet’s lawyer in his summary at the end of the trial said: “If there’ s any evil in this town, it was the evil of the gossip about the relationship between Spider and Claudine…Not one single loud-mouthed gossip was able to come here and tell you anything bad about this relationship. For that, there should be some shame in this community.” Ditto on this page.
Is that the lawyer she married after breaking up his marriage?
Complete BS- Beattie had no idea what was going on inside Spider’s house and he wanted it kept private.
I was there to .we knew she shot him and why .you are on tract with your thinking .but lucky for her .her lawyer slash pimp got her off.and i lived there…………..
You’re absolutely correct.
Wow ,
You remrmber alot…
It always sounded like Coke fuled Jealousy . back than .
Sticking his Charms in her face was a dumb move. He was in Grave Danger … Spider seemed to be blind to even notice her rage … and that is Heartbreaking. ….But that’s coke.
Why couldn’t Spider sense DANGER in air that nite?
Sipder had plenty of warning to not go back home. A Hotel maybe ? ….
She was bound to go of seeing him. …. & she did.
Surprised more people didn’t Die in the coke days … that & arrogant youth are a bad combo.
Seems like Andy Willams needed to end his name connected to that mess ..
….
Money & Dream Team ended Press as soon as possible – but Claudine dragging out 30 Days in the can must of kept wounds fresh …
… she took took over a yr for 30 days? … thats arrogance …
Murder will NEVER end for her. It’s like perefect storm affecting many for all their lives.
.. did she really ask for her cell to be painted pink?
Poor Kids – Bad Dreams for Life.
I moved to Aspen a year after the murder and heard this limerick:
There once was a girl named Longet
Who came to Aspen to play
A fellow named Spider
Sat down beside her
And she blew the poor bastard away.
RIP Spider.
Wow!
Poetry at it’s finest
Correct me if I’m wrong here, no claims of perfect memory, but the context of the story is a little different if you understand that Pro ski racing was (and is) a faint weak wisp of a shadow of WC racing, with mostly poorly disciplined and over the hill old racers, all past their prime or never had one. The scene as I recall it was a pathetic joke, as far as athletic excellence and sportsman’s character. Not to disrespect his memory, but I do not believe Spider was ever “greatest” anything, but very cute maybe.
I was fortunate to have befriended Spider in the early 1970’s while I was an avid skier and also a member of the legendary rock band Salvation. We played every winter at the Hunter Village Inn at Hunter Mountain Ski Resort in New York state. Spider and I hit it off immediately. He loved music and I loved to ski. We were also both available bachelors. Spider was injured but came to Hunter Mountain for the Pro Circuit Ski Races to promote K2 skis. He had won that circuit several years before his injury. Spider never discussed his personal life with me. We just had a great time together having a few drinks and beating off the scores of beautiful women that were all over Spider. I was a popular rock singer and had my own herd of good looking women myself.
In 1976, a band fan asked me if I had heard what had happened to Spider? I had not heard about it and I was floored! I really missed Spider. My wife and I were just watching a movie about a Pro Ski Racer on TV and she encouraged me to look up Spider on the internet. He was a great guy!
Oh man, the Hunter Village Inn (HVI) back in the 70′ & 80’s! What a great place. Grew up just up the road. Spider was my first ski hero when I was racing, Franz Klammer was my second. Spider was incredible. Loved watching him on racing on Eisenhauer at Hunter Mt when the B&H tour came to town. To this day I despise Claudine Longet.
Well that was a cheap shot!
you should do a story next on this guy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciro_Mancuso
Sad story. Sounds like he still had some good skiing left in him.
Feels a bit biased. I’d be curious to hear more about Claudine’s side.
The “facts” as stated here vary greatly from the story told in the 1970’s. She said he was cleaning the gun at the time it “went off””.
No she didn’t. She said he was explaining to her how to use the gun and it went off. I believe it was an accident. Spider was Aspens golden boy and could do no wrong. Drugs, women, booze. Of co use, they blamed Claudine- an outsider. She was and is a very sweet and beautiful woman. I wish her the best.
While he was buck naked and shaving? And she was totally coked up? I don’t think so!
She’s a lying murdering scumbag that killed my friend. I also knew him and he was the greatest guy. She was wacked out because he wanted her out of the house and he was going out- End of story. She got away with murder.
the rich alway find a loophole
And I remember she requested to paint her cell pink! And they let her!!!!!!
Who cleans a gun in a bathroom while naked and with shaving cream on his face and a drug addled ex-girlfriend in the same bathroom? Least of all gives a gun safety lesson?Especially a guy who was schooled in gun safety by his California State Trooper father?
His father, also Vlad Sabich, was on the California Highway Patrol along with my father. Spider was 5 years older than me so we didn’t go to El Dorado High School at the same time. But I felt like I knew him and was saddened by his untimely death at her hands. -Acts 24:15
yes it was psychotic reaction, she should of plead temporary insanity from the jet set side of living
INtense
Skiing needs stuff like this to get back into the limelight. just without the death and murder. drugs mney and fame is ok.
shock and awe. I wonder if she did do it. maybe it really was an accident?
