", Heffner denies that she had had any previous association with Imelda Marcos. Heffner is also claiming her right to inherit two trusts which Buck Duke created in 1917 and 1924, on the ground that she is his lineal descendant and grandchild. His mother was a teacher, while his father fought as a pilot during WWII. And then the wine was $1,000 a bottle; it came from her father's cellars. London, United Kingdom . 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. It was a really loving daughter-mother relationship. [45], On September 1, 1947, while in Paris, Duke became the third wife of Porfirio Rubirosa, a diplomat[clarification needed] from the Dominican Republic. This should be some rehearsal dinner! 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. I'll go to dinner with them. Duke was close friends with former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and in 1968, when Duke created the Newport Restoration Foundation, Kennedy Onassis was appointed the vice president and championed the foundation. We don't hear anything. I've talked to bankers who said she knew where every last nickel was. That led to pneumonia and she couldn't eat and it was on and off, on and off, for months.". . Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. The first one, in Hawaii, didn't work out: she wanted to make a museum out of a Thai temple that she had saved from destruction on one of her many trips to Southeast Asia. Through shrewd investments and her legendary parsimony, she managed to more than triple her holdings. Doris loved animals. She was ahead of her time. On Sunday he was feeling unwell, and on Monday Sally Blake found that he had died "peacefully in his sleep". "Most of them didn't want to leave. ", Dr. Demopoulos told me, "I spoke to her in early January. For the Beckhams, this marriage is like sinking the best goal ever. [69], Litigation involving 40 lawyers at 10 law firms tied up the Duke estate for nearly three years. She was also active in preserving more than 80 historic buildings in Newport, Rhode Island. 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. [43][30][48][49][18], Duke posted a bail of $5,000,000 for her friend, former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos after the latter was arrested for racketeering.[50]. [27] Rumors and accusations swirled after Duke's death, ranging from suicide to murder, and controversy was exacerbated by Duke's habit of regularly changing her last will and testament, but no court case was ever filed in the case. Duke was the life beneficiary of two trusts created by her father, James Buchanan Duke, in 1917 and 1924. [65] Lafferty appointed the U.S. Trust company as corporate co-executor. In 1969, socialite C. Z. Heffner also said that Duke confided that she thought her mother had wanted to abort her. "Chandi works very hard for Doris. Chandi Heffner told me that Duke confided the truth to her: "It wasn't Cromwell's, and it wasn't her lover Alec's. For many years she sang in a black gospel choir at the First Baptist Church of Nutley, New Jersey, and left its minister, the Reverend Lawrence G. Roberts, $1 million in her will. . Jane Engelhard sat next to the bodyguard, and you should have seen her face. [36], In Duke's account of events she said Tirella, who had been driving, got out at the gate to open it, leaving the engine running but with the parking brake engaged and the transmission in park. Kids get annoyed with their parents.". The nonprofit now assists more than 80,000 patients and 50,000 . No wills! We knock, we bang, we yell. (Burns dismisses reports that he was once a Chippendales dancer: "Not that I haven't been asked. Thick black eyebrows set off her striking indigo-colored eyes. * The other websites referenced on this site are owned and operated by their respective companies, and the associated trademarks and logos are the property of those companies. It was a long way from Creeslough, to be sure, for someone who only last year was dismissed by a US judge "as a profligate, illiterate drunk with a cavalier attitude towards money". 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. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. "I got a call from my sister's major-domo, Ferencz Soltesz," said Heffner, who had been living with Duke for two years at that point. . The gossip at Mortimer's was that Duke was furious with him for talking to Stephanie Mansfield. [52] The best-known lawsuit[67] was initiated by Harry Demopoulos. It doesn't mean I'll go to bed with them.". [51], When Doris' father died, he left a fortune valued at $100 million,[52] with the largest share going to Duke and her mother. Chandi Heffner - $7,100 in Political Contributions for 2020, Campaign Finance, Money, American politics, American political campaign contributions, presidential campaign contributions Like Doris, actually." In addition to providing medical care, food, and veterinary care, Ms. Heffner . Newsom Closes California Theaters, "Dancing with the Stars" Needs a New Partner: Longtime Host Tom Bergeron Told Goodbye By ABC, Along with CoHost Erin Andrews, Tony Nominations Are Coming on Tuesday with Some Big Names in the Races Including Sean Hayes, Wendell Pierce, Jessica Chastain, Danielle Brooks, Josh Groban, Annaleigh Ashford, Box Office: Super Mario Eyes $500 Mil This Week, Beau Goes Wide, Judy Blume Blooms, George Foreman Gets Grilled. [citation needed], Even more sensational accusations were made by a nurse, Tammy Payette, who contended that Lafferty and a prominent Beverly Hills physician, Dr. Charles Kivowitz, had conspired to hasten Duke's death with morphine and Demerol. By any standard, Bernard Lafferty was not a conventional choice to oversee a billion dollar legacy. Two years later, against her mother's wishes, she married James Cromwell, who was 16 years older than she, and whose family had lost its fortune in 1929, and embarked on a two-year honeymoon through the Middle East and Asia. He was born on August 27, 1952, in Peekskill, New York, USA, as Paul Rubenfeld. 