PRAIRIE'S MERLIN OLSEN DEAD

NFL great, Merlin Olsen, the star of TV's Father Murphy and Little House on the Prairie has died. He was 69.

Olsen rose to fame as a football star in the 1960s as part of the Los Angeles Rams' "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line.

He then went on to play Jonathan Garvey on Little House in 1977 followed by his own series, Father Murphy.

Utah State, Olsen's alma mater, said he died outside of Los Angeles early Thursday after battling cancer.

He was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung lining, last year.

"I love the game of football," Olsen said in his NFL Hall of Fame induction speech. "There was some special magic out on that piece of grass out there on that field. And win or lose when I came off that field, it was always coming down.

"I am sure that the thing I miss most about the game is the people, the very special people and those incredible highs and lows."