Michael Gray, former teen idol and 'Shazam!' series star, dies at 75

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Set us as preferred Michael Gray, who played the teenager who could turn into a superhero in the 1970s live-action Saturday morning children’s TV series “Shazam!,” has died.He was 75.

Gray died Oct.16 from natural causes in Palm Desert, a representative for the actor announced Thursday.

No other details were provided.Based on the comic book superhero Captain Marvel, who first appeared in an issue of Whiz Comics in 1939, “Shazam!” aired for three seasons on CBS from 1974 to 1976.

Gray starred as Billy Batson, a teenager who could transform into a grown-up superhero by saying the magic word “Shazam!” In his enhanced form, Captain Marvel possesses powers such as superhuman strength and speed, heightened intelligence and the ability to wield lightning.The character has since been renamed to Shazam.

Movies Richard Riehle, an actor whose credits include ‘Office Space,’ ‘Bridesmaids,’ ‘The Fugitive,’ ‘Star Trek’ and more, has died at age 78.“It was a lot of fun,” Gray said of the role in a 2012 interview with Fanboy Planet.“I didn’t know how much I would like it until years later when I found out how much of an influence my character was, and the show was, in people’s lives.“There were such good moral values to the show,” he added.

“I meet people [now] who say, ‘You have no idea what you did for me as a child.You helped me get through life.’ ...

I didn’t know the show had that much strength and power back then.”Born Sept.2, 1951, in Chicago, Gray grew up in Miami Beach before making his way out west to pursue a career in Hollywood.

He would frequently grace the covers of teen pop magazines, including Tiger Beat, thanks at least in part to his manager Charles Laufer, the magazine’s publisher.“The teen idol angle was orchestrated to some degree,” Gray said during a Q&...