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. Newport police declared it an accident, and her friends still swear that it was. [15] She studied singing with Estelle Liebling, the voice teacher of Beverly Sills, in New York City. Ignoring Chandi Heffner, the latter-day flower child whom she adopted in 1988, Duke left control of the bulk of her fortune to Bernard Lafferty, her butler of six years. They were putting up a curtain rod together. Chandi Heffner and Doris Duke were having a lesbian affair. It was a really loving daughter-mother relationship. [64], Duke University also filed suit, claiming entitlement to a larger share of the Duke assets than the $10 million provided in the will, although Duke's will also stated that any beneficiary who disputed its provisions should receive nothing. "It was really sad," Heffner said, "because Martha arrived and Doris wouldn't go see her. One night at dinner, she told me, 'You know, my father always said no one would ever love me except for my money, and to be very careful.' . Some questioned Reubens sexuality at the time until in 1989 when Reubens engaged in a "mock wedding" with Chandi Heffner, the adopted daughter of tobacco heiress Doris Duke. He said the couple, who lived together from 1990 until 1993, agreed that Burns would be not only be her confidante-companion but ``cook, body guard, security specialist and assist in financing any claims Heffner Duke may find it necessary to bring to enforce her rights against Doris Duke.. Contribution Totals: Download all contribution records for this person . For instance, the foundation sponsors performing arts competitions that award cash prizes to each person who performs and provide food to all who attend. Shangri-La is operated by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art; small personal tours and an online virtual tour are available. ", Nonetheless, Duke seemed increasingly pleased with Lafferty. Duke was twice divorced and had no other children. [55], In 1963, Duke funded the construction of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram on land leased from the state forestry department of Uttar Pradesh in India. Keep in mind, people are entitled to a change of heart. They would helicopter over to Somerville from their estate in Bedford, New York.". Both Heffner and her lawyers emphatically deny that Nelson Peltz is financing Heffner's legal efforts. Her total net worth, including all property, was valued at $5.3 billion. Chandi Heffner established her organization on a small scale by undertaking humanitarian work in the field. Chandi's ethnicity is unknown, whose political affiliation is currently a registered Republican; and religious views are listed as unknown. Their childhood included documented neglect, abuse, parental violence and addiction.[74][75]. After she returned to Newport later that month, Banks invited her to a concert, but she forgot the date. But Lafferty was always a one off, one of life's great eccentrics, and he was certainly more than a jumped up waiter whose salary "never topped $200". I called the California home and the other sites many times. Duke was spending the spring, as usual, at her 2,700-acre Duke Farms, in Somerville, New Jersey. . She never married again, and from then on the men in her life, whether they were lovers or not, were considerably younger and came from the creative world. In June 1985, Duke and Heffner traveled to Russia together. "We were sitting on the rocks, and she said, 'I will take care of you and all of your animals for the rest of your life. The two exchanged their "vows" at Duke's Hawaiian mansion, but it was revealed the whole thing was a hoax. Duke's Los Angeles decorator Tony Duquette adds, "He was just marvelous to Doris, and not at all sinister. 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". Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, with whom Duke was friends, was the vice president and publicly supported the foundation. . An autopsy has been carried out, and while they await the toxicology results, which could take anything from two weeks to 90 days, everything so far points to death from natural causes. Each evening she would return to Duke Farms or her Manhattan apartment in time for dinner alone on a tray. In later years she did have problems with her hearing and with her legs, but nothing major. Therefore, Rubirosa had to sign a pre-nuptial agreement. . Lafferty had been working for Nelson and Claudia Peltz for the previous seven months, and Rybak says, "The Peltzes put him in a 28-day program. Seventy-one buildings are rented to tenants. Nor - in spite of the spot that he was holding on the wall for it - did he ever get the $450 dollar painting. Heffner Duke, adopted in 1988 when she was 38 and the heiress was in her 70s, could not be reached for comment. She's getting better.' So how about getting some grown-up priorities?, Forget