The Roloffs sent out a letter today informing their fans and loved ones that their good friend Mike Detjen has passed away due to complications with a torn aorta. You can read the full letter below.

As you all know, Mike was a close friend of the Roloffs. At times on the show, he seemed more like a family member than a friend. We would all be lucky to have a friend as good as Mike was. He will be missed be greatly by both his fans and his loved ones. God be with you and your family till we meet again Mike.

Friends,

Yesterday afternoon, as I finished up the summer newsletter and set it to be sent out this morning, I had no idea I would be announcing such tragic news several hours later.

It is with the deepest sadness and devastation that we must inform our friends and fans of the passing of our extended family member, Mike Detjen.

For the past eight years Mike has been a business partner, brother, coach, friend, and confidant. He was truly like an uncle to our kids.

It was with complete and sudden surprise last evening when Mike was rushed to the hospital from his soccer club board meeting. At the time, it was believed he was having a heart attack.

Amy and all our kids rushed to the hospital to be by his side. Coherent and alert, Mike was rushed into emergency surgery for a torn aorta.

An aortic dissection is very serious, but the prognosis was that they would be able to repair the rupture in the 5+ hour operation.

Unfortunately, Mike did not make it through the procedure.

Mike passed with many loved ones and friends that cared deeply for him. We especially extend our condolences to Mike’s family. Our kids are all devastated and beside themselves with grief. We will miss Mike dearly as a friend and loved one.

We celebrate Mike’s life as one of compassion and service to those he cared about. He was the driving force behind the area soccer club. He dedicated countless hours and his personal resources to his love of soccer and the local kids that enjoyed it. Mike not only taught my kids to play but how to love the game and practice good sportsmanship as well.

Mike was a deeply faithful man, and though we mourn his loss, we take solace in the knowledge that he has gone to his heavenly home.

Condolences may be sent to kaitlin@mattroloff.com. We will be gathering the responses to give to Mike’s sons, Tim and Jason Detjen. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the organization Mike was the most passionate about, the Hillsboro Soccer Club.

Hillsboro Soccer Club
2074 NW Alocleck Dr., Suite 415
Hillsboro, OR 97124

We are in the process of setting up a donation fund through PayPal. You should be able to give online through our website in the next couple of days.

Thank you for sharing our grief and sorrow in this time of earthly heartache.

Sincerely,
Matt, Amy, Zach, Jeremy, Molly, and Jacob

* You can now buy Roloff Farms merchandise directly from ShopRoloff.com.
* The major remodel to the house is now finished.
* Molly was co-valedictorian of her middle school.
* Jacob just finished 5th grade.
* The twins just turned 18.
* The TLC crew is out in full force at the farm this summer, taping what will be the 4th season of the show, set to air this fall.

You can read the full news letter below.

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One of the small nuances that makes Little People Big World so great is the whimsical music which helps set the mood for different plots and settings. I had originally thought the music was composed by some TLC person who did that sort of thing. It turns out, the man behind the music is Joey Newman, a composer who has done work for films, television, and even video games.

Joey has a number of the show songs available for listening to at his online portfolio. Just go to his site, then click “Media” on the left side of the page, then scroll all the way to the bottom to listen to his Little People Big World tracks.

It was especially fun to listen to the main theme song, and read the lines from Matt & Amy inside my head while it played.

In this month’s newsletter, Matt revealed and talked about the results of his DUI trial. He was found not guilty by the jury for drunk driving, but was found guilty of crossing over double yellow lines due to drowsiness and driving an unfamiliar vehicle. You can read Matt’s side of things below:

I am grateful to everybody who stood by me in the months-long ordeal leading up to my trial. The hundreds of letters and e-mails showing support gave me the strength and courage to stand up and fight for my rights to have my day in court and be vindicated.

I was found not guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol. From the beginning of this nightmare, I tried to explain to the arresting officer that I had just returned from a 4,000 mile road trip, was driving an unfamiliar vehicle, and was exhausted. I was not drinking or effected by alcohol in any way whatsoever.

I know that many of you feel I was guilty because of my prior DUI and my refusal to take a breathalyzer test. I can assure you that ever since my past transgression, which I admitted and did restitution for, I have been firm in my conviction to never drink and drive. The facts will bear me out, as did the criminal justice system. I am thankful to the many friends who offered to testify to my constant refusal to drink and drive. My doctor even offered to share with the court all the possible ways my recent health issues could have played a role in that night, but my lawyer decided to keep things simple and place the bulk of my defense on the bottom line: I was not drinking and driving.

