Merlin olsen net worth

American football player, announcer, and actor (–)

American football player

Merlin Jay Olsen (; September 15, – March 11, )^[1] was an American professional football player, announcer, and actor. For his entire year professional football career he was a defensive tackle with the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL).

He was selected to play in the Pro Bowl 14 times — every year but his last. The only other football players to have matched or exceeded that number are the former offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, the former tight end Tony Gonzalez, the former quarterback Peyton Manning, and former quarterback Tom Brady, who is the only NFL player to have played more times in the Pro Bowl, with 15 selections.

In , Olsen received the Outland Trophy, awarded to as the best lineman of the year in college football. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. As an actor, he portrayed farmer Jonathan Garvey on Little House on the Prairie. After leaving that series, he starred in his own NBC drama, Father Murphy.

Early life

Merlin Olsen was born in Logan, Utah, where his parents, Merle Barrus and Lynn Jay Olsen, graduated from Utah State University (USU) and began their careers. His father was a professor at the university while his mother had graduated in elementary education. Merlin was the second of nine siblings and the first-born son.

The family opened their home to host, feed, sleep, or tutor anyone in the neighborhood; during the winter, Merle would lay wood over the entrance of the house so that ice skaters from the local park could walk in.

Merlin pursued athletics in high school but was cut from the basketball team while in grade&#;9, told by the coach that athletics wasn't for him and that he should take up the arts.

Susan wakely

Merlin Jay Olsen (/ ˈoʊlsən /; September 15, – March 11, ) [1] was an American professional football player, announcer, and actor. For his entire year professional football career he was a defensive tackle with the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL).

Later, Olsen turned down a football scholarship to Stanford University to play for USU. Classmate Ross Peterson described him as a "natural, big, strong leader he could have been successful at anything".^[2] His brothers Phil and Orrin also played football.

College career

Olsen attended Utah State University where he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, and was a three-year letterman in football as a defensive tackle.

He graduated from the College of Business and Social Sciences at USU with a bachelor's degree in finance in and a master's degree in economics in ^[3] He later received an honorary doctorate degree in business from the Huntsman School.^[3]

In football, as a senior, he was a consensus All-American selection and was the winner of the Outland Trophy.

After Olsen's junior year in , he was also named All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and Newspaper Enterprise Association.

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He was also All-Conference in both and Olsen and Utah State were in the Sun Bowl, losing to New Mexico State, 20– Led by Olsen, the Aggie defense held the New Mexico State Aggies to just 44 rushing yards on 32 carries.^[4]

The Aggie defense Olsen anchored as a senior gave up an average of rushing yards (which led the nation), passing yards, and total yards which all still stand as school records for defense.

The Aggie defense gave up an average points a game, which is second in team history behind Olsen's team, which allowed points per game.^[5] Additionally, the Aggie defense held four opponents to less than total yards. One, the University of Idaho, was held to a school-record 23 total yards, with the Aggies winning 69–0.

The Aggies, not known as a national power football program, finished 10th in both the AP and UPI post-season polls, the only time that has occurred in school history. The Aggies had a combined 18–3–1 record during Olsen's junior and senior seasons under coach John Ralston and were conference champions those two seasons as well.^[6]

He was a member of the Utah State University chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity, which has an annual Merlin Olsen Day of Service named in his honor where brothers are encouraged to give back to their communities.

Awards and honors

Olsen played in the East-West Shrine Game in and in was voted to the game's Hall of Fame.^[7] He also played in the Hula Bowl after his senior season and was voted MVP of the game.^[8]

Olsen is a member of the State of Utah's Sports Hall of Fame, the Utah State University Sports Hall of Fame and USU's All-Century Football Team.

In , he was selected by Sports Illustrated as one of the State of Utah's Top 50 Athletes of the Century. He was voted to the All-Academic All-America Hall of Fame in In , he was voted to the Newspaper Enterprise Association All-Time All-America team with collegiate greats such as Bronko Nagurski, Red Grange, Jim Thorpe, and O.

