SALT LAKE CITY – Merlin Olsen, a Hall of Fame defensive lineman and member of the Los Angeles Rams' "Fearsome Foursome" who followed up football with a successful television career in Little House on the Prairie, NFL broadcasts and commercials, has died. He was 69.

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.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued a statement lauding Olsen as an "extraordinary person, friend and football player."

"He cared deeply about people, especially those that shared the game of football with him," Goodell said. "Merlin was a larger-than-life person, literally and figuratively, and leaves an enormously positive legacy."

Olsen was an All-American at Utah State and a first-round draft pick of the Rams in 1962.

He joined Deacon Jones, Lamar Lundy and Rosey Grier on the Rams' storied "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line known for either stopping or knocking backward whatever offenses it faced.

Olsen was rookie of the year for the Rams in 1962 and is still the Rams' all-time leader in career tackles with 915. He was named to 14 consecutive Pro Bowls, a string that started his rookie year.

He was voted NFC defensive lineman of the year in 1973 and the NFL MVP in 1974, and was voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.

After football, Olsen was an established television actor with a role on Little House on the Prairie. He played the character, Jonathan Garvey, opposite Michael Landon from 1977-1981 on the show.

He then starred in his own series, Father Murphy, from 1981 to 1983 and the short-lived Aaron's Way in 1988.

As an NFL analyst, Olsen worked alongside TV broadcaster Dick Enberg for NBC Sports.