Michael Gray, 1970s Shazam! Star, Dies at 75
Gray played Billy Batson in the CBS live-action series and later cameoed in Shazam! Fury of the Gods opposite Zachary Levi.
Michael Gray, who played Billy Batson in the 1970s live-action series Shazam!, died of natural causes on Friday, October 16 in Palm Desert, California. He was 75. His representative confirmed the death to Deadline.
Gray played an early version of Billy Batson in the Saturday-morning series, which aired on CBS from 1974 to 1976. The role had originally been played by Jackson Bostwick and was later taken up by John Davey.
Decades after the series ended, Gray returned to the character for a cameo in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, where he shared a scene with Zachary Levi's Captain Marvel.
A career beyond the cape
Gray was cast in NBC's The Little People alongside Brian Keith and Shelly Fabares in 1972. His early television work included guest roles on The Brady Bunch — as Marcia's boyfriend in a 1973 episode — Dynasty, Marcus Welby, M.D., Room 222 and The Flying Nun, and he appeared in the 1970 films Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and Myra Breckinridge. He also played Burt Reynolds' younger brother in the TV movie Run, Simon, Run.
In the 1970s he appeared on the covers of Tiger Beat and other teen magazines, and he spoke about his Shazam! role during a Comic-Con panel in 2012. Later credits included a four-episode arc on the FX comedy Archer, voicing one of Sterling Archer's boyhood idols, as well as appearances in the Surge of Power film franchise and on AMC's Comic Book Men.
Gray married Stacy Benon Gray in 1994.
Quick answers
How did Michael Gray die?
His representative confirmed to Deadline that he died of natural causes on Friday, October 16 in Palm Desert, California, at the age of 75.
What role did Michael Gray play in Shazam!?
He played Billy Batson in the CBS live-action series, which aired from 1974 to 1976, and later cameoed in Shazam! Fury of the Gods.