NFL Hall of Famer, TV star Olsen dies at 69

SALT LAKE CITY - Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen, who helped form one of the NFL's greatest defensive lines before embarking on a successful career in television, died on Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was 69.

Olsen was a member of the Los Angeles Rams' "Fearsome Foursome" along with Deacon Jones, Lamar Lundy and Rosey Grier in the 1960s. He later starred on NFL broadcasts, commercials and as Jonathan Garvey on the TV series Little House on the Prairie.

"He was ferocious and fearless on the football field and then the other probably more important aspect of his personality was he was a true gentleman," said fellow Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood, his teammate with the Rams in Los Angeles. "We all know what a wonderful, tremendous football player he was, but he was so much more than that."