Michael Gray, the actor best known for playing Billy Batson in the 1970s television series Shazam!, has died aged 75.
Gray died on October 16 in Palm Desert, California, his publicist told TMZ. The actor’s representative said he had been in declining health and died from natural causes.
No further details about his death were immediately available.
Michael Gray’s television career
Gray became widely recognised as Billy Batson in Shazam!, the live-action series in which the young character transformed into the superhero Captain Marvel by uttering the programme’s famous catchphrase.
The series ran during the 1970s and made Gray a familiar face to television audiences. He later appeared in programmes including The Little People, Dynasty and The Flying Nun.
He also played Jeff, Marcia Brady’s boyfriend, in an episode of The Brady Bunch.
Gray continued to work in entertainment after his early television success, including voice performances. He played a fictionalised version of himself in four episodes of the animated comedy Archer between 2015 and 2019.
In 2023, he returned to the world of Shazam! with a cameo in the film Shazam! Fury of the Gods, appearing as a man in the street who refers to the superhero as Captain Marvel.
