Film and TV In 1965, Mike Gray and
Jim Dennett co-founded
The Film Group, a Chicago film production company. In 1968, the pair along with editor
Howard Alk, produced the award-winning documentary
American Revolution 2 (1969), followed by the trio's
The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971). The Film Group was also behind the seven part educational series, "Urban Crisis and the New Militants", consisting primarily of footage shot during the production of
American Revolution 2 but also includes footage of Chicago
Black Panthers members (including future Congressman
Bobby Rush) and a 1966 Civil Rights march in
Cicero, Illinois. This series can be streamed on Chicago Film Archives' website and . After moving to California, Gray shot
The Gift (1973), a documentary about the life and art of
Marc Chagall then co-wrote, with
T. S. Cook and
James Bridges, the screenplay for the nuclear thriller
The China Syndrome (
1979), which film became notable for opening 12 days before the
Three Mile Island accident (nuclear reactor meltdown). He also wrote and directed
Wavelength (1983), an independent science fiction film starring
Robert Carradine,
Cherie Currie, and
Keenan Wynn, with a soundtrack by
Tangerine Dream. Gray next co-created the television series
Starman (1986–87). Following
Starman, he became series writer/producer for the 1988–89 season of
Star Trek: The Next Generation. Gray was a second unit director on
The Fugitive (
1993) and acted as Swizlard in
Chain Reaction (
1996). Gray scripted
The Zone and
Forget About Yesterday in 2008, and was working with director Andy Davis and legendary filmmaker,
Haskell Wexler on an as yet untitled documentary.
Bibliography •
The Warning (1982), about the
accident at
Three Mile Island •
Drug Crazy: How We Got Into This Mess and How We Can Get Out (1998) •
Angle of Attack (1992), a biography of
Harrison Storms which also details
America's race to the moon •
The Death Game: The Luck of the Draw (2003) •
Busted (2004), a book about the USA's drug war ==Personal life==