Michael Gray, TV's Original Billy Batson in 'Shazam!', Dies at 75
Michael Gray, the actor who played teenager Billy Batson in the 1970s live-action television series Shazam! and became one of the decade's defining teen idols, has died at the age of 75. His publicist told entertainment outlets including People, Entertainment Weekly and USA Today on Thursday that Gray died of natural causes on October 16 in Palm Desert, California.
A Saturday-morning icon
Gray's big break came in 1972 when he was cast as Ronnie Collins in the NBC sitcom The Little People alongside Brian Keith and Shelley Fabares. The following year he appeared as Marcia's boyfriend Jeff in a 1973 episode of The Brady Bunch. But it was in 1974 that he landed the role that would define his career: Billy Batson in the CBS live-action series Shazam!, where his character transformed into the superhero Captain Marvel — played by Jackson Bostwick and later John Davey — simply by shouting the magic word.
The show ran for three seasons through 1976, and Gray became a fixture on the covers of Tiger Beat and other teen magazines of the era, a heartthrob poised, as EW noted, to become the next David Cassidy.
A career cut short by typecasting
According to People, Gray stepped away from Hollywood soon after the series ended, feeling typecast and unable to land other roles. During his long break from the screen he worked in children's theatre education and men's fashion, and later ran a popular West Hollywood flower shop with his wife, Stacy.
In recent years he enjoyed a warm career resurgence on the convention circuit. He voiced a fictionalised version of himself — the childhood idol of the title character — in several episodes of FX's animated series Archer, and paid homage to his roots with a cameo in 2023's Shazam! Fury of the Gods, sharing a scene with Zachary Levi.
Tributes
His Shazam! co-star John Davey said in a statement that "from my very first day on Shazam!, Mike and Les welcomed me like a king," calling him "a loving, sweet guy with a great sense of humor."
Gray is survived by his wife of more than 30 years, Stacy Benon Gray, his stepchildren Ryan Cooper and Laurel Cooper, and his son-in-law Lee Barker.
Sources: Entertainment Weekly, People, USA Today, Parade, Extra, Geo News — reporting on statements from Michael Gray's publicist and family.