Michael A. Gray was born in New Britain, Connecticut in 1931. After graduating from New York University, he worked as a journalist for the Associated Press, then from 1955 to 1958 served as editor for the daily column “TV Key” for the King Features Syndicate. The following year he became the Publicity Manager for Screen Gems, the television division of Columbia Pictures, and publicized such new series as ROUTE 66 and THE FLINTSTONES. This work led to his hiring as Director of East Coast Television Operations for Rogers & Cowan, a position he held for several years, during which time he promoted such series as THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM and THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW as well as specials like the Miss Universe Pageant.

In 1967, Gray became the Worldwide Publicity Director for United Artists where both Jonathan Demme and Mort Engelberg worked as publicists under his supervision. One of his most important initiatives was holding special screenings of films to help garner attention for awards season, an idea that proved especially successful for the studio’s MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969). In 1969, he relocated to London to serve as United Artists’ European Advertising and Publicity Director, marketing such films as ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE (1969) and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (1971). He also found work for Demme, who had also moved to London, as a unit publicist on Roger Corman’s VON RICHTOFEN AND BROWN (1971). Demme subsequently began his filmmaking career under Corman’s guidance. Gray left United Artists in 1971 but found work in London as the European Managing Director for Network Cinema Ltd. Over the next two years he opened several theaters across England in Corby, Northamptonshire, Liverpool, Brentwood, and Essex, as well as Le PLM Jerry Lewis theater in Paris.

In 1974, Gray moved to Santa Monica and co-founded the marketing agency Producers Creative Services. The company’s clients included Avco Embassy Pictures Corp., Columbia Pictures, Filmways Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Twentieth Century-Fox, United Artists, and Universal Pictures. In 1980 he established Michael A. Gray, Incorporated (MAGI), another marketing agency which took on Orion Pictures, Walt Disney Productions, and Warner Bros. as clients. Between Producers Creative Services and MAGI, Gray worked on the publicity campaigns for hundreds of films, including CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977), THE GOODBYE GIRL (1977), SUPERMAN (1978), KRAMER VS. KRAMER (1979), ARTHUR (1981), CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1981), E. T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982), GANDHI (1982), MISSING (1982), TOOTSIE (1982), RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983), GHOSTBUSTERS (1984), PLATOON (1986), A FISH CALLED WANDA (1988), and BEETLEJUICE (1988). He also came up with the concept of the Electronic Press Kit, or EPK, which he first created for BACK TO SCHOOL (1986). He went on to produce EPKs for MOONSTRUCK (1987), DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS (1988), and THE ADDAMS FAMILY (1991), as well as Jonathan Demme’s SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) and PHILADELPHIA (1993).

Gray shuttered MAGI in 1994 and became Vice President of Public Relations and Publicity for Universal Studios Hollywood, where he oversaw the publicity campaigns and public relations endeavors of the theme park before retiring in 1997. Outside of his work, Gray also served on the Board of Directors of the Publicists Guild. Gray died in 2019.