[27][15], Duke was cremated 24 hours after her death and her executor, Bernard Lafferty, scattered her ashes into the Pacific Ocean as her last will specified. . [8] Due to ambiguity in James Duke's will, a lawsuit was filed in 1927 to prevent auctions and outright sales of real estate he had owned; in effect, Doris Duke successfully sued her mother and other executors to prevent the sales. She was wearing a dark-blue turtleneck, old Levi's, cotton socks, and scruffy moccasins. ", Heffner wryly noted that Bernard Lafferty, accompanied by a bodyguard and chauffeur, had sat through her depositions wearing a five-carat-diamond earring, a diamond bracelet, and a diamond watch. The rest of the house was dark, which was odd. "She told me she was bored silly, and the palace was so froufrou. Lafferty served. [20] Duke Gardens were the center of a controversy[54] over the decision by the trustees of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to close them on May 25, 2008. For instance, the foundation sponsors performing arts competitions that award cash prizes to each person who performs and provide food to all who attend. . Ms. Heffner also strives to encourage the continued production of handicrafts, and ensures that there is a market for them by purchasing these products from their makers. The couple had a daughter, Arden, who was born prematurely on July 11, 1940, in Honolulu and died on the following day. Sometimes he acted as the butler, others as a general assistant. ", "Inventory of the Doris Duke Papers, 1798-2003 and undated (Duke University Libraries)", "Doris Duke's Shangri La: Architecture, Landscape, and Islamic Art | University of Michigan Museum of Art", "Our Founder | Doris Duke Charitable Foundation", "A Rare Look Inside Doris Duke's Shangri la Home in Hawaii", "Doris Duke's Storied Gardens Are No More", "Aimee de Heeren.com - one of the most glamorous Woman of the 20th century", "Did Billionaire Tobacco Heiress Doris Duke Get Away With Murder? I really don't know what the hell was going on, frankly. "[72] Subsequently, the foundations have sold some assets[73] and have closed Duke Gardens. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Her total net worth, including all property, was valued at $5.3 billion. That led to pneumonia and she couldn't eat and it was on and off, on and off, for months.". Nelson Seabra told me, "A very close friend of Doris's said that she committed suicide. ", Heffner denies that she had had any previous association with Imelda Marcos. Doris Duke died at her Falcon's Lair home on October 28, 1993, at the age of 80. Under Chandi Heffner's direction, the CDH International Fund has grown from a small group of volunteers working in the field to a large organization providing free medical care and other services to more than 80,000 human patients and 50,000 animals yearly. ", Rybak says that Lafferty got off to a good start at Duke Farms. Her Foundation intended that Duke Gardens "reveal the interests and philanthropic aspirations of the Duke family, as well as an appreciation for other cultures and a yearning for global understanding". "We concentrated on her leg-muscle group," he said. Newport police declared it an accident, and her friends still swear that it was. James Burns, 32, in a lawsuit filed Wednesday, claimed Chandi Gail Heffner Duke owes him half of the $66 million she was awarded after Duke die in 1988. As founder and president of the Chandi D. Heffner International Foundation (CDHIF) and its counterpart foundation in India (CDHIFI), Chandi Heffner has directed numerous projects to ease suffering and improve the condition of hundreds of thousands of people in India. Heffner also said that as next of kin she would have requested an autopsy, but she was never officially notified of Duke's death, and by the time she learned of the cremation, it was too late. Then someone new entered the small Doris Duke family: James Burns, a 25-year-old former Marine and martial-arts enthusiast with a notably "buff" physique. Reports this week snobbishly depict a man who "wormed" his way "upstairs" from his "downstairs" job, a "rogue with the champagne touch who was never destined for that way of living". Love. The balance is due Wednesday. Then [Franco and I] didn't see Doris anymore. He named both his private Pullman car and his 80-foot yacht after her, and surrounded her with bodyguards. Adam Smith followed a century later with direct consideration of the . [52] Her foundation, Independent Aid, became the Doris Duke Foundation, which still exists as a private grant-making entity. Before moving to Chandi's current city of New York, NY, Chandi lived in Kamuela HI and Kawaihae HI. About the time Bloom was fired, Duke also abruptly left Chemical Bank and replaced her estate lawyer, William Zabel, of Schulte Roth & Zabel, with William Doyle, of the Chicago firm of Katten Muchin & Zavis. While living in Hawaii, Duke became the first non-Hawaiian woman to take up competitive surfing under the tutelage of surfing champion and Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku and his brothers. And when I smacked my lips in ecstasy, I found that three or four bottles would be left off at my house the next day as a gesture. ", Thomas Rybak, who had been working as Doris Duke's chef for several months when Lafferty was hired in May 1987, at a salary of about $500 a week, paints a different picture. They would helicopter over to Somerville from their estate in Bedford, New York.". Relatives, Associates, Neighbors & Classmates. Today, his farm is part of Malabar Farm State Park, made possible by a donation from Duke that helped purchase the property after Bromfield's death. She was often called "the richest girl in the world". In 2014, sixty objects from her collection (including ceramics, textiles, paintings, tile panels, and