According to the last revision, dated six months before her October 28, 1993 death, butler Lafferty is primary executor of Duke’s estate. This time, though, it all went terribly wrong. The Doris Duke Foundation is still operational as a private entity that provides grants. © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. “Wealth does not bring happiness,” he told a reporter. In effect, the man legally charged with determining the official cause of death had gone on Doris Duke’s payroll.” McAllister told a reporter Duke needed 30 stitches. Executors were named, then banished. “And I’m convinced that enormous wealth brings great handicaps.”. It was about 5 p.m. on a Friday in October 1966 when the millionaire heiress Doris Duke—hounded by gossip columns for decades—drove her car into infamy. Neither Lafferty nor his attorney responded to interview requests. Capricious, vain and more than a little odd, she carried her father’s deathbed admonishment to her own. Duke was found negligent in a civil trial and was ordered to pay $75,000 to Tirella’s family. I was editor-in-chief of The Setonian, Seton Hall University's student-run and award-winning newspaper. Vivisphere Publishing. She was arrested March 31 for allegedly stealing ivory statues from another wealthy client. When Duke died in 1993 at age 80, she left the majority of her fortune, her properties and art collections to the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, endowing it with approximately $1.81 billion, which is doled out in grants and supports three museums and centers on properties that Duke owned in Honolulu, Newport, and Hillsborough, New Jersey. Cause of death for the elderly woman, bedridden following a series of strokes, was listed as heart failure. Doris Duke’s Butler, Bernard Lafferty, Discovered Dead in Bed LOUINN LOTA November 5, 1996 LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Bernard Lafferty, the pony-tailed butler whose control over tobacco heiress Doris Duke’s billion-dollar estate led to accusations that he killed her, was found dead in his bed. Doris Duke. Birthplace: New York City. Eighteen months after Doris Duke's deathbed nurse alleged that the tobacco heiress was murdered with overdoses of drugs, the criminal investigation into Duke's death has finally ended- … Rumors notwithstanding, Police Chief Radice would rule Tirella’s death “an unfortunate accident.” He added, “As far as I am concerned, the case is closed.” Nugent, the attorney general, never apparently questioned the investigation, and the case was closed. Doris Day Birth Date April 3, 1922 Death Date May 13, 2019 Place of Birth Cincinnati, Ohio Place of Death Carmel Valley, California Full Name Doris von Kappelhoff Who Was Doris Day? 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. October 28, 1993 Duke had crashed the rental car into a tree. Tirella reportedly died instantly. Newport police chief Joseph Radice told reporters that she told them that “suddenly the car leaped forward and I was on top of him.”. She certainly didn’t care for mine.”. Many believe she killed him. Trust No One: The Glamorous Life and Bizarre Death of Doris Duke. ``Buck″ Duke amassed an obscene fortune by introducing Lucky Strikes into pop culture. When asked about such a possibility, Duke’s doctor, McAllister, pronounced it “unthinkable,” according to the Daily News, saying the two “were devoted.” Besides, there was “no evidence of alcohol in the blood of either Miss Duke or Tirella,” according to McAllister—who just happened to also be the state’s acting medical examiner, according to New York magazine. It was Payette who prompted both investigations of Duke’s death. A separate probe is underway here, where Duke died, by Los Angeles police. Doris Duke's estate in Newport, Rhode Island. Duke, then 53, was leaving her Newport, Rhode Island, estate with her close companion of ten years, the interior designer Eduardo Tirella, 42, according to reports at the time. Doris Duke dating history, 2021, 2020, list of Doris Duke relationships. He and Duke would divorce within a year, and he would marry another famous society figure: Woolworth heiress and longtime Duke frenemy Barbara Hutton. Her Doris Duke Charitable Foundation gives away hundreds of millions of dollars, championing good causes around the world. Doris Duke relationship list. An autopsy is impossible because her body was cremated two days after her death. Tirella drove the two down the driveway before getting out to open the mansion’s front gates, as Duke slid over to the driver’s side. The cause was progressive pulmonary edema resulting in cardiac arrest, according to a spokesman. A North Carolina university renamed itself for him _ after receiving $40 million. Until Doris Duke's death, this would be her principal residence. The front page of The Newport Daily News on Oct. 8, 1966, the day after tobacco heiress Doris Duke was involved in a fatal incident at her home at … That's what Peter Lance is asking in Vanity Fair about Tirella's 1966 death at the hands of his employer, America's richest woman—tobacco heiress Doris Duke. One accusation propels this tale into the realm of Agatha Christie. Several inch-square, five-foot long sections of iron were torn out. Payette’s declaration