I wanted to acknowledge the passing of Michael Gray, and how deeply the news was felt by so many, at least based on social media.
It surprised me, I’ll admit. Though responses to the deaths of celebrities shouldn’t be a contest, it seemed that Gray’s passing had an impact beyond what I would have expected, and beyond what I’ve seen for actors of a more prominent stature.
Maybe it appeared that way to me because most of my friends online are in my age group, so we all grew up at the same time and spent our Saturday mornings in front of the television. One of the shows we watched was Shazam! A live action superhero series that debuted in 1974 and ran for just 28 episodes. But those episodes stuck with us for a long time.
For the uninitiated, Michael Gray played Billy Batson, a roving junior newscaster who traveled in a Winnebago motor home with an older companion called Mentor (Les Tremayne). They would receive messages from The Elders that someone would soon need their help and guidance. And if the situation became dangerous, Billy could transform into Captain Marvel (Jackson Bostwick, and later John Davey).
Long before it came out on DVD, I could still recite the opening narration from memory:
“Chosen from among all others by the immortal elders Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, Mercury - Billy Batson and his mentor travel the highways and byways on a never-ending mission: to right wrongs, to develop understanding, and to seek justice for all. In time of dire need young Billy has been granted the power by the immortals to summon awesome forces at the utterance of a single word.”
Shazam!
It was cool then. It’s still cool now.
And if anyone hasn’t made the connection yet, “Shazam” is a word comprised of the first letters of each elders’ name.
Superheroes then were not the genre unto themselves that they are now. The Superman series from the 1950s and the Batman series of the ‘60s both had their charms, and while the animated Super Friends was another Saturday morning staple, it was heavily regulated like all children’s shows by well-meaning but prudish guardians who wouldn’t even allow Batman to throw a punch.
So at a time when it was still rare to see any comic book superhero come to life, Shazam! was bound to make an impression. I know it will seem antiquated now to generations spoiled by an MCU with the budget and technology to depict any superhuman ability. In the comics Captain Marvel could go toe-to-toe with Superman; here he’s helping teenagers who get lost in the woods.
But Shazam! turned those limitations into strengths, in part because of the sincerity of the performances by Gray, Tremayne and Bostwick, and because the action scenes were not as essential to the stories as the lessons imparted in each episode.
For those a little slower on the uptake, a final scene always had Billy or Captain Marvel speaking directly to the audience about what we just learned.
It didn’t matter that this hero wasn’t fighting alien invasions or his comic villains like Dr. Sivana. It was more relatable to watch them help an insecure boy to make friends, another to resist peer pressure that could get him in trouble, and another to stay in school when he’s considering dropping out. Billy and Mentor also supported a high school girl who was bullied after she joined the boys track team. Thankfully they weren’t around when boys started joining girls’ track teams.
These were stories told with a lot of heart and simple kindness, that likely kept a few impressionable teens and pre-teens on the right path. That’s an impressive legacy, and it’s why Michael Gray’s passing was met with such sorrow from my generation. Though he appeared in guest spots on a few other shows, including a one-episode stint as one of Marcia’s many boyfriends on The Brady Bunch, he will forever be Billy Batson to us.
He was 75 when he died. When I was 40, I probably wouldn’t have said that was too young, but now in my 60s that perspective has changed. He left the business at a young age, so we didn’t get to see him in roles in his 50s and 60s. Maybe that’s another reason why we were surprised at this sad news: to us he is still frozen in time as the young man with the teen idol looks that put him on Tiger Beat covers.
Gray’s legacy will live on, of course. The Blu-ray release of Shazam! features a stunning cover by renowned comic artist Jerry Ordway.
And he had a cameo in the 2023 film Shazam! Fury of the Gods, still wearing his signature red shirt with the yellow collar. That continued a tradition from the earlier Shazam! series, which featured an appearance by Frank Coghlan, Jr., who played Captain Marvel in a 1941 serial.
I’ve mentioned Isis, the companion series to Shazam!, in previous posts, but I liked both shows equally, and it was always a special treat when the heroes met in a crossover episode. Looking back now I’m glad I got to meet and speak with Joanna Cameron, and now wish I could have met Michael as well.
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