On January 1 we reported that former football star and actor Merlin Olsen was suing NBC Universal, NBC Studios, and 20th Century Fox for exposing him to asbestos over the years. Now comes word that Olsen has died of mesothelioma in California.

Olsen was someone who had successful careers in both sports and acting. TV drama fans will remember him from his roles in 'Little House on the Prairie' (he played Jonathan Garvey) and 'Father Murphy' (as the title character) and football fans will remember his long pro football career playing for The Los Angeles Rams. He was the 1962 Rookie of the Year and retired in 1976 after being named to the Pro Bowl fourteen times. He also had a career as a sports commentator and analyst.

Olsen had roles in other TV shows and movies as well, including 'Aaron's Way,' 'Fathers and Sons,' 'Kung Fu,' 'The Brian Keith Show,' and 'Petticoat Junction.'

Merlin Olsen, who was a football player and then went on to become a sportscaster for NBC and an actor on such TV shows as Little House on the Prairie and Father Murphy, is suing NBC Studios, NBC Universal, and 20th Century Fox for exposing him to asbestos. Olsen was diagnosed with mesothelioma last year and is undergoing chemotherapy.

But the lawsuit doesn't stop there. Because he was exposed to asbestos at a job when he was around 11 years old and also exposed when he was an adult while working at a job involving drywall, Olsen is also suing Sherwin-Williams and Lennox Industries.

Hmmm, I have zero legal training (unless you count watching L.A. Law reruns as legal training), but I wonder if the fact that Olsen says that he was exposed to asbestos when he was younger will affect the lawsuit? Maybe he would have more luck suing the earlier companies rather than NBC?