Duke was said to change her will often, replacing her nephew Walker Inman Jr. as executor with her butler, Bernard Lafferty. She later established the Doris Duke … The New York Times. The cause was progressive pulmonary edema resulting in cardiac arrest, according to a spokesman. Vivisphere Publishing. ``Buck″ Duke amassed an obscene fortune by introducing Lucky Strikes into pop culture. 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. ``Because the butler always `did it.′ ″. 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. © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. But her only child, a daughter, was born three months premature and died, according to reports at the time. She married twice, both times briefly. The station wagon that Doris Duke drove into Eduardo Tirella was towed away. In the two years before she died, Duke rewrote her will at least six times. 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. Tirella reportedly died instantly. 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. The cause of death was not reported. Neither Lafferty nor his attorney responded to interview requests. People only wanted her for her money, Duke believed. 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. Fauci offered this advice while speaking with Maurine Knighton, program director for the arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, about the … Not her friends, not her two husbands, not even her own mother. ``The `butler’ word they like,″ Lafferty recently told the Los Angeles Times. Doris Duke. 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. October 28, 1993 The Doris Duke Foundation is still operational as a private entity that provides grants. Retrieved July 25, 2010. 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. Born: 22-Nov - 1912. 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. Doris Duke, who died in 1993 aged 80, insisted that Eduardo Tirella's death was an accident. Her marriage ended shortly after. Doris Duke was born in New York City, on November 22, 1912. Doris's cause of death was pulmonary edema. Several inch-square, five-foot long sections of iron were torn out. Payette claimed the doctor conspired in the killing with Lafferty, who was left $5 million outright and $500,000 a … She has been gone for more than a year now, leaving one of the largest charitable foundations in American history. Doris Duke (November 22, 1912 – October 28, 1993) was an American heiress, horticulturalist, art collector, and philanthropist. A hearing in Manhattan Surrogate’s Court, where Duke’s estate is stuck in probate, is scheduled for Tuesday. Doris Duke hires Bernard Lafferty as her butler at the Duke Farms estate. ↑ "Doris Duke Feted at Newport Dance". 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. Duke was released from the hospital. An autopsy is impossible because her body was cremated two days after her death. 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? I was editor-in-chief of The Setonian, Seton Hall University's student-run and award-winning newspaper. “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. Cause of death: unspecified. In effect, the man legally charged with determining the official cause of death had gone on Doris Duke's payroll." He remains in this position until Doris Duke's death in 1993, after which he becomes the executor and pivotal figure in … October 7, 1966. Lafferty, who hobnobs in Beverly Hills, claims he wants nothing more than to get on with administering the Duke foundation. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Doris Duke was also responsible for medical research funding, and programs to assist with child welfare. An autopsy reportedly showed that Tirella died from a brain hemorrhage, multiple fractures and internal injuries. One accusation propels this tale into the realm of Agatha Christie. 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. 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