“Shazam!” star Michael Gray » from the 1970s television series, died Friday in Palm Desert of natural causes. He was 75 years old.
Gray made his television debut in 1972 when he starred in NBC’s “The Little People” alongside Brian Keith and Shelly Fabares. Early in his career, he had several supporting roles in series, including that of Marcia’s boyfriend Jeff in “The Brady Bunch”, as well as in “Dynasty”, “Marcus Welby, MD”, “Room 222” and “The Flying Nun”, as well as in films such as “Run, Simon, Run”, “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” and “Myra Breckinridge”.
In 1974, he joined the cast of “Shazam!” as Billy Batson, alongside John Davey and Les Tremayne in the series, which ran for three seasons until 1976. Gray became a teen idol, frequently appearing on the covers of Tiger Beat and other teen magazines.
“From my very first day on ‘Shazam!’, Mike and Les (Tremayne) welcomed me like a king,” Davey said of Gray. “Mike was just a loving, kind guy with a great sense of humor. He loved acting, loved doing the show, and in recent years loved appearing at comic cons. He really enjoyed meeting and talking with fans. Mike was a wonderful man. I don’t think he ever stopped smiling.”
“Shazam!” was remastered in 2012 for distribution on DVD, which sparked a career resurgence for Gray. In recent years, he appeared in several episodes of the FX series “Archer” as one of the title character’s childhood idols, as well as in “Surge of Power” on AMC’s “Comic Book Men.” When “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” was released in 2023, Gray made a brief appearance in which he interacted with Zachary Levi’s Captain Marvel as a nod to the original series.
Gray was born in Chicago on September 2, 1951 and grew up in Miami Beach, Florida before moving to Los Angeles to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and pursue his career in entertainment. After landing his role in “Shazam! “, Gray began to feel typecast and took a break from acting. During this time, he worked in teaching children’s theater and men’s fashion, as well as owning and operating a floral business with his wife, Stacy.
After the resurgence of “Shazam!” ” in 2012, Gray frequently attended fan conventions and reconnected with his fan base while pursuing roles in projects such as the “Surge of Power” franchise.
“I meet people (every day) who say, ‘You have no idea what you did for me when I was a kid.’ “You helped me get through life.” “You made me the best man or woman I am today,” Gray told Fanboy Planet in 2012. “And that’s a good feeling. I didn’t know the series had so much strength and power at the time.
Gray is survived by his wife, Stacy Benon Gray, whom he married in 1994; stepchildren Ryan Cooper and Laurel Cooper; and his son-in-law Lee Barker.
Courtesy photo
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