Michael Gray, Who Played Billy Batson in the 1970s Shazam! Series, Dies at 75
Michael Gray, the actor who played the boy hero Billy Batson in the CBS live-action series Shazam!, died on Friday, October 16, in Palm Desert, California. He was 75. The death was confirmed to Deadline by his representative, who said he died of natural causes.
In the series, Billy is a young newspaper seller who says a magic word and turns into a grown-up superhero, Captain Marvel. The show aired on CBS from 1974 to 1976. For many viewers of that period, it was one of the first live-action superhero shows on television. Gray's performance as Billy made him known to a generation of children at the time.
Before and after the show, Gray worked steadily in television and film. In a 1973 episode of The Brady Bunch, he played Marcia's boyfriend. The same year that the Brady episode aired, he was also seen in the 1970 films Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and Myra Breckinridge, both of which were released in 1970.
Decades later, he returned to the Captain Marvel story in a small way. He had a cameo in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, where he interacted with Zachary Levi's Captain Marvel on screen. The appearance tied the original series to the later film franchise.
Gray is survived by his wife, Stacy Benon Gray. The couple married in 1994.
Cameos and series work like this often fade from the public eye after a show ends. For Gray's fans, the Billy Batson role remains the part most people remember. Tributes from fellow performers and fans had not been reported at the time of writing.