full-scale architectural elements) were displayed temporarily at the University of Michigan Museum of Art in the exhibition "Doris Duke's Shangri La: Architecture, Landscape, and Islamic Art",[24] organized by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. When he died in a car crash in 1965, she took to her bed for two days. And, like Heffner, after following Duke from Duke Farms to Rough Point to Falcon's Lair to Shangri La for more than six years he was suddenly given a few hours to pack his bags and leave. "Bernard got out of the hospital. Virtually inseparable, the two women shuttled back and forth between Duke Farms, Duke's Newport estate "Rough Point" and her palatial Indo-Persian "Shangri-La" in the exclusive Diamond Head section of Oahu. In order to do so she released the parking brake and shifted into drive, but instead of putting her foot on the brake pedal she hit the gas. This whole thing is such a shock." On October 6, it was announced that Duke had made a donation of $1 million to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Duke also owned numerous shares in big-name companies, such as General Motors, and had a large financial team of bankers and accountants to manage her holdings. Meanwhile, Bernard said he wasn't feeling well and went back up to his room. . Miss Duke lives in a walled 2,700-acre estate in Hillsborough, and rarely attracted publicity in recent years until she posted bail for former Philippines first lady Imelda Marcos a week ago. At a 1990 lunch at Duke Farms for Lord Carrington, then chairman of Christie's, according to Oatsie Charles, "Chandi's attitude toward Doris was awfully offhand. So did Imelda. She also donated funds to support and educate black students in the South who were disadvantaged because of racism. LOS ANGELES (AP) _ An ex-Marine sued the adopted daughter of late tobacco heiress Doris Duke for $33 million in palimony, claiming he gave up three years of his life to encourage her friendship with Duke. Of course, they had a very attractive life. And I was surprised. She got right up like a trouper and fell right down again. They were initially awarded a larger sum that was subsequently reduced with the aid of Duke's lawyers. We'll have a great life together. She underwent a second knee surgery in July of that year. She had this terrible fear of fire." Because MyLife only collects this data and does not create it, we cannot fully guarantee its accuracy. Her mother was another story. And I didn't sense any antagonism between Chandi and Bernard." Medical services provided by Ms. Heffner's organization include tuberculosis . . There was a little alcove under the stairs, and the food would be nice but ordinary. I almost feel . The court also gave Doris title to the Fifth Avenue house, which she gave to New York University in 1957, and Rough Point, a huge Vanderbilt "cottage" in Newport. But no one in his circle believes he was ever able to enjoy the great turn in his fortunes. One time we were performing at an Arab party at this catering hall in Brooklyn called the Venetian Manor, and Doris and I were partners. Robinson described Miss Hefner, a native of Maryland, as an environmentalis t, preservationist and conservationist who spends her time doing things as a good citizen as Miss Duke does.. After Bloom was fired, Protas was told the loan was being reviewed. [41][42][43] They divorced in 1943. Guido Pagani - Co-Founder & CEO - Hivebound | LinkedIn Only one other trustee was named in the will, Marion Oates Charles, Duke's longtime summer neighbor in Newport, Rhode Island. The adoption proceeding took place Thursday before state Judge Wilfred Diana and went into effect immediately. Usually something came in the mail that she wanted to discuss, because Chandi was taking care of her financial affairs. Phyllis Saretta told me that Duke performed with the Farrah company four or five times, wearing a long black wig. Bernard Lafferty recently lunched in Manhattan with William Luers, president of the Metropolitan Museum, which was left $10 million by Duke. New York courts ultimately removed Lafferty for using estate funds for his own support and U.S. Trust for failing "to do anything to stop him". Things escalated. "She out-Leona Helmsleyed Leona Helmsley," Duffy said of Heffner. In Doris's case, she had done that. Chandi has taken control of this Reputation Report to make themselves look good, check back for comments that they might have left on some sections. They were putting up a curtain rod together. Chandi Heffner has led the nonprofit charitable foundations CDHIF USA and CDHIFI India for more than a decade. Phyllis Saretta says, "Chandi told me that her sister had a butler and a chauffeur and the whole thing. Doris said, 'Do you have time for a drink?' This was an adoption on both sides of love, deep affection, respect, companionship and common interest, he said. Jane Engelhard sat next to the bodyguard, and you should have seen her face. [67] The fees for their lawsuits exceeded $10 million, and were paid by the Duke estate. She was also active in preserving more than 80 historic buildings in Newport, Rhode Island. At her father's estate in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey, she created one of the largest indoor botanical displays in the United States. People get annoyed with their kids. Heffner paints a sedate portrait of their life together, with Doris retiring to her music room, Chandi dealing with the employees and both women sharing vegetarian dinners. Until Doris Duke's death, this would be her principal residence. and as we were leaving they exchanged telephone numbers. Chandi Heffner is the president and founder of CDH International Foundation (CDHIF), a US-based organization that supports humanitarian, medical, and animal service projects for the private nonprofit society CDHIF India.