Bernard and Doris is a 2006 film directed by Bob Balaban. The teleplay by Hugh Costello is a semi-fictionalized account of the relationship that developed between socialite heiress and philanthropist Doris Duke and her self-destructive Irish butler Bernard Lafferty later in her life.

Plot

In 1987, Doris Duke, considered the wealthiest woman in the world, hires Bernard Lafferty, who lists Elizabeth Taylor and Peggy Lee as former employers on his résumé, as her majordomo. He explains a six-month gap in his employment history was due to "health issues," a euphemism for time spent in rehab to deal with his addiction to alcohol. He assures Doris, who immediately suspects the truth, he is capable of performing his duties without any problems. As Bernard moves in, the viewer can quickly tell he is a little neurotic, first putting portraits of his former employers, Taylor and Lee, in his bedroom, then informing the rest of the staff he is now "Miss Duke's eyes and ears" and demanding they listen to him. Despite Bernard's growing affection for Doris, the brash and often crude Doris thinks little of him, not even remembering how to correctly pronounce his name. However, their situation slowly evolves into a more emotionally intimate but non-physical relationship as Doris returns from a plastic surgery center one evening, drunk and on painkillers, and is aided by Bernard who stays with her through the night.