A 2016 interview where Hallmark Channel actor Marc Blucas talks about the extensive restoration project he undertook on his 300-year-old Pennsylvania farmhouse resurfaced Saturday after his mother-in-law, former supermodel Dayle Haddon, died of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.
In the eight-year-old interview, Blucas — who is married to Haddon’s daughter, Ryan Haddon — described the home as a meaningful family project.
The 52-year-old revealed that he and Ryan Haddon, 53, purchased the 1711-built property to ‘be closer to family.’
‘It’s pretty amazing,’ Blucas said. ‘And it’s a way to stay creatively stimulated when I’m not out filming and working.’
He added that his love for DIY projects and historic structures inspired the move to the East Coast
‘I think — like most do-it-yourselfers — you like working with your hands, you know? [And] it’s the only part of the United States that has that kind of architecture with old stone barns and old stone houses. So I know it would be projects for life.’
Best known for his role as Riley Finn on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Blucas also reflected on his restoration journey in a heartfelt 2021 Instagram post.
He shared that after moving to Pennsylvania a decade earlier, he obtained his contractor’s license and took on multiple restoration projects.
Comments from Hallmark Channel actor Marc Blucas about restoring the house where his mother-in-law, Dayle Haddon, tragically passed away have resurfaced
Tragically, Dayle Haddon was found unresponsive in a second-floor bedroom of the Bucks County home on Friday, Dec. 27.
‘When we moved to Pennsylvania 10 years ago, my wife took a giant leap of faith…by allowing me to pursue a dream to find a historic property that I could restore for our growing family,’ he wrote in the post’s caption.
‘That’s a really nice way of saying I wanted to buy — and live in — a s——-. A place I could re-imagine. One that was going to require patience, love and effort to make it a finished product.’
He continued: ‘And while I’m not sure that’s ever an attainable result with a 310 year old farmhouse, we have created something magical along the way, and hopefully showed our kids the value of hard work, preserving our historic buildings and the gratification that comes with learning new things and doing them yourself.’
Tragically, Dayle Haddon was found unresponsive in a second-floor bedroom of the Bucks County home on Friday, Dec. 27.
According to an official police report, emergency responders also discovered 76-year-old Walter Blucas unconscious on the first floor.
He was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., where he continues to receive treatment.
The investigation determined that a faulty flue and exhaust pipe on the gas heating system caused a carbon monoxide leak.
‘This tragic incident is a stark reminder of the importance of carbon monoxide safety in our homes,’ the police report stated in a Dec. 28 update.
Blucas and Ryan, who married in 2012, share two daughters.
Ryan also has two children from her previous marriage to Christian Slater.
Pictured: The Burks County Home that Dayle was found in
Blucas revealed that he and Ryan, 53, purchased the 1711-built property to ‘be closer to family.’
Dayle was a former actress and supermodel
Dayle Haddon enjoyed a successful modeling career spanning decades.
Her peak was in the 1970s and ’80s, gracing covers like Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (1973) and appearing twice on Harper’s Bazaar’s Ten Most Beautiful Women list.
Even in her 70s, she remained active, featuring in Vogue as recently as August 2024. Haddon, born in Montreal, Canada in 1948, became a prominent face for cosmetics giants like Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, Max Factor, and Revlon.
Beyond modeling, she pursued a career in film, appearing in several American productions in the 1970s, including “The World’s Greatest Athlete” (1973) alongside Jan-Michael Vincent.
After relocating to Europe, her focus shifted towards international cinema, though she continued to appear in occasional American films, such as “North Dallas Forty” (1979) with Nick Nolte and “Cyborg” (1989) starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. She also had small roles in Woody Allen’s “Bullets Over Broadway” (1994) and “Celebrity” (1998).
Fluent in both French and English, Haddon dedicated her later years to activism. She served as a UNICEF ambassador and founded WomenONe, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing education for girls and women.