THE SATURDAY EVENINC POST 63

Father Murphy

After football fame with the L.A.Rams, this intimidating 275-pounder has tackled everythingfrom sports broadcasting to "Lit-tle House on the Prairie" to hiscurrent television triumph,"Father Murphy, "

byS.LaMarWade

For 15 years, Merlin Olsenmade his living knocking peo-

ple down. As a 6-foo(-5, 275-pounddefensive tackle for the Los AngelesRams, his hiis weren't recorded bystatisticians; they were monitoredby seismologists. He never had hisname sewn on his jersey—just a"Do Not Feed" sign.

Now, instead of getting paid toknock people down, he gets paid touplift them. He's been doing thatfor the past five years as JonathanGarvey on NBC's "Little House onthe Prairie" series. And in additionto his National Football Leaguebroadcasting chores, he's startinghis second season as headliner of hisown show, "Father Murphy." In arole that draws on his pastoral per-sonality and rural West upbringing,Olsen stars as an unpolished Dakotagoldminer who strikes it sentimen-tally rich, impersonating a priest tohelp save a group of orphans fromthe clutches of the harsh state work-house. This TV season he has shedthe robe, having married the or-

phanage's schoolteacher and be-come the orphans' legal guardian.

"We had a great deal of funoriginally with the idea of FatherMurphy impersonating a priest,"says Olsen. "But we found that thatstarted to get into the road as weprogressed. It was so difficult to ex-plain to people who had missed thepilot episode why Father Murphyhad to dress up as a priest. I'm hap-py with the new situation."

It may seem out of character tosee this behemoth hugging childreninstead of crashing about on our TVscreen. But not so, considering a re-mark made by one of his formerNFL rivals. Former Green BayPacker Bill Curry once describedOlsen as a "magnifying glass and apile of leaves," threatening "toburst into flame all the time." Sodespite the transition from an in-timidating athlete to a Paul Bunyanof pioneer America, Olsen is stillpropelled by that intensity.

64 THE SATURDAY EVENING POST November '82

"It 's a tremendous contrast fromsacking quarterbacks and hand-to-hand combat," he concedes. "Infooiball, I knew what my responsi-bilities were, and I knew what Ineeded to do to be good. I wantedthat kind of intensity and concentra-tion when 1 went into acting. I don'tthink that part of my personality isgone. Some of the things JonathanGarvey and the new character, JohnMichael Murphy, do are pretty vio-lent. You have to remember thatback in the days of 'Little House'you had to fight to survive."

This switch from strength to sen-timent didn't really involve anywizardry for this Merlin. "Anytimeyou deal with honest emotions, yousee it," he says. "That's one of thethings I've learned through MichaelLandon. You don't have to bemacbo to be manly. It's all right tocry. It's all right to care about kidsand dogs. Besides," he chuckles,"I've always been more comfort-able with kids and dogs anyway."

So, is Jonathan Garvey—or JohnMichael Murphy—the alter ego ofMerlin Olsen? "Not purely so," hehas decided. "But we share a lot ofvalues."

They actually have quite a bit incommon. Merlin Olsen's formativeyears were very much like those ofJonathan Garvey and John MichaelMurphy. Olsen is the second oldestof nine children born to motherMerle and father Lynn Olsen ofLogan. Utah. And he grew up insurroundings not unlike WalnutGrove.

He worked on a farm in northernUtah's Cache Valley, caring fordairy cattle, baling hay, doing someconstruction work and serving as ahod carrier. He sometimes hunteddeer and elk for family meals andeven helped out by peeling potatoesand canning peaches along with hisbrothers and sisters. And his familyknew the importance of religious in-struction as dedicated members ofthe Mormon Church.

And that's precisely why MichaelLandon, executive producer of both"Little House" and "Father Mur-phy," considers Oisen a natural. Hesays he's capitalizing on Olsen'sreal-life disposition and experience.

Surprisingly, Olsen found hisfootball colleagues responded to hisnew role not with guffaws but withencouragement.

"I started doing Jonathan Garvey

Olsen, AM-American al Utah State Uni-versity, has now been inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame.

within months after my retirementfrom football. And I knew I'd haveto go back and see (my footballfriends) when we did the broadcasts.And I was a little concerned howthey'd react," he recalls. "But theyloved it I Some of these big guys youthink chew nails came up to me andsaid, 'Hey, I sit down with my kidsand watch the show.' Most of thereaction has been positive."

In fact, that's a major reason,says Oisen, that "working with 'Lit-tle House' has been such a good ex-perience." Explains Olsen, "I havethree children"—daughters Kelly,17, and Jill, 14, and son Nathan,nine—"and here's something I cansay, 'Look, kids, I've been workingon something, and I'd like you tosee it.' How many shows could youdo that with? I think (hat's a tributeto Michael Landon and the kinds ofideas he's been able to put on TV."

Yet he realizes that some criticsthink "Little House" is too syrupyand charming to be realistic. And behas caustically been labeled a"graduating member of the 'LittleHouse' Mafia." But he's notbothered by any of that. "Somepeople would rather watch a showthat'll give them 30,000 thrills in ahalf-hour. But that's not the waylife is," Olsen figures. "Because ofthe framework it's in and becauseyoung children are going to bewatching it, you have to keep theshow rather simple. But I think the

strength of the show is its simplicity."My great grandparents came out

on the wagon trains and settled inUtah," says Olsen. "And survivalwas the key. Like in the show, theimportant thing was not that thehouse was beautiful, but would itsurvive the winter? Sometimes wetry to put our own kind of complexi-ty into the situation. But we oughtto remember those people were outthere trying to survive."

On a broader spectrum. MerlinOlsen is concerned about wbat sortof morals television is molding fortoday's youth.

"We've kind of gotten lost a littlebit," he says of the television indus-try. "We do have a responsibility toyoung people who spend a lot of timein front of ihe TV and accept whatthey see. TV has made a greater im-pact on us than anything in oursociety. We're not exactly sure justwhat impact TV has had on us. Butwe do know kids spend more timesitting in front of the TV than theydo reading and talking to theirparents and doing their homework.It's almost like a sleeping pill; youcan sit there for hours without doinganything. There's no response re-quired."

He gives an example. "Whatscares me is here in California, therewas a bank robbery within sigbt of aschool. The robber ran out of thebank and was shot and killed. . .allin front of the children," he re-counted. "And there was almost noresponse from the children. I guessthey'd seen it on TV too manytimes. Maybe we've been desensi-tized by TV. If we're doing that topeople, we've done a great dis-service." As for the contribution of"Father Murphy," Olsen says,"There are so many shows that dealwith life in the fast lane. If all yousee on television are people whodrink, use drugs and go racingaround from bed to bed, you beginto believe what you see, that every-body lives like that. We sbowanother style of life. We help toeven the scale. I don't know if tele-vision really molds children'smorals, but I definitely feel there's arole there."

He's troubled that this same ir-responsibility has spilled over intocollege athletics. Laments Olsen, "Ithink something sad has happened.We've changed the structure ofathletics today, and athletes are

THE SJI7URD/IY EVENING POST 65

becoming lazy. There's too muchwillingness to compromise. One ofthe responsibilities a school has is tomake sure the athlete is getting aneducation. By eliminating personalresponsibility, we've allowed theathlete to remain like a child.

"The athlete gets a cusby summerjob. gets to sign up for easy classesand can make it through collegewith very little effort." he says."The guy wbo gets hurt worst is theathlete. He's not asked to carry theresponsibility that'll make himgrow.

"I didn't go to school to be anathlete," Olsen states. "I appliedthe same kind of competitiveness inthe classroom that I did on the foot-ball field—and it's paid dividends."

Indeed it bas. At Utah State Uni-versity. Olsen is probably best re-membered for those accomplish-ments that won him induction inNovember 1980 into the CollegeFootball Hall of Fame. He was con-sensus All-American his senior year,won the Outland Trophy as the na-tion's top collegiate defender andplayed in three post-season all-stargames.

But Olsen hit the schoolbooks ashard a.s his football foes to begraduated summa cum laude in 1961with a degree in finance and a PhiBeta Kappa key. And he returned toearn a master's degree in economics.As a testimony to his excellence in avariety of campus activities, the ath-letic trophy case in the Utah Statebasketball arena houses a photo ofMerlin Olsen—not in football gearbut in military dress as the school'sROTC commander.

Success followed him to profes-sional football, a hazardous busi-ness he endured 15 years where theaverage career span is four. Heplayed in a record 14 Pro Bowls,was the Rams' Most ValuablePlayer in 1970 and 1972. the NFC'sMost Valuable Lineman in 1973 andwas the league's MVP in 1974.

"The most exciting thing wasplaying tbe game." Olsen says. Buthe calls his induction tbis pastAugust into the Pro Football Hailof Fame "a layer of whipped creamon a very nice dessert. It was cer-tainly the greatest honor accordedto me as an athlete."

Nevertheless, he didn't rely on hisathletic reputation to guarantee hima second career. He believes plain,hard work has carried him through.

"Being an athlete doesn't qualifyyou to be anything other than anathlete," he stresses. "Like (MiamiDolphins' Coach) Don Shula said.'Winning is never final; it justmeans you've been there.' Hardwork and preparation are what willkeep you there. If you're really goodat what you do, you make it lookeasy. And in being good, you go un-recognized. I understood that (whileplaying football). And that's one ofthe reasons 1 survived as long as Idid. In the long run. if you do yourjob, people will know."

Merlin Olsen learned at an earlyage that he would have to dependmore on perseverance than physicalability. "Up through the ninthgrade. I was always cut off teams. I

wasn't coordinated. 1 couldn't standup straight on a flat sidewalk," herecalls with a laugh. "And thecoaches would tell me, 'We're tryingto prepare kids for the high schoolteam, and you're just in the wayhere. Why don't you go out for theschool newspaper?' I couldn't sayanything. I was too busy fightingback (he tears. But then I made thesophomore football team.