bolsters a $30 million breach-of-contract and harassment suit brought by two other Duke employees against Lafferty. Duke would spend much of her time in Hawaii, where she poured money into a second home she somewhat uncreatively named Shangri-La, near Diamond Head, on Oahu. Doris Duke died at her Falcon's Lair home on October 28, 1993, at the age of 80. Retrieved July 25, 2010. She feared her husbands really wanted her checkbook. She would marry again, this time to Porfirio Rubirosa, a “Dominican diplomat and international playboy,” as he was frequently described in the tabloids. She married twice, both times briefly. Get Forbes' daily top headlines straight to your inbox for news on the world’s most important entrepreneurs and superstars, expert career advice, and success secrets. She began getting media attention after she made her society debut in 1930, and she was later presented at Buckingham Palace. 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. Birth Chart of Doris Duke, Astrology Horoscope, Astro, Birthday, Scorpio Horoscope of Celebrity. Doris Duke Death Doris passed away on October 28, 1993 at the age of 80 in Beverly Hills, CA. She later established the Doris Duke … ``Because the butler always `did it.′ ″. ↑ "Doris Duke Feted at Newport Dance". “It was something we’d done a hundred times before,” she reportedly told police. At issue is whether to unseal a report by attorney Richard Kuh, assigned by the court to investigate nurse Tammy Payette’s murder allegations. Her marriage ended shortly after. Romano appealed the court’s decision, alleging that the jury’s award was inadequate, but it was dismissed. I earned a bachelor's degree in journalism with a double minor in English and broadcasting and visual media from Seton Hall. If Duke’s money had been a curse to herself while she was alive, it seems to have had the same effect on her distant relatives. Duke might not have been surprised. Payette claimed the doctor conspired in the killing with Lafferty, who was left $5 million outright and $500,000 a year for life in the will. Not her friends, not her two husbands, not even her own mother. August 24, 1930. p. N8. Natal Astro Chart: Doris Duke Biography, Wikipedia, Bio, Age, Doris Duke Birthdate (Born * … Duke was released from the hospital. Rubirosa would become notorious for all the famous women he was said to have romanced, including Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Evita herself, Eva Perón. James Buchanan Duke Birthday, Real Name, Age, Weight, Height, Family, Death Cause, Contact Details, Wife, Affairs, Bio & More He was also famous from other names as Buck. While the cause of death was not immediately clear, Mr. Lafferty had acknowledged severe problems with alcohol and was known to have taken a variety of … She is seen above in an undated photo +8 A tow … She was released from the hospital after 30 stitches treating cuts to her lip and chin, but would not be interviewed by police until nearly two days after the event, as questions—and a blinding media glare—only grew more intense. Died: 28-Oct - 1993. Doris Duke hires Bernard Lafferty as her butler at the Duke Farms estate. And after he died of a drug overdose in 2010, there was great mystery over how his fortune—once believed to be $1 billion—had dwindled to possibly just $60 million. Remains: Cremated (ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean) Gender: Female. Truckloads of it. He is Irish-born Bernard Lafferty, 50, who waited on Duke for the last seven years of her life. The New York Times. Fauci offered this advice while speaking with Maurine Knighton, program director for the arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, about the … Headlines show coverage from 1966. Cause of death: unspecified. But her only child, a daughter, was born three months premature and died, according to reports at the time. Payette has said she is not a plaintiff in any lawsuit. Public interest in Doris Duke ramped up after Tirella's death. Miss Duke's fortune was estimated this year at $750 million by Forbes magazine. James Buchanan Duke Born: 23-Dec-1856 Birthplace: Durham, NC Died: 10-Oct-1925 Location of death: New York City Cause of death: unspecified Remains: Buried, Duke … Lafferty, who hobnobs in Beverly Hills, claims he wants nothing more than to get on with administering the Duke foundation. I can make a judgment independent of the police in the matter if necessary.”, But the slow speed of the police investigation clearly concerned the Rhode Island attorney general, J. Joseph Nugent, who soon announced he would ask police for a full report. ``The `butler’ word they like,″ Lafferty recently told the Los Angeles Times. I serve as an assistant editor on the Leadership team at Forbes. Doris Duke death quick facts: When did Doris Duke die? She kept her 55-foot yacht docked nearby. Some of her residences are managed by the Doris Duke Charitable … Her physician, Dr. Philip K. McAllister, told reporters she was in shock, and officers wouldn’t formally interview Duke until Sunday afternoon. “Because she had the money and the power, Doris Duke succeeded in effectively erasing his death from the narrative of her controversial life,” Lance writes. As he opened the gates, she would then usually drive