TOO RICH: THE SECRET LIFE OF DORIS DUKE {PART 2 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
This two-part made-for-television drama examines the strange and colorful life of billionaire tobacco heiress and philanthropist Doris Duke.
The second installment begins as a panicked Doris frets that Bernard is trying to kill her, and maid Myra and chef Peter aren't fooled by Bernard's claims of her senility. In the past, Doris' pal Barbara Hutton encourages her to pursue a relationship with Dominican diplomat and infamous womanizer Porfirio "Ruby" Rubirosa, whom Doris once interviewed for an article. Ruby acknowledges his playboy ways, but Doris is touched when he demonstrates genuine care for her as a person, not just an heiress. Alarmed by his highly questionable political past, Doris' lawyer forces Ruby to sign a pre-nuptial agreement before the wedding, and the marriage. Though passionate at first, it soon fizzles as Rubiy returns to his philandering ways. Devastated to have been used by a loved one yet again, as her mother predicted, and relieved to have the pre-nup, Doris divorces him, and he goes on to marry Barbara.
In the present, Doris' condition worsens and Bernard predicts her imminent death, quickly summoning a lawyer to make sure that her new will, which will make him fabulously wealthy, is ironclad. Years after her divorce from Ruby, Doris forms a friendship with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and conservationist Louis Bromfield, who seems totally unimpressed by her wealth and fame. The two fall in love as he shows her the wonders of nature, but he gently refuses to marry her, revealing that he is dying of multiple myeloma and doesn't wish to be "kept" by her in his final months. Doris cares for him and buys the timber rights to his land so that his beloved trees will stay unharmed; he is buried near the Doris Duke Woods when he dies. In the present, Doris' servants are disgusted when Bernard summons a hearse to the house while she is still alive, assuring the attendants that she won't survive the night.
In the past, Doris returns to Hawaii and bonds with a young woman, Chandi Heffner, née Charlene, who admits that she was cut off financially after embracing her bohemian lifestyle. Chandi introduces Doris to tai chi and veganism, among other things, and shows her the isolated Hawaiian ranch home on which she lived a rustic life for some years. Doris comes to believe that Chandi is the reincarnation of her deceased daughter Arden and makes plans to formally adopt her, though lawyer John Radford tries to explain that it can't be easily undone like a marital contract. Doris ignores his dire warnings and begins supporting new charities of Chandi's choice; once the papers are signed, Chandi introduces Doris to Bernard, a family friend whom she promises will, despite his ongoing alcoholism, improve their lives greatly when he is allowed to "take charge" of the household. Doris begins to grow jealous as her new daughter spends more time out of the house with her friends, and she angrily reminds Bernard that she, not Chandi, is his boss. Worried that she has "changed," Doris tries to win Chandi back by buying her the ranch land in Hawaii, but Chandi's greedy comments suggest that her intentions were never pure.
Bernard and Chandi's rivalry for Doris' attention escalates, particularly when Doris learns that Chandi has forced the servants to follow her own strict diet and hired a handsome "bodyguard." Aware that Chandi's legal connection with Doris is much stronger than his own, Bernard hints that her daughter has been slipping her rat poison; an outraged Doris declares their relationship "over." When she tries to cut Chandi from her will, however, she learns that her father Buck's will has a provision for his grandchildren, meaning that Chandi will end up rich regardless. Doris tests negative for any poisons, but she suffers a small stroke and Bernard tenderly cares for her, urging her to continue living. He continues his heavy drinking, however, and Doris is surprised to find that he has begun signing her checks and running the household during her convalescence. Myra and Peter grow suspicious as he declares himself her "companion" and friend. Doris soon visits her ailing mother, who cruelly suggests that their Nordic butler, not her beloved Buck, was her real father. When Nanaline dies, her will stipulates that everything go to her grandson by Walker and to the Duke Medical Center — leaving Doris only her fur coat, which she had so admired as a child, as a final insult.
Doris finally passes away, and Bernard orders her cremated without an autopsy, despite her well-known fear of fire and her request to be buried at sea. However, Bernard's bittersweet victory is short-lived, as he dies only three years after her. Her fortune reverts to the Duke Foundation, though Chandi also inherits millions. Now in the same state as Arden and Buck, onlookers assume that Doris is "at peace at last." Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: 1999/02/xx 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:27:55
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:84580
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Biography; Wealth; Adoption
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1999
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Martin Rabbett … Executive Producer
- Robert M. Sertner … Executive Producer
- Bernard Sofronski … Executive Producer
- Frank von Zerneck … Executive Producer
- Stephanie Germain … Executive Producer
- John Erman … Executive Producer, Director
- Rich Arredondo … Producer
- Randy Sutter … Producer
- Ted Babcock … Co-Producer
- Erik Storey … Co-Producer
- Bob Colacello … Co-Producer, Based on the articles by
- Peter Sadowski … Associate Producer
- Dennis Turner … Writer
- Stephanie Mansfield … Based on the book by
- Pony Duke … Based on the book by
- Jason Thomas … Based on the book by
- Patrick Williams … Music by
- Lauren Bacall … Cast, Doris Duke
- Richard Chamberlain … Cast, Bernard Lafferty
- Mare Winningham … Cast, Chandi Heffner
- Lindsay Frost … Cast, Doris Duke (age 20s to 50s)
- Michael Nouri … Cast, Porfirio Rubirosa
- Kathleen Quinlan … Cast, Nanaline Duke
- Joe Don Baker … Cast, Buck Duke
- Roberta Maxwell … Cast, Myra
- Sheila McCarthy … Cast, Tammy
- Lisa Banes … Cast, Barbara Hutton
- Brian Stokes Mitchell … Cast, Duke Kahanamoku
- Brian Dennehy … Cast, Louis Bromfield
- Craig Eldridge … Cast, Peter
- Hayden Panettiere … Cast, Young Doris Duke
- Lawrence Dane … Cast, John Radford
- Geordie Johnson … Cast, Lawyer Orin Hunter
- Hardee T. Lineham … Cast, Geoffrey Lancer
- Ivan Smith … Cast, Dr. Salvatore Paradas
- Kevin Light … Cast, Rick
- John Yates … Cast, Justice Fellows
- Catherine Colvey … Cast, Doris' Secretary
- Ray Bumatai … Cast, Hawaiian Chef
- Cynthia Yip … Cast, Hawaiian Maid
- Cherene T. Uale … Cast, Notary Public
- Howard Rosenstein … Cast, Doctor
- Andrew Tarbett … Cast, Hearse Driver
- Steve Cumyn … Cast, Nordic Butler