"I think one of the underlyingneeds for success is some kind offrustration," he reasons. "Youhave to say to yourself, 'I don't carewhat happens. I'm going to go outand do that.' You have to have thatfire, that burning desire, fo take that

continued lo pui;i' 94

I

After Olsen's debut in The Imlefeaied. starring John Wayne, director AndrewMel.aglen said, "The big kid's a natural. If he wanted to, he could make acting acareer." The big kid wanted lo—and the director was right.

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Merlin Olsencontinued from page 65

extra step to the big league. Andwhen the body and mind worktogether as a team, they can doamazing things."

When Olsen decided football"was no longer my game. . .it be-longs to the younger people," heplanned his second career. And thatwas about four years before he re-tired from the Rams in 1976.

"I knew I wanted to do somebroadcasting and acting. So I con-tacted the networks and got themthinking about it," he calculates."As far as NBC was concerned, Ithink acting was a throw-away.They put it in the contract, but theyreally wanted to concentrate on thesportscasting. They told me they'dtalk to some people about my act-ing—to see if I could get any minorguest roles."

He had acted in the 1968 film TheUndefeated v/ith John Wayne, RockHudson and Rams teammateRoman Gabriel. And back then, di-rector Andrew McLaglen is quotedas saying of Olsen, "The big kid is anatural actor. If he wanted to, he

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could make it a career." Olsen hadabout a half-dozen small roles infilms and television movies betweenthen and 1976.

"I really had a strange premoni-tion that I'd be doing some acting,"he remembers. "So 1 went to an act-ing coach. I told him what 1 neededwas a crash course. Then, after twosessions, I got a call from MichaelLandon. I assumed I'd be trying fora guest role, a one-show situation. Iread some lines with the woman whowas going to play Alice Garvey.Then Michael said he'd let me know.

"I found out later he'd made thedecision about 10 or 15 minutesafter 1 left. But two days later Icalled him back. 1 said, '1 don'tmean to bug you, but I'm dying!Have you made a decision?' Hesaid, 'Haven't they told you? Howwould you like to be a regular on"Little House"?' I was walking onair for awhile."

Olsen says for now he's "happygetting up every day and doing myjob. Acting is occupying a great partof my time. But we change. I keep alist of goals in my drawer. Every-body should have their goals or am-

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Merlin Olsencontinued from page 94

bitions written down and kepi infront of them. I have a whole list ofthings I'd like to do. Maybewriting—I've toyed with a couple ofscripts. Maybe I'd like to directsomeday. . .or produce. As I be-come more comfortable as an actor,I can look at these things."

One thing he has made a lifelongcommitment to is his marriage lothe former Susan Wakley, his col-lege sweetheart. They celebratedtheir 20th anniversary this pastMarch.

"She's a bright woman, an honorgraduate," he beams. "We got mar-

ried the spring of our senior year incollege. She's active in a number ofcharitable organizations—and shekeeps me out of trouble," kidsOlsen.

Incidentally, Merlin says his namecomes from Merlin the Magician ofKing Arthur legend and not fromthe combination of his parents'names.

There's really no mystery behindthe success of Merlin Olsen. Just adesire to excel and a blueprint forcarrying it out. Olsen puts it thisway: "I would like for people tosay, 'He's a real pro. He knowswhat he's doing.' " Regardless ofMerlin Olsen's dimensions, no onewould argue with that. X

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ing. I read From Here to Eternitywhile I was there, and also somepsychology so 1 could try to under-stand myself. But then I found Iwasn't really absorbing what 1 read.I couldn't concentrate anymore.Oh—and also about that time I be-gan to drool. That was almost theworst thing of all. And there wasnothing I could do about it. I justsat there and drooled. The strangething—although 1 didn't know itthen—was that the usual effect ofThorazine is dryness of the mouth.But nobody seemed to notice orcare. I began to get the feeling that Icouldn't talk. I don't know how toexplain that. I knew I could talk,and yet I felt I couldn't. I was somiserable. I began to feel I wantedto die. Really die. That whole periodis a little blurred in my memory—partly, I suppose, because of all thatThorazine. But 1 remember certainmoments vividly. 1 remember thatjust before Thanksgiving I had thefeeling I was actually going to diethat very night. My mother came tosee me that afternoon, and I madeher take my wedding ring and goldnecklace. I was afraid one of thehospital people would steal themthat night off my dead body. WhfinI woke up the next morning andfound I was still alive, I refused tobelieve it. I told everybody 1 wasdead. I insisted. That's all I remem-ber of that episode. But about thattime they gave me a series of physi-cai tests. They did blood tests, abrain scan and a liver-function test.They told me my liver was enlarged.The reason, they said, was ail thatThorazine. So they took me offThorazine, and put me into electro-shock therapy. I suppose they talkedto my parents and got their permis-sion. I had three treatments, andthere seemed to be some improve-ment. My psychiatrist said I wassufficiently improved to go home.But they were mistaken. I began tofeel I was really off my rocker. Patcame up to see me, and we weredriving somewhere, and I tried tojump out of the car. The psychia-trist decided they hadn't gone farenough with my electroshock ther-apy. He put me back in the hospitalfor a full course. I had eight

coniinued on page 100