Merlin Olsen, who went from being a member of the Los Angeles Rams’ legendary “Fearsome Foursome” defensive line in the 1960s, a member of the NFL Hall of Fame and to playing Jonathan Garvey on TV’s Little House on the Prairie as well as the lead role in TV’s Father Murphy in the ‘70s and ‘80s, has died.
ABC 4 News in Salt Lake City, Utah reports that Olsen, 69, succumbed to mesothelioma last night. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lung caused by even low levels of exposure to asbestos.
Also from Utah, the Cache Valley Daily writes that Olsen, “perhaps the most accomplished athlete to ever come out of Cache Valley …was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2009 and had been undergoing several rounds of chemotherapy.”
Earlier this year, Olsen brought legal claims in Los Angeles based on his mesothelioma diagnosis. In that suit, Olsen stated he was exposed to asbestos containing products while working as a laborer and construction worker during summers and after school from the time he was 10 through college.
Olsen was diagnosed with this dreadful cancer in July of last year. Tragically, Mr. Olsen joins a growing list of celebrities, as well as thousands of Americans, that have died from malignant mesothelioma including Steve McQueen, Hamilton Jordan, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, and Warren Zevon.
Tags: asbestos lawyer dallas, cancer lawyer dallas, mesothelioma dallas, mesothelioma lawyer, texas mesothelioma lawyer