RIP "Jonathan Garvey"

[Erin1700]

Merlin Olsen passed away. So sad! I know a lot of you know him from football, but he will always be sweet Jonathan Garvey to me!

 

[jiminyC_fan]

I feel the same way. I see him as soft spoken Mr. Garvey! I was sorry to hear of his passing!

 

[NY Disney fan]

I love Jonathan Did you know his fake daughter Alicia was Paris Hilton's Aunt Kyle Richards?

 

[legalsea]

If I recall (and I'm pretty sure I am right) Merlin Olsen was one of the 'fearsome foursome' of the Los Angeles Rams back in the 1960s and 70s. A great player.

 

[disneyfan67]

If I recall (and I'm pretty sure I am right) Merlin Olsen was one of the 'fearsome foursome' of the Los Angeles Rams back in the 1960s and 70s. A great player.

You're correct and the word "great" describing him as a football player almost does him injustice. He was awesome and not only an important part of the "Fearsome Foursome", but his contributions to the sport helped make it the success it is today. If the Rams would have had an great offense to match their stellar defense back then, they would have been the team of the 1960's, instead of the Packers.

Kind of ironic that he played like a monster on the field, but was a gentle giant off of it. I was sorry to hear he died and may he RIP.

 

[legalsea]

Ah, a link to the story:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/03/11/merlin.olsen/index.html?hpt=T2

The article reminds me that in his book "Instant Replay" by Jerry Kramer, Kramer at one points discusses how to defend against defensive linemen (Kramer was the left guard for the Packers). Jerry said that he had to adjust his game whenever he was up against a more intelligent rusher, specifically mentioning Olsen. He said that an intelligent man like Olsen would not fall for head or shoulder fakes, etc (alas, Jerry seemed to believe that Bob Lilly, the TCU and Cowboys great, fell into the 'less intelligent' mode).

If I recall he also said that Olsen had a 'funny move' when rushing: a type of 'hop and skip' move which, Jerry said, worked great.

Memories! The Cowboys did not have to play the Rams that often back then, but when they did, the Fearsome Foursome would usually create havoc with the quarterback. All four were great. True, the Cowboys had Lilly, but most teams would simply double-team him, and then contain the others. You could not do that against the Fearsome Foursome: double-team one guy, and the other three would eat the quarterback for lunch.

I imagine in sport bars all around the country old timers like me are thinking back to the glory days of Merle Olsen.

 

[BellvilleDad]

Rest in peace, Mr. Olsen.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

I love Jonathan Did you know his fake daughter Alicia was Paris Hilton's Aunt Kyle Richards?

Interesting!

 

[mom2travel]

So sad to hear this. DH met him at a work thing a year or so ago. Said he was a really nice guy and a great speaker
RIP

 

[happygirl]

He also seemed like such a nice guy

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

I love Merlin Olsen and was really sad to hear that he had died... but... who is Jonathan Garvey??? (Obviously a character he played, but can't for the life of me figure out who it is... too lazy to google.)

 

[happygirl]

I love Merlin Olsen and was really sad to hear that he had died... but... who is Jonathan Garvey??? (Obviously a character he played, but can't for the life of me figure out who it is... too lazy to google.)

The character he played on Little House on the Praire

 

[mlynn]

RIP. I was just watching Little house this afternoon.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

I always loved him on Little House.

 

[Glynis]

My mother was his speech therapist when he was in grade school. When she passed away in 2008, he wrote a very sweet letter to my dad. He was a very sweet man, and will be missed very much! I still love watching Little House!

 

[Aisling]

I was thinking of Mr. Edwards, Mr. Olsen but ok now I remember Jonathan Garvey. He was the big guy with the son married to Alice who died in a fire with Mary Ingalls baby. And Mr. Olsen was the mercantile owner who was mean ole Nellie's father. I got confused with the two Olsen names and with Mr. Edwards (who adopted Alicia and her two brothers when their mother died, and he finally proposed to Grace the post office lady.) It's all coming back to me! I loved that show. Rest in peace, Merlin.

 

[Kim in TN]

So sad! I loved him as Johnathan Garvey but also loved his as Father Murphy. Everyone remember that show too? In fact the CNN link photo was him as Father Murphy.

 

[cristit14]

RIP

 

[Planogirl]

How sad. RIP.

 

[OK!]

You're correct and the word "great" describing him as a football player almost does him injustice. He was awesome and not only an important part of the "Fearsome Foursome", but his contributions to the sport helped make it the success it is today. If the Rams would have had an great offense to match their stellar defense back then, they would have been the team of the 1960's, instead of the Packers.

Kind of ironic that he played like a monster on the field, but was a gentle giant off of it. I was sorry to hear he died and may he RIP.

Sad to hear this news today; I found out from the Rams' Twitter account. Although he played before my time and I remember him primarily from the FTD commercials, today's a sad day.