Michael Gray, best known for portraying Billy Batson—the young boy who transforms into the superhero Captain Marvel in the classic 1970s Saturday morning series Shazam!—passed away on Friday in Palm Desert due to natural causes, according to a family spokesperson.
Before his breakout television role, Gray became a prominent teen idol, frequently appearing on the covers of Tiger Beat and other popular teen magazines. He landed his first major series role as student doctor Ronnie Collins during the first season of the 1972–1974 NBC sitcom The Little People, which starred Brian Keith and Shelley Fabares.
On the live-action CBS series, which ran for three seasons from 1974 to 1976, Gray’s character only needed to utter the magical word “shazam” to transform into Captain Marvel, a role portrayed initially by Jackson Bostwick and later by John Davey.
Reflecting on the production’s early days, Gray once recalled the challenges of filming his superhero transformations. “I remember when we were experimenting with the change from Billy to Captain Marvel, using a sort of flash device, and poof — the smoke would clear, and I was a little singed,” he told Comic Book Resources. “They changed that real quick. That definitely didn’t work.”
Decades later, Gray made a nostalgic cameo in the 2023 DC film Shazam! Fury of the Gods, sharing a scene with Zachary Levi’s Captain Marvel as a tribute to the original television series.
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Born in Chicago on September 2, 1951, Gray was raised in Miami Beach before moving to Hollywood to study acting at the prestigious Pasadena Playhouse.
He made his onscreen debut in a 1969 episode of Room 222, followed by guest appearances on popular shows like The Flying Nun, Marcus Welby, M.D., and The Brady Bunch, where he played Marcia’s boyfriend in a 1973 episode set in a local ice cream shop.
In addition to his television work, Gray appeared alongside Burt Reynolds in the 1970 ABC telefilm Run, Simon, Run, and had roles in the cult classic films Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and Myra Breckinridge.
Throughout this period, Gray’s manager and Tiger Beat publisher, Charles Laufer, worked diligently to keep him in the public eye until the opportunity for Shazam! arose.
Gray reflected on his casting, admitting he was unfamiliar with the character or the lore at the time. “I didn’t know the character or the story when I was initially cast, so I had to be a quick study — so it was fun and exhausting, challenging and thrilling, all at once,” he shared during a Comic-Con panel. “It didn’t matter that it was on Saturday morning or primetime — though the fact that it was one of the first few live-action shows on Saturday morning was exciting.”
Despite his success, the intense pressure of being a teen idol eventually took a toll on Gray. He admitted that the industry wanted him to be “the next David Cassidy.” “I was on the front cover of Tiger Beat often, and it worked. Back then, when the show was running and all the fan magazine coverage was going on, I couldn’t leave my house. It got pretty ugly sometimes,” he confessed.
Feeling increasingly typecast, Gray ultimately chose to step away from acting. He transitioned into other ventures, working in children’s theater education, men’s fashion, and eventually co-owning a floral business in West Hollywood alongside his wife, Stacy.
The 2012 DVD release of Shazam! reignited his connection with fans, opening the door for Gray to make appearances at various fan conventions.
Reflecting on the DVD release, Gray expressed deep gratitude for the enduring legacy of the show. “I can’t tell you how overwhelmed I am. Shazam! is such a major part of my life, and for 30-some-odd-years, it just collected dust,” he told Fanboy Planet. “I run into people 10 times a week who ask me, ‘When is Shazam! going to come out on DVD?’ ‘Have they ever put it back on TV?’ I didn’t know how much I would like Shazam! until years later when I found out how much of an influence my character and the show was on people’s lives.”
“There were such good moral values to the show, and I meet people [everyday] who say, ‘You have no idea what you did for me as a child … You helped me get through life … You made me the better man, or woman, that I am today.’ And that’s a nice feeling. I didn’t know the show had that much strength and power back then.”
In recent years, Gray experienced a career resurgence, lending his voice to “TV’s Michael Gray”—one of Sterling Archer’s childhood idols—in four episodes of the FX animated series Archer (2015–2019), and portraying Will E. Bee in the AMC franchise Surge of Power from 2016 to 2020.
Gray is survived by his wife, whom he married in 1994, his stepchildren Ryan and Cooper, and his son-in-law, Lee.
His former co-star John Davey paid tribute to him, saying, “Mike was just a loving, sweet 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 chatting with the fans. Mike was a wonderful man — I don’t think he ever stopped smiling.”