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. In 1933, when she turned 21, Doris Duke came into the first $10 million left by her father. [36], In 2020, Peter Lance, a Newport native who had begun his journalism career at Newport Daily News shortly after the incident, reinvestigated the case in a Vanity Fair article. Links are provided for reference only and MyLife.com does not imply any connection or relationship between MyLife.com and these companies. "No cane. . Steve comes about four, and he and I go up to Bernard's room. Duke's legacy is now administered by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, dedicated to medical research, prevention of cruelty to children and animals, the performing arts, wildlife and ecology. Around Christmas, Duke rented a house in Honolulu for Martha Graham and Ron Protas. I was constantly arguing with Bernard . If so, wrote Donders, "interposing into the process some new components of . Chandi Heffner's U.S. organization is a charitable foundation that financially supports the work of CDHIFI, which provides free medical treatment and other assistance to families in poor, rural communities in India, along with veterinary care for their farm animals and pets. Her last will is dated April 5, 1993, was drawn up by Katten Muchin, and was signed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She had several indiscreet affairs of her own, with Errol Flynn, Hawaiian swimming champion Duke Kahanamoku, and British M.P. Enzo Natale concurs: "Chandi and Bernard were twins.". Then [Franco and I] didn't see Doris anymore. Seemed. That was Doris. ", Another of Duke's intimates said that the real reason her closest friends were in favor of the adoption was that "Doris had contemplated suicide, and we thought we could have some peace of mind that she wouldn't kill herself as long as Chandi was around. Winters were spent at an estate she built in the 1930s and named "Shangri La" in Honolulu, Hawaii;[30] and at "Falcon Lair" in Beverly Hills, California,[31] once the home of Rudolph Valentino. "That was quite an event. She had received another $10 million of her inheritance in 1937, and would receive at least as much in 1942. "She moved very well for that kind of dancingwe called it Middle Eastern, or danse orientale, but essentially it's belly dancing. . By 1963 she was having Castro trailed by a private investigator. Miss Duke, 75, adopted Chandi Hefner, who owns ''extensive property in Hawaii,'' and has been living with her for three years, attorney Donald A. Robinson said. Lafferty also may pay fees to and divide commissions among the trustees as he sees fit. "She out-Leona Helmsleyed Leona Helmsley," Duffy said of Heffner. (Duke had a similar fascination with spiritualism: she gave $100,000 to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 60s; fell under the spell of Norbu Chen, a pseudo-Tibetan lama, in the 70s; and left $500,000 to the Self-Realization Fellowship.). ", She had already been planning to divorce Cromwell, but he apparently demanded a $7 million settlement. They all of a sudden just totally cut me off, and I can't believe that was Doris. Chandi Heffner is 69 years old today because Chandi's birthday is on 08/26/1953. Then she became pregnant and had a premature daughter named Arden, who lived only 24 hours. At that point she proceeded to run the stricken man over resulting in his death. Lafferty and Duke's friend Marion Oates Charles were named as her trustees. Only five function as museums. He used to take her to Gold's Gym." Chandi lives on the horse farm now and operates a very modest charity called the CDH Foundation, with total assets of $ 2 million. But on Nicolas mothers side, things get more interesting. Heffner had asked him to have dinner with her and Gordon Damon, and he had told her to pick him up at Duke's front gate. He has an alcohol problem, but he's a basically good person. Belief persists today in Newport that there was a coverup facilitated by Duke "blood money". Duke died at age 80 in 1988, leaving a hotly contested $1.5 billion estate. If anyone has news on Chandi from the far reaches of Hawaii, drop us a line at showbiz411@gmail.com. Chandi Heffner and Doris Duke were having a lesbian affair. Thats not much considering what shes worth. For access to this information, contact Chandi. And all around him were all these liquor bottlesGrand Marnier and sherry. I think this was the steroid thing happening. Finally, one of her new lawyers, Mr. Doyle, got it back on track. [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. Adam Smith followed a century later with direct consideration of the . We use cookies to personalize & enhance your experience. Heffner almost broke down again. "Not at all. Duke Farms in New Jersey is managed by the Duke Farms Foundation; a video tour of the former Duke Gardens is available. "It was unbelievable how hard she worked. It has nothing to do whatsoever with economic advantage. The cause was progressive pulmonary edema resulting in cardiac arrest, according to a spokesman. Just last May Lafferty agreed to relinquish his control of the estate in a settlement that left him with $4.5 million in executor's fees and the half million dollar annual income. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus. ''Doris and I had been in the Gobi Desert together, and we found out they were becoming a threatened species." Despite the negation, after Duke's death, the estate's trustees settled a lawsuit brought by Heffner for $65 million. 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. "I couldn't quite keep up, so I was in the back of the class. In an April 1992 codicil, she replaced them with her nephew, Walker Inman Jr., and Bernard Lafferty, and in a March 1993 codicil she made Bernard Lafferty her sole executor. ", Duke gave him a house in Paris for a wedding gift, and a plane before their divorce one year later. Although polo and horse jumping are her favorite equestrian activities, Chandi Heffner currently spends the majority of her time overseeing CDHIF USA and CDHIFI. In 1985, she met Chandi Heffner, a 32-year-old Hari Krishna devotee. A. once a week wherever we were. I remember that the captain of the helicopter was very worried and wanted her to leave early. In 1925, at the age of 13, she inherited an estimated $100 million in trusts from her father, James Buchanan Duke, a coarse but brilliant self-made man who founded the American Tobacco Company and the Duke Power Company, and who endowed Trinity College in North Carolina with millions, reportedly on the condition it change its name to Duke University. If I were Victoria Beckham, I wouldnt count on a big wedding present. Before moving to Chandi's current city of New York, NY, Chandi lived in Kamuela HI and Kawaihae HI. "They did not meet in dance class," he insists. So did Imelda. Donders Response Types. . "There were clear indications of a growing trust, affection, and devotion between them. Heffner was in New York for a week, visiting her sister Claudia, who had married Nelson Peltz in 1980. Nor was she a crazy eccentric. Why doesn't she help you?' Chandi has taken control of this Reputation Profile & made sections private. . [38][39] Later biographies and her obituaries repeated the official finding. And all of a sudden I started hearing, 'The food is cold.' This gives her the air of philanthropy. The circumstances of Dukes death remain under investigation. While Lafferty was hospitalized, Rybak says, "Doris said to me, 'Tom, we are going to leave this up to you. Chandi got a couple of the housemen, and they brought him to the Somerville hospital." [36], Shortly after the case was closed, Duke began making considerable philanthropic contributions to the city, including the repair of Cliff Walk around her estate, previously a source of friction between her and the city when her dogs had attacked tourists, and $10,000 to the hospital she had been taken to the night of the accident. Meanwhile, Bernard said he wasn't feeling well and went back up to his room. Lee told me, "Ten or 15 years ago, I went to sing in the Versailles Room at the old Bellevue, and Bernard was the manager of the room, and we became friends. Because of the legal wrangling, not a penny of Duke's bequest has gone to charity so far, though the total amount billed by lawyers in the challenges has reached $50 million. I think she said when she came home from the hospital she began swimming out into the ocean, just swimming and swimming, not caring whether she lived or died. For court depositions by his foes - and there were many foes making many depositions in recent years - Bernard stepped out defiantly in five to 50 carat diamonds. They had done the whole kitchen togetherthe carpentry, everything. ", Duke had a passion for the performing arts all her life. 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. The trustees have progressively reduced funding for these foundations, stating that Doris Duke's own works are "perpetuating the Duke family history of personal passions and conspicuous consumption. Tirella was found trapped under the car on Bellevue Avenue and was pronounced dead of serious injuries soon after. Love. . . And I didn't sense any antagonism between Chandi and Bernard." Seventy-one buildings are rented to tenants. 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. Heffner spent almost six months on and off in two Honolulu hospitals, because she also developed a heart problem. She was even a buddy of Elvis Presley's. "He wanted a settlement," says Nancy Cooke de Herrera, "but you could not get a nickel out of Doris if you came at her the wrong way." . . . She was so alive. Brooklyn Beckham, whos 21, has announced hes marrying Nicola Peltz, 25. 