carrots, tomatoes, peppers: Here are the best vegetables to grow, New town on the north side of Drogheda is under way to cater for a population of just over 21,100, This has been a game-changer for me: how a room in the garden can transform your family life, Im dating a guy who has called things off twice, but I keep going back for more, Refugee family who fled Myanmar for Ireland in 2007 now face eviction, Ukrainian defenders oust Russian forces from some positions in Bakhmut - Ukraine general, Sudan conflict shows no sign of easing as civilians brace for more violence, Gas demand spiked during cold, damp March, Zero Leads: Search continues for man sought in fatal shooting of five in Texas. [21] Each of the eleven interconnected gardens was a full-scale re-creation of a garden theme, country or period, inspired by DuPont's Longwood Gardens. And that's how the relationship evolved. 'Doris Duke really was the last Chinese empress, the last of a type that doesn't exist anymore. I said, 'Doris, do it, I think it's a good thing.' After testy negotiations with local authorities, she finally shipped the pieces to New Jersey and installed them in her indoor tennis court. But I have no real medical knowledge of what transpired in California during the spring and summer of last year.". Nelson Peltz is financing Chandi Heffner's legal battle. In the late 1980s, Duke donated $2 million to Duke University to be used for AIDS research. She started taking piano lessons before she went to school, had pianos in every one of her houses as well as in the black lacquered living room of her Park Avenue penthouse, and played every afternoon. Marcos has said that she and Duke were friends of almost 20 years, but others say that they met in the late 1970s through Franco Rossellini. So I fixed another tray and brought it upstairs. 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. Duke." The vehicle, she told police later, pinned Tirella against the still-opening gates, knocked them over and then struck a tree across. Everything good I could say about Bernard, I do. Denise Hale recalls meeting Eduardo Tirella on the set of The Sandpiper, which was directed by her then husband, Vincente Minnelli, and having several dinners at Falcon's Lair. They showed that the investigation into Duke had been cursory and compromised by conflicts of interest (shortly before the medical examiner arrived at the hospital, for instance, Duke had hired him as her personal physician, meaning anything she told him was protected by doctor-patient privilege). And the whispers about Duke's last years continue. This third-party data is then indexed through methods similar to those used by Google or Bing to create a listing. One repeated her response to a straight man who was reluctant to have dinner with Rock Hudson for fear that he would be molested. "Cromwell was quite nice," says Nelson Seabra, a rich Brazilian friend of Duke's. It's so hard for me still, so hard." Immediately prior to going to work for Duke, he was employed by Heffner's sister Claudia and her husband, Nelson Peltz, one of the leading takeover tycoons of the 80s. The enemies gathered. Yet there were smaller indignities such as the ridiculous row about releasing a painting of Doris Duke which he said she disliked and had given to him when he asked for it. "Nobody gave Doris any credit for having any taste, any intelligence, any anything," says Marion Oates Charles, known as Oatsie. According to the 1993 Forbes Four Hundred list, Doris Duke was the 18th-richest woman in America, not far behind cosmetics billionairess Este Lauder. Heffner takes credit for everything from improving the dairy herd at Duke Farms to arranging the sale of Duke's gold deposits in Switzerland. ", 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. She was hospitalized from February 2 to April 15. One week later, Doris Duke stunned the world again by adopting Chandi Heffner at the Somerset County Court House in Somerville, to which the two women were accompanied by Donald Robinson. The circumstances of Dukes death remain under investigation. It would be her last trip to Europe, and she also visited Poland with Brazilian grande dame Aime de Hereen. [45], On September 1, 1947, while in Paris, Duke became the third wife of Porfirio Rubirosa, a diplomat[clarification needed] from the Dominican Republic. Of course, many of the sources for these allegations are people who were left out of the will, or cut out of the will, or people who hope to eventually receive grants from the Duke foundations. In 1968, Duke created the Newport Restoration Foundation with the goal of preserving more than eighty colonial buildings in the town. Wait til the Beckhams Meet the Parents: Nicola Peltzs Aunt Inherited $65 Mil from Doris Duke in Infamous Adoption, Movie Release August Schedule for "Tenet," "Mulan" Will Be Scuttled as Gov. And then the wine was $1,000 a bottle; it