NEW HOPE, Pennsylvania –
Dayle Haddon, a pioneering actress, activist and former “Sports Illustrated” model who fought age discrimination by returning to the industry as a widow, died in a Pennsylvania home from what authorities believe was carbon monoxide poisoning.
Bucks County authorities found Haddon, 76, dead in a second-floor bedroom Friday morning after emergency operators were notified about an unconscious person at the Solebury Township home. A 76-year-old man who police later identified as Walter J. Blucas of Erie was hospitalized in critical condition.
First responders detected a high level of carbon monoxide at the property, and township police said Saturday that investigators determined that “a defective exhaust and flue pipe in a gas heating system caused the carbon monoxide leak.” . Two doctors were taken to a hospital for carbon monoxide exposure and a police officer was treated at the scene.
As a model, Haddon appeared on the covers of Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Esquire in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the 1973 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She also appeared in about two dozen films between the years. 1970s and 1990s, according to IMDb.com, including 1994’s “Bullets Over Broadway,” starring John Cusack.
Haddon left modeling after giving birth to her daughter, Ryan, in the mid-1970s, but then had to return to work after her husband’s death in 1991. This time she found the modeling industry to be very less friendly: “They told me, ‘At 38, you’re not viable,'” Haddon told the New York Times in 2003.
Working a menial job at an advertising agency, Haddon began approaching cosmetics companies, telling them there was a growing market for selling beauty products to aging baby boomers. She eventually landed a contract with Clairol, followed by Estée Lauder and then L’Oreal, for which she promoted the company’s anti-aging products for more than a decade. She also hosted beauty segments for CBS’ “The Early Show.”
“I continued modeling, but in a different way,” she told The Times, “I became a spokesperson for my age.”
In 2008, Haddon founded WomenOne, an organization aimed at promoting educational opportunities for girls and women in underserved communities, including Rwanda, Haiti and Jordan.
Haddon was born in Toronto and began modeling as a teenager to pay for ballet classes; She began her career with the Canadian ballet company Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, according to its website.
Haddon’s daughter, Ryan, said in a social media post that her mother was “the biggest champion of them all. An inspiration to many.”
“A pure heart. A rich inner life. Touching so many lives. A life well lived. Rest in the Light, mom,” he said.