Oh, she did it. In fact I’m living in the same place as she is. Good thing they never had kids. I agree , he is somewhat good-looking, but obviously full of himself. Was he competent at anything else ? Kind of looks like the type who would go after some unsuspecting rich woman for her money.
He made over $200,00 a year, he didn’t need her money.
She didn’t need his money either.
You don’t know what you are talking about regarding Spider Sabich. I know, I was his roommate, classmate, and teammate at the University of Colorado.
I also, unfortunately, met Claudine and she was a combo bitch, Hollywood wannabe, and gold digger
Spider was always just being his honest friendly self and he was the one who was totally taken advantage of in the worst possible way
That bitch got away with murder.
I totally agree. I knew Spider during the winter of 1973-74. I had the honor of skiing in his weekly racing clinic on Wednesdays at Snowmass. He was a great guy and I’m proud to have known him.
Claudine taught OJ how to get off with murder. They became best penpals!?
I am writing from Switzerland, being a collector of autographs of skiers who won a World Cup race and guess what – the most wanted signature is the one of Spider Sabich. You eventually might be of help to complete my collection?
Looking forward to your reply. Appreciating.
As I age I still occasionally feel sorry for myself for still being single, and then I get reminders like this that there are worse things in life than solitude. Rudyard Kipling warned his colonial Indian army mates about the female being the “deadlier of the species,” perhaps to remind them not to abuse “the weaker sex.”
Some speculate that women are more casual about taking life because they can create it, but Spider should have walked away from her after that first thrown glass.
Why didn’t he? She was older than he was and probably knew he could get most any woman he wanted. Knowledge of our vulnerability is the root of much jealous rage. In every relationship there is one who loves, and one who allows themselves to be loved. Some people can accept that and others can’t.
Often relationships we enter are like an untracked snowfield. They look like powder, and we think all we have to do is stand square and float, but it turns out they’re breakable crust, and we have to turn’em under the surface and break it with our shins. Sometimes the senseless loss of a friend is best accepted as a reminder to cherish the ones we have left. Peace be with you, Sandy.
Let’s not go off the deep end blaming all women for one woman’s act and using the draconian “the female being the deadlier of the species” mindset. Here in Canada a woman/girl is killed by a male every 2.5 days and we’re known as a nice, polite country and don’t have the NRA and that shoot ’em up mindset.
Well said Sandy. I never met him personally, but heard the same from many reliable sources. Claudine is a spoiled screwball even the carpool sacked. He gives her and her three kids a prime Chalet accomodation and she gave him the s$&t when he realised what an unhinged wet blanket she was and about to unhitch his pony. It was a travesty with Baudis the only sweet note in the entire affair. The Claudine Longet invitational lol. Oh Saturday night live apologised all right but heard Chevy said “sorry” …. then under his breath “it wasn’t longer so the barrel could overheat and breach fire one in the chamber.”
Shooting a good guy in the pancreas and “just pop into the prison anytime you like” when my entire life was ruined by the Crown Temple Legal extortion Franchise farce for driving without License. The established Order are the drugs. They are the hammer and the anvil ! Just like the British Crown has always been. Even the Witch Covens were the British aristocracy and what the “Order of the Garter” means! Hellfire clubs all of the land stealing nubile fondling hedonist control freak shites. Prohibition just keeps the prices up for them and the bent SOB proxies they get to make the blood money and rain on the party. But if your on their door list your can peel one off into a decent soul like Spider’s solar plexus and end his days for less than it costs to buy a mouth guard, then they have the temerity to label this Justice. Like their Freedom is work your entire life away while they steal a third of everything you make in a compound interest scam that has netted them 1/3 of the entire planet.
You all must get very serious fast because our leaders literal traitors. Read the “Lawyers Oath” paper regarding the legal travesty that was the 1938-39 Geneva convention where bloated bent politicians got you all into so much debt “you” all became the property of the British Ashkenazi Central bankers to throw on the Vietnam smack war.
You will never see integrity in leadership or much else, on this planet again. Look at those two kids on a late night walk in Arkansas blown away and laid on the tracks for accidentally walking into the head flatfoots/CIA Cocaine Operation.
The whole thing is Gangrenous and she’s got to come off!
Wait…what??
Kind of looks like?You are an idiot. Hope you never have to be a witness in a trial.
Julie is clueless and likely never got asked to Prom. Typical comments of a girl that never blossomed either, and doesn’t understand the dynamics of intimate relations with the oppose sex. Might as well have “man-hater” tattooed across her forehead.
> > >Yes – this was years ago, but her reckless comments chapped my ass!! < < <
Jelly belly, Julie!
I remember this. It was huge. Didn’t remember all the details. good write up
whoa. Never ever heard about this. crazy. my parents don’t tell me anything. amazing story.
He was my favorite ski racer. I had just started skiing when this unfortunate event happened. I wanted to be that kinda guy. Then he was gone. Things were different back then and she got away with murder. 30 days in jail and a $250.00 fine. Today they give you a $2000.00 fine and 10 days in jail for driving on a suppended license. WTF. I think her ex had some say so in that whole trial or some influence…. RIP
I agree with you – I was 17 in 1976 and like other girls had a mad crush on him! I kno I was both angry and sad when this happened. She got away with murder. IMO
Totally got away with it….OJ !