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. . [66], However a number of lawsuits were filed against the will. Lance, and several other experts who reviewed the evidence, concluded that it was far more likely that Duke had deliberately run Tirella over out of rage at his decision to leave her for Hollywood. Both Heffner and her lawyers emphatically deny that Nelson Peltz is financing Heffner's legal efforts. In a settlement signed Thursday by Manhattan Surrogate Court Judge Renee Roth, Chandi Duke Heffner, 42, dropped claims to the $1,2-billion estate and dropped a . She died much as she lived--in secrecy, loneliness and on the edge of scandal", "Doris Duke, 80, Heiress Whose Great Wealth Couldn't Buy Happiness, Is Dead", "James B. Duke Wills Bulk of $100,000,000 to Widow and Child", "Billionaire Twins Abused Like Slaves by Dad", "The Duke Family Fortune: Depleted By Lavish, Addiction-Fueled Spending? Heffner Duke, adopted in 1988 when she was 38 and the heiress was in her 70s, could not be reached for comment. The 1987 will had designated Heffner executor. The plane included a bedroom decorated to resemble a bedroom in a real house. Relatives, Associates, Neighbors & Classmates. ", Almost every friend of Duke's I talked to, including her many homosexual friends, told me that she had always been an avid heterosexual. and I finally quit just before Labor Day. The last words were 'Stay in touch, Harry.' Under Chandi Heffner's leadership, CDHIF provides funding and support to a number of animal programs that benefit work . And let me tell you that she gave a really nice dinner party for me at the nadir of my fortunes. And he confirmed that he had been named an executor when Duke revised her 1987 will in March 1991. How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! People get annoyed with their kids. (Other sources say the meeting took place in 1985.) Like all of her houses, it was guarded by fierce Dobermans or German shepherds. ", Glenn Scott Greenhouse, the president of the Pavillion Agency, confirmed that Lafferty's drinking became an issue at the Peltzes'. It's not true. The heiress and onetime Harper's Bazaar contributor led a dramatic life she sued her mother at 14, seduced countless men, and accidentally killed a close friend. Chandi Duke Heffner photos, including production stills, premiere photos and other event photos, publicity photos, behind-the-scenes, and more. . ") ", Like many of her friends, Protas is unclear about when Duke went into the hospital for the operations on her knees, or when she came out. I knew from the beginning she was a son of a bitch." Mercedes Bass remembered Duke's coming for tea at the Carlyle Hotel a year or so earlier and introducing Heffner as "my niece." Chandi Heffner is a small, sturdy woman with thick black shoulder-length hair and bone-white skin. 'Doris Duke really was the last Chinese empress, the last of a type that doesn't exist anymore. The Sands says that Lafferty managed the theater, which headlined such stars as Bill Cosby, Joel Grey, and Rita Moreno. It was 1982, and Heffner was taking a class at Farrah's studio near Times Square. A day after returning home from this second surgery, she suffered a severe stroke. 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. The private pilot hired to fly Duke's Boeing 737 quit his job because of Heffner, and filed a letter with the Federal Aviation Administration complaining of her unstable behavior. He received nothing. But I have no real medical knowledge of what transpired in California during the spring and summer of last year.". [36], After a brief investigation, the Newport police ruled the death was accidental. And along about March, I sent flowers and candy to her California home. Chandi maintains relationships with many people -- family, friends, associates, & neighbors -- including Tomoko Hasejima, Kumiko Takata, Tadashi Kageyama, Masakatsu Ogata and Maki Ogata. Once Chandi was adopted she took over Dukes life. Chandi called Steve Levyhe did security for Doristo find out what to do. . Within months she established the Newport Restoration Foundation, which has since renovated 84 of the city's colonial era buildings. Alec Cunningham-Reid. His family all died, and he had one remaining relative, in Philadelphia. Duke spent her early childhood at Duke Farms, her father's 2,700-acre (11km2) estate in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey. In her will, Duke requested that no funeral or memorial service be held for her. Even the doctor who subsequently challenged the will said in 1994: "He always seemed to be there whenever Doris needed him. Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, with whom Duke was friends, was the vice president and publicly supported the foundation. to see possible education history including where and when they attending high school and college, and a complete list of her high school class list. 