http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/20 ... -dies-age/

Pro Football Hall of Famer and former television actor Merlin Olsen has died. He was 69.

Utah State University assistant athletic media relations director Zach Fisher says Olsen died Wednesday night.

Olsen was an All-American at Utah State and a first-round draft pick of the Los Angles Rams in 1962.

He was part of the Rams' "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line, which set an NFL record for the fewest yards allowed during a 14-game season in 1968.

Olsen is still the Rams' all-time leader in career tackles with 915.

Olsen 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.

Olsen is a prominent part of some of my earliest NFL memories as part of the "Fearsome Foursome".

In those days, one of the side benefits of starring for the Rams or Dodgers was that players could get cameo spots on TV shows that were shot in Hollywood.

Then, as now, television and movie stars and honchos were startstruck in their own way when it came to prominent athletes.

The two Rams who I recall making the most cameos were Merlin Olsen and David "Deacon" Jones. Olsen was able to parlay those cameos into a legitimate acting career.

And that was nothing to take lightly when you realize that even though athletes in the 60s made more than the average Joe, they didn't make the kind of money that would make you wealthy for life the way stars do today.