came from her father's cellars. Although Duke was determined to produce his own heir, Nanaline was as surprised as everyone else when she became pregnant at the age of 42, and she always favored her son, Walker Inman, over Doris. The couple lived together from 1990 until 1993. It wasn't until the following winter, however, Burns told me, that he became romantically involved with Heffner. According to a half-page biography released by Howard J. Rubenstein Associates, Bernard Lafferty was born in Ireland in 1945 and immigrated to the United States more than 20 years ago. "There were clear indications of a growing trust, affection, and devotion between them. In the 17th Century, Sir William Petty began writing about the valuation of lives in terms of the productive skills of individuals - a precursor of human capital considerations. "It was shocking," Heffner told me. Doris Dukes adopted daughter has ended her fight to gain control of the late billionaires fortune in exchange for a $65-million settlement from the estate. What information about Chandi are you looking for? . That was a going-out-of-your-way gesture." ", The day after the adoption, the economist Woody Brock went to lunch at Duke Farms with Duke's New Jersey neighbor Jane Engelhard. 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. Most of Duke's friends hadn't had an inkling. She told me that her parents did not approve of her lifestyle, and that they'd cut her off from everything. After Heffner returned to Hawaii, she kept in touch with Farrah and Saretta, and in February 1983 helped them organize a Middle Eastern dance seminar in Honolulu. Steve said, 'Your food has changed so suddenly Miss Duke thinks you must be on drugs.' [47], She reportedly had numerous love affairs, with, among others, surfing pioneer Duke Kahanamoku, film actor Errol Flynn, British politician Alec Cunningham-Reid, U.S. Army General George S. Patton, jazz pianist Joe Castro and U.S. writer Louis Bromfield. For access to this information, contact Chandi maintains relationships with many people -- family, friends, associates, & neighbors -- including Tomoko Hasejima, Kumiko Takata, Tadashi Kageyama, Masakatsu Ogata and Maki Ogata. He was very good at repairing old costumes and fabric. [41][42][43] They divorced in 1943. [61] After her death, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation was established in 1996, supporting four national grant making programs and Doris Duke's three estates, Shangri La, Rough Point, and Duke Farms. This whole thing is such a shock." He named both his private Pullman car and his 80-foot yacht after her, and surrounded her with bodyguards. Nicolas mother, Claudia, has a sister we havent forgotten about. He was born on August 27, 1952, in Peekskill, New York, USA, as Paul Rubenfeld. Doris loved animals. "That was quite an event. Nelson Seabra told me, "A very close friend of Doris's said that she committed suicide. [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. Chandi lives on the horse farm now and operates a very modest charity called the CDH Foundation, with total assets of $ 2 million. Chandi Duke Heffner photos, including production stills, premiere photos and other event photos, publicity photos, behind-the-scenes, and more. She grew up near Towson, an upper-middle-class suburb of Baltimore, and graduated from Notre Dame Prep, a private Catholic girls' school, in 1971. [1] Her great wealth, luxurious lifestyle, and love life attracted significant press coverage, both during her life and after her death.[2]. Duke's passions varied wildly. Charlene Gail Heffner goes by the name Chandi Duke Heffner. A few hours later, when Heffner returned from a show-jumping lesson, she was informed that Doris had flown to Los Angeles. Toward the end of the summer, in Newport, Heffner told Duke that she had to return to Hawaii, because she was concerned about her horses and dogs, and had planned a trip to Bali with Gordon Damon. Until Doris Duke's death, this would be her principal residence. Miss Duke lives in a walled 2,700-acre estate in Hillsborough, and rarely attracted . ", By the time Duke returned to Shangri La that fall, she and Heffner were getting together on an almost daily basis, and when it was time to move back to Duke Farms in the spring of 1985, she invited Heffner to go with her. [40] Cromwell was a New Deal advocate like his wife; Duke used her fortune to finance his political career. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. Chandi Heffner told me that Duke confided the truth to her: "It wasn't Cromwell's, and it wasn't her lover Alec's. He had been recommended by Ron Oldenburg, a Honolulu lawyer who handled immigration matters for the employees of both Doris Duke and Imelda Marcos, and hired as a bodyguard for Heffner when she was hospitalized for severe sinusitis in February 1989.
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