Iconic Model Dayle Haddon Passes Away Under Mysterious Circumstances: Possible Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

NEW HOPE, Pa. (AP) — Dayle Haddon, a performer, advocate, and pioneering former “Sports Illustrated” model who challenged age bias by returning to the field as a widow, has passed away in a Pennsylvania residence from what authorities suspect to be carbon monoxide poisoning.

Authorities in Bucks County discovered Haddon, 76, deceased in a second-floor bedroom early Friday after emergency dispatchers were alerted regarding an unconscious individual at the Solebury Township residence. A man, also 76, later identified by police as Walter J. Blucas from Erie, was admitted to the hospital in critical condition.

Responders identified elevated levels of carbon monoxide in the house, and township police stated on Saturday that investigators concluded that “a defective flue and exhaust pipe on a gas heating system led to the carbon monoxide leak.” Two paramedics were taken to a hospital due to carbon monoxide exposure, and a police officer received treatment at the scene.

During her modeling career, Haddon graced the covers of Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Esquire throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including the 1973 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. According to IMDb.com, she was featured in around two dozen films from the 1970s to the 1990s, including the 1994 film “Bullets Over Broadway,” starring John Cusack.

Haddon departed from modeling after giving birth to her daughter, Ryan, in the mid-1970s, but was compelled to return to the workforce following her husband’s death in 1991. Upon her return, she found the modeling industry considerably less inviting: “They told me, ‘At 38, you’re not marketable,’” Haddon remarked to The New York Times in 2003.

While working a low-level position at an advertising firm, Haddon began to reach out to cosmetics companies, informing them of the expanding market for beauty products aimed at aging baby boomers. Eventually, she secured a contract with Clairol, followed by work with Estée Lauder and then L’Oreal, for which she endorsed the company’s anti-aging products for over a decade. She also hosted beauty segments for CBS’s “The Early Show.”

“I continued modeling, but in a different fashion,” she shared with The Times, “I became a spokesperson for my age.”

In 2008, Haddon established WomenOne, an organization dedicated to improving educational prospects for girls and women in underprivileged communities, including Rwanda, Haiti, and Jordan.

Born in Toronto, Haddon began her modeling journey as a teenager to fund her ballet classes — she initiated her career with the Canadian ballet company Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, according to her website.

Haddon’s daughter, Ryan, expressed in a social media statement that her mother was “everyone’s greatest supporter. An inspiration to many.”

“A pure heart. A profound inner life. Touching countless lives. A life well lived. Rest in Light, Mom,” she stated.

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