NFL, TV Star Merlin Olsen Dead at 69

After career with LA Rams, Olsen acted in 'Little House on the Prairie'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 11, 2010 11:26 AM CST
NFL, TV Star Merlin Olsen Dead at 69
Pro Football Hall of Famer and former television actor Merlin Olsen in 2001.   (AP Photo)

Pro Football Hall of Famer and former television actor Merlin Olsen is dead at 69. Olsen was an All-American at Utah State and a first-round draft pick of the Los Angles Rams in 1962, where he was part of the "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line that set an NFL record for the fewest yards allowed during a 14-game season in 1968. He moved on to acting with roles in Little House on the Prairie and later his own series, Father Murphy, which ran from 1981 to 1983. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma last year. (More Merlin Olsen stories.)

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