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. After testy negotiations with local authorities, she finally shipped the pieces to New Jersey and installed them in her indoor tennis court. She thought it was very amusing. [44] In 1988 Duke adopted 32-year-old Chandi Heffner in Hawaii. In a so-called "galimony" lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Somerville, N.J., where the heiress lives several months of the year at her 5,000-acre compound known as Duke Farms, Heffner claims she is entitled to compensation from Duke, who abruptly broke off their live-in relationship in 1991. "I looked upon Bernard as a member of the small Doris Duke family," says Donald Robinson. Doris Duke (November 22, 1912 October 28, 1993) was an American billionaire tobacco heiress, philanthropist, art collector, horticulturalist, and socialite. Duke's passions varied wildly. [64] The Surrogate Court of Manhattan overrode Duke's will and appointed new trustees from among those who had challenged it: Harry Demopoulos; J. Carter Brown (later also involved in overturning the will of Albert C. Barnes);[70][citation needed] Marion Oates Charles, the sole trustee from Duke's last will; James Gill, a lawyer; Nannerl O. Keohane, president of Duke University; and John J. Mack, president of Morgan Stanley. Irwin Bloom had made the arrangements and then Duke called Protas from Los Angeles and joked, ''For God's sake, try to pay it back," Protas recalled. The police chief retired to Florida within a year and bought two condominiums for himself; he was succeeded as chief by the detective who had investigated the incident, instead of his boss who was seen as next in line. She also donated funds to support and educate black students in the South who were disadvantaged because of racism. This month, Chandi Heffner's lawyers, Ben Michel of Riker, Danzig and David Keyko of Winthrop, Stimson, will file her objections to Duke's will in New York State Surrogate Court, accusing Bernard Lafferty of "undue influence and sequestering." Chandi Heffner is a small, sturdy woman with thick black shoulder-length hair and bone-white skin. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. They were initially awarded a larger sum that was subsequently reduced with the aid of Duke's lawyers. 'I loved her so much. After Tirella's death, she seemed consumed with the idea of actually becoming a performer. "We discussed cremation, and she said, 'Never, never, ever let anyone cremate me.' . Rough Point was deeded to the Newport Restoration Foundation in 1999 and opened to the public in 2000. This went on almost every meal. Lafferty has released few details about Duke's final illness. At her father's estate in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey, she created one of the largest indoor botanical displays in the United States. And Nicolas first cousin on her fathers side is the great New York broadcaster and filmmaker Perri Peltz, whose father was Nelsons older brother. ", After Thanksgiving, as she had for five decades, Duke left for Hawaii. Briefly a news correspondent in the 1940s, she also played jazz piano and learned to surf competitively. Her principal residence and official domicile[27] was Duke Farms, her father's 2,700 acre (11km2) estate in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey. Duke." "Whenever she walked into your room, she made the room," recalls Mercedes Bass. To this day he maintains, "A lot of injustice was done to me. I know a lot of bull dykes. . Heffner also claims she saved the heiress's life on more than one occasion: once when Duke collapsed at her Newport estate in a "pool of blood," and a second time when Heffner recalls diving into the freezing Atlantic to save Duke from drowning. There are many ways to date the development of the economics of education. She was contemplating having knee replacements. Lafferty served. Duke's extensive travels led to an interest in a variety of cultures, and during her lifetime she amassed a considerable collection of Islamic and Southeast Asian art. I suppose it was Doris's fault for never talking about what she did.". ", In late 1990, he said, "I detected a growing unhappiness on Doris's part. And he had quite a history. He always seemed to be there whenever she needed him. That fall, she attended a tribute to Sophia Loren at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and a fancy party afterward at Tatou, with Imelda Marcos, Rossellini, Natale, and Lafferty, who wore a ski sweater. She continued to give him money, and friends say that their sexual relationship never really ended. Dukes father, James Buchanan Duke, founded American Tobacco Co. Heffner, 42, was adopted by Duke in 1988, but after the two had a falling out, Duke took Heffner out of the will. 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. ", In February, a few weeks after Protas returned to New York with Graham, he received a phone call from Duke at three in the morning. ", Sometimes, Robert Farrah recalls, "Doris would throw up her hands and say, 'No wills! In a settlement signed Thursday by Manhattan Surrogate Court Judge Renee Roth, Chandi Duke Heffner, 42, dropped claims to the $1.2-billion estate and dropped a breach-of-contract suit contending that Duke reneged on a promise to support her for life, said Heffners lawyer, David Keyko. ", Donald Robinson, who represented Duke in the Marcos matter, recalls going out to Duke Farms after Imelda Marcos posted bail in New York: "The group was Imelda and her lawyer, one of her daughters, Franco Rossellini, his friend Enzo Natale, Chandi, and Doris. Chandi has taken control of this Reputation Profile & made sections private. He's a sweet human being, and he seemed to be honest and fiercely defensive of her.".