Michael Gray Dies: ‘Shazam!’ Star and Former Teen Idol Was 75
Michael Gray, the 1970s teen idol best known for playing Billy Batson in the Saturday morning live-action superhero series Shazam!, died of natural causes on October 16, 2026. He was 75.
Born in Chicago in 1951, Gray began his television career in the early 1970s, appearing in The Little People, The Brady Bunch, Marcus Welby, M.D., and The Flying Nun. He also appeared in the films Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and Myra Breckinridge. However, it was his three-season run on Shazam! that made him a household name.
In an interview with FanBoy Planet, Gray spoke highly of his time on Shazam!: “There were such good moral values to the show, and I meet people today, last week, this morning, who say, ‘You have no idea what you did for me as a child. You helped me get through life. You made the better man that I am today, or the better 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.”
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Despite his popularity, Gray struggled with the pressures of teen idol fame and eventually stepped away from Hollywood after becoming frustrated with typecasting. He pursued other careers, including children’s theater education, men’s fashion, and operating a West Hollywood floral business with his wife, Stacy.
Gray experienced a career resurgence after Shazam! was released on DVD in 2012, reconnecting with fans through comic conventions and returning to acting. He appeared in four episodes of Archer and made a cameo in 2023’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods alongside Zachary Levi.
Reflecting on the show’s enduring popularity, Gray said he hadn’t realized how much Shazam! meant to generations of viewers until fans began sharing stories about its influence on their childhoods.
His Shazam! costar John Davey remembered him as a kind, funny, and enthusiastic performer who loved meeting fans, saying, “Mike was a wonderful man – I don’t think he ever stopped smiling.”
Gray is survived by his wife, Stacy Benon Gray, whom he married in 1994, his stepchildren Ryan and Laurel Cooper, and son-in-law Lee Barker.
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