Merlin Olsen
Acting Born Sep 15, 1940 Logan, Utah, USA 19 credits
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).
Ask the Vault
Ask anything about Merlin Olsen.
Full filmography
- Petticoat Junction (1963)
- Little House on the Prairie (1974) as Jonathan Garvey
- The Undefeated (1969) as Little George
- Monday Night Football (1970) as Defensive Tackle
- Monday Night Football (1970) as Left Defensive Tackle
- Monday Night Football (1970) as Defensive tackle
- Shindig! (1964)
- Father Murphy (1981) as John Michael Murphy
- Aaron's Way (1988) as Aaron Miller
- The Brian Keith Show (1972)
- Joe Montana: Cool Under Pressure (2022) as Self (archive footage)
- Kung Fu (1972) as Perlee Skowrin
- Something Big (1971) as Sgt. Fitzsimmons
- A Fire in the Sky (1978) as Stan Webster
- Time Bomb (1984) as Jake Calahan
- One More Train to Rob (1971) as Eli Jones
- Mitchell (1975) as Benton
- Fathers and Sons (1986)
- The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story (1980) as Todd Simms