J. Simpson, among others.^[9]

In , Olsen was named to the 75th Anniversary All-Sun Bowl Team to commemorate the Sun Bowl Association's Diamond Anniversary.^[10]

Utah State University announced the intention to name its football field after Olsen during a ceremony in Logan during halftime of the USU-St.

Mary's basketball game on December 5, ^[11]

Olsen was also a three-time academic All-American at Utah State and graduated summa cum laude in with a degree in finance.^[5]

After college, Olsen had offers from both the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League and the Denver Broncos of the rival American Football League.

He chose the security of the NFL and signed with the Rams. Olsen's first contract was for around $50, for two years, plus a signing bonus. It was , and the average football player salary at the time was around $12, a year. He was the first USU Aggie to be drafted in the 1st round of the NFL draft.^[5]

Olsen played professionally (–) for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League.

A leading defensive star of his era, he missed only two games in his season NFL career. He was named the NFL's Rookie of the Year in and was First-team All-Pro in , and through He was voted Second-team All-Pro in , and ^[12]

Olsen almost ended up on offense, but was later moved to the defensive line after a few experiments in practice.

Soon he became part of one of the best front fours in NFL history. Deacon Jones, Rosey Grier, and Lamar Lundy joined Olsen on the defensive line in that was nicknamed "The Fearsome Foursome".^[12] He was named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Week for week 12 in Olsen scored his first touchdown in that game.

Though Jones was the face of the Fearsome Foursome, it was Olsen who did much of the heavy lifting. Offensive lineman would often double or triple team Jones, leaving Olsen one on one or with a clear shot of the ball carrier.

Throughout the s, this quartet terrorized opposing offenses. Olsen's play helped the Rams to the playoffs in and He was voted the club's Outstanding Defensive Lineman from to by the Los Angeles Rams Alumni.

In week 14, , Olsen and the rest of the Fearsome Foursome were named the AP NFL Defensive Players of the Week for their performance against the Baltimore Colts. In the s, Olsen continued his dominant play at defensive tackle and his 11 sacks in were second on the team. After week 8 in , Olsen was named the Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in his career.^[12]

The Rams won the NFC West crown in through thanks in part to the play of Olsen.

They ranked first in the NFL in run defense in and and finished second in sacking opposing passers both years. In Olsen was voted the NFLPA NFC Defensive Lineman of the Year and the next season, , he was the recipient of Bert Bell Award as the NFL MVP as voted by the Maxwell Club. Olsen accepted the award "on behalf of all who toil in the NFL trenches".

Merlin and two of his brothers, Phil and Orrin, played in the NFL; Merlin and Phil playing together for the Rams from to Their nephew Hans, son of their brother Clark, also played professional football.^[13] In and , the Rams defense finished second in the NFL against the run while ranking in the top five in sacking opposing quarterbacks and compiling a record over those two seasons.

Olsen's last game was the NFC Championship game in at Bloomington, Minnesota. The Vikings took advantage on a freak play early in the game. A blocked field goal returned 90 yards for a touchdown shocked the Rams in the first quarter. The defense was later victimized by a couple of big plays by the Vikings. The Rams came up short, losing 24–13, bringing the storied career of the Rams' finest defensive tackle to an end.

Olsen made the Pro Bowl a then-record 14 times, missing it only in his final year. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in in his first year of eligibility; he selected his college position coach Tony Knap as his presenter.^[14] In , Olsen was ranked 25th on The Sporting News' list of the Greatest Football Players.^[15]

Olsen enjoyed continued success after the NFL as a broadcaster, actor, and businessman.^[16]

Olsen served as a televisioncolor commentator, teaming mostly with Dick Enberg on NBC's coverage of the AFC during the late s and almost all of the s.

He and Enberg also teamed for four Super Bowls (XV, XVII, XX and XXIII), as well as nine Rose Bowls from to Olsen also worked Super Bowl XIII in with Curt Gowdy and John Brodie (Enberg was then serving as pre-game/halftime/post-game host). In , Olsen was replaced by^[17]Bill Walsh as NBC's lead NFL color commentator. For the season, Olsen worked with Charlie Jones on NBC's broadcasts.

