Michael Gray actor who starred in Shazam TV series dies aged 75

Actor Michael Gray died of natural causes on Friday, October 16 in Palm Desert, California, according to Deadline, TVLine, and The Hollywood Reporter. He was 75 years old. Variety reported that he died in Palm Desert, while TVLine noted that his publicist announced the news on Thursday. [1][2][3][4][8][9][10]

Gray was best known for playing the teenager Billy Batson in the live-action superhero series Shazam!, which aired on CBS for three seasons from September 1974 to October 1976 as part of its Saturday-morning lineup, TVLine and The Hollywood Reporter reported. In the show, Gray played a teenager who transformed into Captain Marvel whenever he uttered the word shazam, according to TVLine and The Hollywood Reporter. TVLine added that Captain Marvel was portrayed by Jackson Bostwick and later John Davey. [3][4]

Before starring in Shazam!, Gray landed an early television role in 1972 on NBC's sitcom The Little People alongside Brian Keith and Shelley Fabares, Variety, Deadline, and The Hollywood Reporter reported. The Hollywood Reporter noted that Gray played a student doctor named Ronnie Collins during the first season of the show, which ran from 1972 to 1974, and that his early popularity led to appearances on the covers of teen magazines such as Tiger Beat. [1][2][3][4]

Gray appeared in several other popular television series early in his career, Variety and TVLine reported. His credits included playing Marcia's boyfriend Jeff on The Brady Bunch, alongside roles on Dynasty, Marcus Welby, M.D., Room 222, and The Flying Nun. [1][3][4]

Gray was born on September 2, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois. After Shazam! ended in 1976, he largely stepped away from acting and ran a florist shop with his wife, Stacy Benon, whom he married in 1994. He later did voice work on the animated series Archer between 2015 and 2019, appeared in the independent Surge of Power film series, and made a cameo appearance in the 2023 movie Shazam! Fury of the Gods. [11][14]