Dayle Haddon, a trailblazing actor, activist, and former Sports Illustrated model who challenged age discrimination by reentering the industry as a widow, died at her Pennsylvania home. Authorities believe her death was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.
Bucks County officials discovered Haddon, 76, deceased in a second-floor bedroom on Friday morning after receiving reports of an unconscious person at the Solebury Township residence. A 76-year-old man, identified as Walter J. Blucas of Erie, was found at the scene and remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Responders detected dangerously high carbon monoxide levels in the home. Township police announced Saturday that investigators traced the leak to a faulty flue and exhaust pipe in the gas heating system. Two medics were hospitalized for carbon monoxide exposure, while a police officer received treatment at the scene.
Haddon graced the covers of Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Esquire throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including an appearance in the 1973 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Her acting career spanned several decades, with roles in approximately two dozen films from the 1970s to the 1990s, according to IMDb.com. Among her notable performances was a role in the 1994 film Bullets Over Broadway, starring John Cusack.
After leaving modeling in the mid-1970s to focus on raising her daughter, Ryan, Haddon returned to the workforce following her husband's death in 1991. However, she encountered a less welcoming industry. "They said to me, 'At 38, you're not viable,'" she told The New York Times in 2003.
While working a modest job at an advertising agency, Haddon began pitching cosmetic companies on the untapped potential of marketing beauty products to aging baby boomers. Her persistence paid off, earning her a contract with Clairol, followed by partnerships with Estée Lauder and L'Oréal, where she became a prominent face for their anti-aging campaigns for over a decade. She also shared her expertise by hosting beauty segments on CBS's The Early Show.