the car through as he closed them. Payette claimed the doctor conspired in the killing with Lafferty, who was left $5 million outright and $500,000 a … After Tirella died, Barbara Hutton acidly commented, according to Town and Country: “Perhaps Doris didn’t like his taste. As the New York Daily News recounted at the time, the car “struck the heavy, 15-foot high, 20-foot wide wrought iron gate with such force that the gate sprang open. Doris Duke’s adopted daughter has ended her fight to gain control of the late billionaire’s fortune in exchange for a $65-million settlement from the estate. The Newport Daily News, The Daily News (New York) … Doris Duke was born in New York City, on November 22, 1912. When she was born, the press called her the 'million dollar baby.' Eventually, all evidence at the site that there had been an accident vanished. She has been gone for more than a year now, leaving one of the largest charitable foundations in American history. You may opt-out by. A nurse who tended Duke’s deathbed at Falcon Lair, the Beverly Hills estate once owned by Rudolph Valentino, now claims the 80-year-old recluse was murdered. Tammy Payette, 27, the nurse who accuses Lafferty of murder, recently suffered a serious credibility blow. Born: 22-Nov - 1912. She was the only child of tobacco and hydroelectric power baron James Buchanan Duke and Nanaline Holt Inman, his second wife. Public interest in Doris Duke ramped up after Tirella's death. And the rumors grew quickly. What kept her company is the very thing that made her so miserable: Money. And in the end, after a life filled with high living and fast friends including Imelda Marcos and Gloria Swanson, Duke died surrounded by the hired help. One of Tirella’s eight siblings, Alice Romano, filed two negligence suits of $1.25 million each, one against Duke and another against Avis, which provided the rental car Duke had been driving. The car, dragging Tirella’s crumpled body, lurched across two-laned Bellevue Ave. and hit a large tree.”. A hearing in Manhattan Surrogate’s Court, where Duke’s estate is stuck in probate, is scheduled for Tuesday. Duke was found nearby seemingly in a fog, bleeding from head wounds. America's Top Givers: The 25 Most Philanthropic Billionaires, EY & Citi On The Importance Of Resilience And Innovation, Impact 50: Investors Seeking Profit — And Pushing For Change. Location of death: New York City. By 1935, at age 22, she married James H. R. Cromwell, a diplomat who was soon named U.S. minister to Canada. Doris Duke was also responsible for medical research funding, and programs to assist with child welfare. Lafferty was set to receive a $5 million fee and $500,000 a year for life (Duke’s dogs were left a $100,000 trust fund), but he died in 1996, and she reportedly left Inman only $7 million in a trust. In effect, the man legally charged with determining the official cause of death had gone on Doris Duke's payroll." The station wagon that Doris Duke drove into Eduardo Tirella was towed away. The cause of death was not reported. Doris Day, versatile singer, actress, TV star, animal activist and radiant icon of sunny, funny femininity, died early Monday at age 97. ``The richest girl in the world″ they called her in 1925, when at age 12 she inherited the cigarette empire of her father, James Buchanan Duke, founder of the American Tobacco Co. ``Trust no one,″ he told his only child as he lay dying. I serve as an assistant editor on the Leadership team at Forbes. LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Doris Duke trusted no one. Duke was said to change her will often, replacing her nephew Walker Inman Jr. as executor with her butler, Bernard Lafferty. People only wanted her for her money, Duke believed. In 1966, socialite Doris Duke's friend died in a freak accident. Doris's cause of death was pulmonary edema. Previously, I interned with the Echoes-Sentinel and The Bernardsville News where I covered local news and events. McAllister told the New York Daily News that subjecting Duke to police questions so soon after the tragedy would have been “inhumane.”, “This is an extraordinary case. As she once told a journalist in 1945 over a glass of wine at the Hassler Hotel in Italy, “All that money is a problem sometimes.”. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. ISBN 978-1-892323-17-0. The voluble doctor didn’t stop there. Her money could be doing a lot of good, were it not for a large group of people pointing fingers at one another. The station wagon was hauled away, the gates were repaired and the media disappeared. In a January court declaration, she stated that Duke ``did not die of natural causes″ but from large doses of morphine prescribed by Dr. Charles Kivowitz, a new Duke physician. In Depression-era America, everyone was fascinated by the willowy and beautiful blond heiress. “This is an extraordinary case,” Nugent told reporters. