(L-R): Zachary Levi and Michael Gray on the set of Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Photo courtesy of VOPR.
Michael Gray, television’s original Billy Batson, returns to the Captain Marvel spotlight with a notable cameo role in the newly-released Shazam!: Fury of the Gods.
Gray drew national attention as one of the stars of Shazam!, the DC character’s inaugural TV series that aired first-run episodes on CBS Saturday mornings from 1974-1977. The series featured Gray’s Billy Batson and Les Tremayne’s Mentor traveling the country in a recreational vehicle, armed with the ancient acrostic magic word courtesy of the cross-pantheon icons Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury. Shazam! spawned spin-offs and successors that brought non-animated action to the nation's children well into the 1980s.
A popular 1970s teen heartthrob who regularly adorned the covers of Tiger Beat, Flip and 16, Gray returned to the realm of his initial fame with a true “Easter Egg” appearance in the all-new Shazam! feature film sequel. As his legion of fans have noted across social media since the film premiered, Gray appears in the film wearing his patented red shirt with gold trim, and even utters a classic “Captain Marvel” reference in his dialogue with Zachary Levi’s title character.
In addition to his beloved role on Shazam, Gray starred as Ronnie in Garry Marshall’s series The Little People alongside Brian Keith & Shelley Fabares; played Burt Reynolds’ kid brother in the TV movie Run, Simon, Run; had a memorable role in Peter Hyams’ film coming-of-age drama Our Time opposite Parker Stevenson & Pamela Sue Martin (before they starred in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries); and had guest roles on such adored 1960s-70s classic series as The Brady Bunch, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Flying Nun, Room 222.
In recent years, Gray has played a popular recurring character in episodes of FX’s Archer – voicing “TV’s Michael Gray,” an exaggerated, over-the-top animated version of himself.
“It was so much fun doing the cameo – from the time I got to set, I couldn’t stop smiling,” Gray recalls. “Acting is the only job I’ve ever truly loved, and being back on a movie set was a dream. It really felt like the ‘good old days’ of filming the TV series, and it was so thrilling to do that scene with Zachary. When we got done filming, I walked over to Zachary and said ‘You really are the best Captain Marvel!’”
Gray has fond memories of making the original series, and has truly enjoyed his interactions with the fans over the years since it first aired. Shazam! is now available in its fully-remastered glory on both Blu-ray and on HBO Max.
“The show was very special because of the moral values in every episode,” Gray recalls. “It was all about teaching kids right from wrong. At Cons these days, fans are continually thanking me for those lessons, and how it was our show that helped them get through hard times as a child. And now they pass on those strong moral values by watching with their kids and grandkids. In my opinion, we need more TV shows and movies like that today.”
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