Michael Gray, the star of the 1970s  Shazam!  television series, died on Friday in Palm Desert from natural causes. He was 75.

Gray first got his break in television in 1972 when he was cast in NBC's  The Little People  alongside Brian Keith and Shelly Fabares. Early in his career, he held several supporting roles across series including playing Marcia's boyfriend Jeff on  The Brady Bunch  as well as appearing on  Dynasty,   Marcus Welby, M.D.,   Room 222  and  The Flying Nun,  as well in films such as  Run, Simon, Run,   Beyond the Valley of the Dolls  and  Myra Breckinridge. 

In 1974, he joined the cast of  Shazam!  as Billy Batson, starring alongside John Davey and Les Tremayne in the series, which ran for three seasons until 1976. Gray became a teen idol, frequently appearing on the covers of Tiger Beat and other teen magazines.

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 From my very first day on  Shazam!,' Mike and Les [Tremayne] welcomed me like a king,  Davey said about Gray.  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. 

 Shazam!  was remastered in 2012 for distribution on DVD, which sparked a career resurgence for Gray. In recent years, he appeared in several episodes of the FX series  Archer  as one of the titular character's boyhood idols, as well as appearing in  Surge of Power  on AMC's  Comic Book Men.  When  Shazam! Fury of the Gods  released in 2023, Gray made a brief cameo where he interacted with Zachary Levi's Captain Marvel as a nod to the original series.

Gray was born in Chicago on Sept. 2, 1951, and was raised in Miami Beach, Florida, before moving to Los Angeles to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and pursue his career in entertainment. After landing his role in  Shazam!,  Gray began to feel typecast and took a hiatus from acting. During this time, he worked in children's theater education and men's fashion, as well as owning and operating a floral bus
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