It was a scary experience, and I am thankful that it is over. I was, however, found guilty of driving over the yellow lines; which I readily admit. I was too tired to be driving an unfamiliar vehicle on a winding, curvy road after having driven a 42-foot RV from California earlier that day.

It would have been much easier to plead guilty, pay a fine, and keep this whole embarrassing event in my life quiet and out of the public eye - but I’ve always told my children, just like my father told me: “When you are right, be willing to fight.”

Although it was an uncomfortable experience, and something I would rather have not had to go through, I felt it was important to not sweep this event under the rug. My family has shared our ups and down for over three years now, and despite the embarrassing nature of the charges, I felt we owed it to viewers to tell this story. So the cameras were there, and everybody will have the opportunity to see all the details of the case unfold when the new season of “Little People, Big World” premieres in March.

Over on the mattroloff.com forums, one of the fans dug up this video. It is the original trailer TLC ran for Little People Big World in select movie theaters in late 2004 and early 2005. The kids, and the farm, have changed a lot in the years since the shows’ debut.

The Roloffs recently sent out a holiday newsletter which you can sign up for here. Matt gave a rundown of all the latest projects on the farm, and what the family has been up to. He also talks about the pending DUI trial, and shares his feelings about the whole ordeal.

Rather than paraphrase the whole thing, we have included an excerpt of the newsletter below so you can read about what the family has been up to. Click the link below for the newsletter.

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One point of interest from the article worth noting is where Matt talks about how much TLC pays the Roloffs for appearing on the show:

People don’t believe this, but Discovery and TLC don’t pay a lot for these reality shows. They treat you well and take you on vacations and sometimes companies give you things to balance the compensation, but for the most part, you’re left to your own income.

So the point I take is that TLC is basically willing to pay for projects, vacations, and other things for the family as a way to create different themes and settings for the show … but they don’t necessarily pay the Roloffs a huge salary in addition to that. Still, take that with a grain of salt. When Matt says they don’t pay “a lot”, that’s a pretty vague term. What might not be a lot to Matt, might seem like a huge amount to some people. And I’d imagine Matt downplays the compensation they are paid, because like most people, he doesn’t want the world to know all the details about his finances.

You can read the full article here.

I’m not sure if we’re going to see any pirates on tonights’ episode, but the Roloffs are going to be visiting the Caribbean for another family vacation. Yes, life is good when you have a major TV network to help pay for trips to exotic places.

Below is a gallery of the Roloffs on their trip. I must say, Molly is looking rather festive in these pics, and it’s great to see that the boys found a group to play soccer with, even on their vacation!

[Show as slideshow]

HILLSBORO, Ore. — A trial date has been set for television star Matt Roloff, who is accused of driving under the influence.

Roloff stars in “Little People, Big World,” a reality television show on The Learning Channel that focuses on the lives of Roloff, his wife and his son, all of whom are dwarfs.

He appeared in court Friday and a trial date was set for Dec. 5.

In June, a Washington County deputy pulled Roloff over as he was driving on West Union Road.

Deputies said Roloff failed a field sobriety test and was arrested. He was taken to the Washington County Jail and cited on charges of DUII, refusing a breath test and failing to drive within a lane.

It was the second time Roloff had been linked to a driving under the influence charge. In 2003, he had a DUII charge dismissed after completing an alcohol diversion program.

Roloff and his family live on a farm in Helvetia, Ore.

The news site also has a video of Matt in court - for those interested.

[Update - 12/17/07]
Word has it on the TLC forums that the trial has been delayed until mid January, which explains why there has been no news about the outcome of the December 5th trial.

Have you ever missed an episode of the show, or wanted to download that one in particular you just loved - without paying for an entire season on DVD? iTunes makes it easier than ever to get your LPBW fix! You can download any episode you want, starting with the first season, for just $1.99 a show.

There are a few that aren’t available, such as the “Lost Episodes” aired during Season 3, and the specials at the end of Season 1 where the family looked back on the previous season and summarized their favorite memories. The regular season episodes are all there though. You can even watch a small preview of each show to help refresh your memory of what was shown on that episode. We have updated our episode guide with a link to the iTunes store for each show.

Also available for free, are several of “Matt’s Chats” video podcasts where he interviews other little people that have inspired him. Among the interviews are Chris Rutte of the LPO about teasing, psychiatrist and Hollywood actress Merideth Eaton, and R. Ernie Lee about the challenges little people face when they decide to become parents. You can download all of the podcasts here.

If you don’t have iTunes installed, you can download it here. Once you have it installed, clicking on any of the iTunes links will automatically open the iTunes store for that item. Happy downloading