Posted on 03/11/2010 9:28:43 AM PST by rdl6989
SALT LAKE CITY - 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 at a Los Angeles hospital.
He was diagnosed with mesothelioma last year. Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here
Olsen was an All-American at Utah State and a first-round draft pick of the Los Angles Rams in 1962.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcsports.msnbc.com ...
Ping.
Bummer. I remember watching that show as a family when we were all youngin’s in the late 70s. I’ll let Mom and Dad know. Those were good times.
69 still strikes me as too young...goodbye, Merlin.
Rest in Peace!
may he Rest In Peace and our prayers are with his loved ones
A GREAT, great football player. Just a top of the line defensive lineman. No idea what he was like as a person, but boy, what a fearsome player. God take him.
Where could he have been exposed to asbestos?
Hmmm, nothing came up when I searched for it.
Awwwwwwww. What a shame. He was one of my fave characters on the show....and seemed like such a sweetie.
How in the world did he get exposed to Asbestos?
How in the world did he get exposed to Asbestos?
I’m asking the same question. Utah has mining communities. Where’d he grow up? What did he do for summer jobs?
Great actor and football player. Also, a genuinely nice guy, as were most of the people in that series. Any idea where he picked up mesothelioma? I thought that was a disease related to working with asbestos or smoking, neither of which Olsen did so far as I know.
Presumably on some of the sets. He sued NBC in January for exposure.
Given the timeframe of his work, asbestos could have been used in some of the sets. I don’t know where, but it’s possible.
I have no idea...
Plus, he was a good football announcer. And, he did those flower commercials. I bet he really was a nice guy when the camera wasn’t on him....unlike Tiger Woods.
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