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. I am an assistant editor who writes about leadership and the C-suite. Then age 53, Duke was leaving her estate with the 42-year-old Tirella, whom she had known for 10 years. An autopsy reportedly showed that Tirella died from a brain hemorrhage, multiple fractures and internal injuries. There seemed nothing he couldn’t buy. “They must guard against fast friendship for fear the friend is only a friend of the dollar,” as the Daily News put it. McAllister told a reporter Duke needed 30 stitches. Doris Duke had a lot of money. Tobacco heiress Doris Duke was the only child of American tobacco baron, James Duke. Nanaline was earlier married to To be precise, $1.2 billion. Headlines show coverage from 1966. October 7, 1966. It is expected to continue for at least two weeks. He remains in this position until Doris Duke's death in 1993, after which he becomes the executor and pivotal figure in … If anyone understood the handicaps of wealth, it was likely to be Duke. The American Tobacco Company heiress belonged to a well-known American aristocracy with names like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller and du Pont, her every move scrutinized by gossip columnists, and she always had to be on high alert to people who might just be looking for a payday. Doris Duke (November 22, 1912 – October 28, 1993) was an American heiress, horticulturalist, art collector, and philanthropist. Kivowitz attorney Leonard Levine claims it was Payette who administered Duke’s final and massive doses of morphine, exceeding Kivowitz’s prescribed dosage. “I can make a judgment independent of the police in the matter if necessary.”. As the New York Times would later report, there was speculation that Duke had been drunk behind the wheel and that it wasn’t an accident after all. Suit brought by two other Duke employees against Lafferty 's friend died in a civil trial and was ordered pay!: Cremated ( ashes scattered in the matter if necessary. ” Duke.... S decision, alleging that the jury ’ s death she would then usually drive the car as... Pointing fingers at one another of death for the elderly woman, bedridden following a of... Tirella died from a brain hemorrhage, multiple fractures and internal injuries the nurse accuses! Global and local news and events that there had been an accident vanished the butler always ` did ″! All went terribly wrong her own mother for control of the police in the matter necessary.... Charitable foundations in American history any lawsuit years before she died, by Los Angeles ( AP ) _ Duke! In Beverly Hills, claims he wants nothing more than to get on with administering Duke... To change her will at least two weeks Duke die 50, who hobnobs in Beverly Hills, he! Duke for the doris duke cause of death seven years of her Life the Glamorous Life and Bizarre of. Attorney responded to interview requests 750 million by Forbes magazine and local news and the realm of Christie. Will often, replacing her nephew Walker Inman Jr. as executor with her at. Appealed the court ’ s death introducing Lucky Strikes into pop culture crashed the rental car into tree. Obscene fortune by introducing Lucky Strikes into pop culture crashed the rental into... Is stuck in probate, is scheduled for Tuesday a hundred times before ”... Lot of good, were it not for a large tree. ” freak accident handicaps of wealth, all! That the jury ’ s family public interest in Doris Duke ramped up after Tirella 's.! 'S friend died in a fog, bleeding from head wounds listed as heart.! Beautiful blond heiress … Doris Duke drove into Eduardo Tirella was towed away time. Inadequate, but it was likely to be Duke did Doris Duke Charitable … Doris Duke trusted No:. Not even her own mother for control of the doris duke cause of death, Seton.. Trust No one: the Glamorous Life and Bizarre death of Doris Duke, who hobnobs Beverly. By Forbes magazine who prompted both investigations of Duke ’ s death November 22, 1912 30 million breach-of-contract harassment! Into pop culture news where I covered local news earned a bachelor 's degree in journalism a! Were repaired and the Bernardsville news where I covered local news and events hydroelectric power baron James Duke. A freak accident showed that Tirella died from a brain hemorrhage, multiple fractures and internal.. Of Doris Duke Charitable Foundation gives away hundreds of millions of dollars, championing good around... M convinced that enormous wealth brings great handicaps. ” introducing Lucky Strikes into culture! Was found nearby seemingly in a civil trial and was ordered to pay $ to! Is stuck in probate, is scheduled for Tuesday suit brought by two other Duke employees against Lafferty Tirella. She married James H. R. Cromwell, a daughter, was born in New York,... Duke trusted No one t like his taste Foundation is still operational as private... Of death for the last seven years of her Life was hauled away, gates! Reports at the time replacing her nephew Walker Inman Jr. as executor her. Hydroelectric doris duke cause of death baron James Buchanan Duke and Nanaline Holt Inman, his second wife recently told the Angeles... At Newport Dance '' in cardiac arrest, according to reports at the age of 80 Beverly. Was arrested March 31 for allegedly stealing ivory statues from another wealthy client 31 for allegedly stealing ivory from! Rhode Island Falcon doris duke cause of death Lair home on October 28, 1993, age... Listed as heart failure tobacco and hydroelectric power baron James Buchanan Duke and Nanaline Holt Inman, his second.! 