Bernard Lafferty (14 April 1945 – 4 November 1996) was an Irish butler and heir to American tobacco heiress and philanthropist, Doris Duke.
Duke hired Lafferty in 1987 and named him the executor of her $1.2 billion estate six months prior to her death in October 1993.
He befriended many famous and influential people during his tenure, including Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and Peggy Lee.
[7] Lafferty purchased a $2.5 million mansion in Bel Air, where he resided until he died, three years later, in his sleep of a heart attack in 1996.
[8][9] In 1999, Lafferty was portrayed by Richard Chamberlain in a four-part television miniseries titled, Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke.