Actor

Merlin Olsen

Acting

Career Snapshot

Explained

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Acting credits

Active

Consistent number of acting credits.

TMDB popularity

1.7

Low visibility

TMDB internal trend index. Higher usually means more searches and page activity now.

Movies: 7Series: 9

TMDB ID: 165055

IMDb ID: nm0647744

Known for: Acting

Born: September 15, 1940

Died: March 10, 2010

Age: 69

Place of birth: Logan, Utah, USA

Gender: Male

Adult content flag: No

Career span: 1963 - 2022

Years active: 60

Average TMDB rating: 5.96

Wikidata: Q952127

TMDB TMDB IMDb IMDb W Wikidata

Biography

Merlin Jay Olsen (September 15, 1940 – March 11, 2010) was an American professional football player, announcer, and actor. For his entire 15-year professional football career (1962 - 1976), he was a defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams. He was selected to play in the Pro Bowl a then-record 14 times (surpassed only by Tom Brady). He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. As an actor, Olsen is best known for portraying farmer Jonathan Garvey on the fourth through seventh seasons of Little House on the Prairie (1977 - 1981). He went on to star as the title character in the Western series Father Murphy (1981 - 1983).

Movies

Movie credits linked with Merlin Olsen.