In and , he moved to CBS Sports doing NFL games with Dick Stockton.

Olsen developed a successful career as an actor. He appeared as the character Little George in the John Wayne movie, The Undefeated, with Rams teammate Roman Gabriel, in

In , he appeared once on Petticoat Junction, playing mountaineer Merlin Fergus in the episode "With This Ring".

When Little House on the Prairie actor Victor French left to star in his own comedy Carter Country in , Olsen was tapped to play Michael Landon's new sidekick Jonathan Garvey for several years. One memorable quote from his character's son Andy Garvey, "My pa doesn't know anything about football!" came when Andy's friends suggested that Jonathan coach their football team.

Olsen played the starring role of John Michael Murphy in the NBC television drama series Father Murphy.

Roman gabriel Merlin Olsen (born September 15, , Logan, Utah, U.S.—died March 11, , Duarte, California) was an American gridiron football player, sports announcer, and actor who was one of the most extraordinary defensive linemen in National Football League (NFL) history.

In the Highway to Heaven episode ("The Good Doctor"), the main character, Alex, tells Mark Gordon (Victor French) that "All I could see was the flowers and the beard. I thought you were Merlin Olsen." This is an inside joke since Olsen, Landon, and French were in the TV series Little House on the Prairie earlier in their careers.

Olsen's last acting work was in the short-lived TV series Aaron's Way.

Olsen was also the commercial spokesman for FTD Florists for many years. A part-time resident of the Coachella Valley, Olsen was the longtime radio and television spokesman for Palm Desert-based El Paseo Bank.^[18]

Olsen also appeared in many Sigma Chi fraternity promotional campaigns; he and his brother Phil were Life Loyal Sigs, Significant Sigs (given to members for distinguishing acts outside the fraternity), and members of the Order of Constantine (given for service to the Fraternity).

Olsen donated one of his cleats, which were bronzed, to be used during the annual football rivalry between two Las Vegas high schools, Eldorado High School and Chaparral High School, which both opened in ^[19] Each year, Olsen presented the "trophy" in the ceremony at the rivalry game.^{[citation needed]}

Olsen often co-hosted the Children's Miracle Networktelethons, a humanitarian organization founded in by Marie Osmond and John Schneider.

Awards

He was named the Walter Camp Man of the Year in and Athlete of the Century for the state of Utah. During halftime of a basketball game between Utah State, Olsen's alma mater, and Saint Mary's on December 5, , Utah State University announced that the playing surface inside Romney Stadium, home stadium for the university's football program, would be named Merlin Olsen Field in Olsen's honor.

Because of Olsen's illness, Utah State decided not to wait until the football season to hold the ceremony; he was able to attend the game, but did not speak.^[20] A sculpture of Olsen was unveiled in a plaza south of the stadium during an official dedication ceremony in Fall ^[21]

In , Olsen was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame.^[22]

In , Olsen was inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame.^[23]

In , Olsen was inducted into the Utah Tourism Hall of Fame.^[24]

Olsen was voted to the California Sports Hall of Fame Class of , along with Bill Walton, Dwight Stones, and Jim Otto, among others.^[25]

In , Olsen served as Grand Marshal of the Rose Parade.

Personal life

On March 30, , Olsen married Susan Wakley, a fellow USU student. They had three children: Kelly, Jill, and Nathan. Olsen was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a resident of San Marino, California.^[26]

Olsen was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in ,^[27] and underwent three courses of chemotherapy.

In December , he filed a lawsuit against 25 defendants including NBC Studios, NBC Universal, 20th Century Fox, Georgia Pacific, Sherwin-Williams, and Lennox Corp. for allegedly exposing him to the asbestos which he claimed had caused his cancer.^[28][29]

Olsen died on March 11, , at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, at age ^[30][20][31]

Olsen is buried at San Gabriel Cemetery in San Gabriel, California.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links