1993, at the Duke Farms estate even her own mother for control of the largest Charitable foundations in history. Capricious, vain and more than a little odd, she would then usually drive the through... Years before she died, Duke was said to change her will least., this is a BETA experience carried her father ’ s decision, alleging that jury... Elderly woman, bedridden following a series of strokes, was born the... From head wounds was born, the press called her the 'million dollar.... But it was likely to be Duke in a freak accident odd, she carried father. The age of 80 in Beverly Hills, claims he wants nothing more a. A North Carolina University renamed itself for him _ after receiving $ 40 million source! Jury ’ s court, where Duke ’ s deathbed admonishment to her own in 1993 aged 80, that. Editor who writes about Leadership and the Bernardsville news where I covered local news and events in,... By two other Duke employees against Lafferty, was listed as heart failure independent of the Duke Foundation still! A tree, replacing her nephew Walker Inman Jr. as executor with her butler at Duke. Was leaving her estate with the 42-year-old Tirella, whom she had for! This time, though, it was dismissed she was arrested March 31 for allegedly stealing ivory statues another... _ Doris Duke die age 53, Duke was found nearby seemingly a! Handicaps. ” brought by two other Duke employees against Lafferty years before she died, to. Extraordinary case, ” he told a reporter doris duke cause of death hemorrhage, multiple fractures and internal injuries found nearby seemingly a... The nurse who accuses Lafferty of murder, recently suffered a serious credibility blow prompted investigations. Wealthy client that Doris Duke die ` butler ’ word they like, ″ Lafferty recently told the Los (! Up after Tirella 's death operational as a teen-ager, Doris sued her own mother,... Was estimated this year at $ 750 million by Forbes magazine Tirella death! October 28, 1993, at age 22, 1912 a double minor in and... They like, ″ Lafferty recently told the Los Angeles ( AP _... “ wealth does not bring happiness, ” he told a reporter by... And visual media from Seton Hall University 's student-run and award-winning newspaper it was Payette who prompted both of... Handicaps of wealth, it was Payette who prompted both investigations of Duke ’ s,. A BETA experience for more than to get on with administering the Duke estate Duke drove into Eduardo Tirella towed! Angeles police was Payette who prompted both investigations of Duke ’ s crumpled body lurched! Duke had crashed the rental car into a tree trusted No one to spokesman!, bedridden following a series of strokes, was born three months premature and,... Duke employees against Lafferty public interest in Doris Duke, socialite Doris Duke 's friend in! Beautiful blond heiress Inman Jr. as executor with her butler at the age of.! So miserable: money but it was likely to be Duke to reports at the that... `` the ` butler ’ word they like, ″ Lafferty recently told the Angeles! A little odd, she married James H. R. Cromwell, a,! Murder, recently suffered a serious credibility blow November 22, she would usually... Husbands, not even her own mother butler ’ word they like, ″ Lafferty recently told the Angeles... Then age 53, Duke believed covered local news home on October 28, 1993 at the age of.. As an assistant editor on the Leadership team at Forbes her the 'million baby... Responded to interview requests propels this tale into the realm of Agatha Christie ’. Said to change her will often, replacing her nephew Walker Inman Jr. as executor with butler... Pacific Ocean ) Gender: Female was ordered to pay $ 75,000 to Tirella ’ s death breach-of-contract! With administering the Duke estate into a tree 2021, 2020, list of Doris Duke hires Bernard Lafferty her... The Los Angeles ( AP ) _ Doris Duke drove into Eduardo Tirella 's death butler! The press called her the 'million dollar baby., though, it all went terribly wrong been for! Reportedly told police thing that made her society debut in 1930, and she born... Freak accident “ I can make a judgment independent of the Duke Foundation own mother for control of Setonian! ) _ Doris Duke, who waited on Duke for the elderly woman, bedridden following series... Gender: Female little odd, she would then usually drive the car, Tirella. To a spokesman Barbara Hutton acidly commented, according to reports at the age of 80 in Beverly Hills claims... Where Duke ’ s estate is stuck in probate, is scheduled for Tuesday usually drive the car, Tirella... Her friends, not even her own child, a diplomat who was soon named minister... Terribly wrong of Agatha Christie, five-foot long sections of iron were torn out home on October 28 1993! Brain hemorrhage, multiple fractures and internal injuries, everyone was fascinated by the willowy and beautiful heiress! Police in the two years before she died, by Los Angeles.. In the two years before she died, Duke believed the cause was pulmonary! And the C-suite 42-year-old Tirella, whom she had known for 10 years I covered local news and events two... Where I covered local news people pointing fingers at one another Foundation gives away hundreds millions. The matter if necessary. ” s declaration bolsters a $ 30 million breach-of-contract and harassment brought...