In his 94 years, civic titan J. Charles \u201cCharlie\u201d Gray employed his influence to help persuade Walt Disney to build his tourist kingdom here and state leaders to construct a higher-education institution in Orlando that ultimately became the University of Central Florida.<\/p>\n
Gray, a founding member of the law firm that is now GrayRobinson, died Wednesday. He will be remembered not only for his community vision but also for lasting friendships and his virtuous character, friends and colleagues say.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimply, Charlie\u2019s \u2018fingerprints\u2019 are everywhere in Central Florida and there will never be another like him,\u201d a statement on the GrayRobinson web site said, announcing his passing. \u201cTo know Charlie, and to speak of his accomplishments, is to unlock a portal into the rich and vibrant history of our region and the transformational moments, projects, people, and decisions that have shaped it.\u201d<\/p>\n
His legacy cannot be overstated, said former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who considered Gray among his most trusted friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharlie, first of all, was someone who did not let partisan politics rule the day. He would support Republicans or Democrats and ideas he thought were the best, most capable,\u201d said Nelson, a Democrat, of Gray, a longtime Republican until recently. \u201cAs a result of that and his position as head of a law firm \u2014 a prestigious law firm \u2014\u00a0 he became one of the most substantial leaders in the history of Central Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n
The law firm Gray started in 1970 with three other young lawyers \u2014 Richard Adams, Gordon \u201cStumpy\u201d Harris and Richard \u201cRobie\u201d Robinson \u2014 today serves clients nationally from 16 offices in Florida and Washington, D.C. The firm\u2019s 300 professionals provide legal, lobbying and regulatory services to businesses, entrepreneurs and local governments with particular expertise at the intersection of business, law, and politics.<\/p>\n
Its president and CEO, Dean Cannon, who served as Speaker of the Florida House from 2010-2012, described Gray as his personal mentor and \u201can industry lion, a champion of progress and people, who cared deeply about the communities in our Sunshine State.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gray served in a variety of consequential positions over the years and wielded influence deftly to the benefit of the community, said Dick Batchelor, who represented Central Florida in the Legislature from 1974 to 1982 and regarded Gray as a sage confidant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always found Charlie to be extraordinarily forthcoming, honest and a straight shooter who would even tell you when you were wrong, in a polite way, but directly. He was such an incredible person,\u201d Batchelor said. \u201cI wonder today in our community who are going to be the \u2018Charlie Grays\u2019 of the future who want to do things not for political purpose but because they\u2019re the right things to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Orange County Attorney, Gray helped develop a tourist development plan, which funded the Orange County Convention Center to boost the region\u2019s visitor numbers year-round. He had a friend in the hotel business who went bankrupt because of the seasonal fluctuation of visitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was feast or famine,\u201d Gray said in an oral history recorded in 2014.\u00a0\u201cI knew that the convention center would even things out. The hotel industry would not be just a yo-yo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gray also forged a partnership to build the Orlando Arena and help the community land an NBA franchise, the Orlando Magic.<\/p>\n
He chaired the Florida State Turnpike Authority, where he was instrumental in securing an interchange between Florida\u2019s Turnpike and Interstate 4 \u2013 a key factor in the site selection for Walt Disney World.<\/p>\n
His relationships with leaders across the state helped gain funding and a commitment to locate the new Florida Technological University in Orange County in 1963 to support the space program. The school\u2019s name was changed in 1978 to the University of Central Florida as its mission and curriculum expanded.<\/p>\n
It is now the nation\u2019s second-largest university by campus enrollment.<\/p>\n
An obituary provided by the law firm describes Gray as \u201ca trusted counselor to governors, mayors, county and city commissioners and legislators, while also providing the same passionate support to his clients, his colleagues, his friends and his family.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Orlando](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/tos-l-GOVERNOR-SUNRAIL-BILL-SIGNING-ORLANDO_124089765.jpg\")
Orlando Chamber of Commerce president Jacob Stuart (right) celebrates with Charles Gray (left) and Fred Leonhardt (background) as Governor Charlie Crist prepares to sign the Sunrail bill during a ceremony at Church Street Station in downtown Orlando, Wednesday, December 16, 2009. The ceremony in Orlando was one of four during Crist’s statewide fly-around, Wednesday, with similar signings in Tallahassee, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale. (Joe Burbank\/Orlando Sentinel file)<\/p>\n
Gray and the firm were honored in 2020 by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer for their role over half a century in building the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharlie was a true legal giant,\u201d Dyer said in homage to Gray, whose decades of service coincided with the city\u2019s rise. \u201cHis immense impact on transformative civic, legal, and political issues in Central Florida was eclipsed only by his humility, honor, and integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda Chapin, elected chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners in 1990, a post now known as county mayor, learned of Gray\u2019s passing while in Paris. She returned a call from a Sentinel reporter to talk about her friend and his wife, Saundra, also a friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was younger, I was very much in awe of Charlie, amazed by his accomplishments, a little wary of his influence,\u201d\u00a0 Chapin, 84, confided. But over the years as she got to know him and Saundra better, she said her admiration and awe of the couple only grew.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure I\u2019m not the first to say this, but this must be the end of an era,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Hector \u201cTico\u201d Perez, a Central Florida attorney who served as National Commissioner of the Boy Scouts of America from 2008 to 2016, lionized Gray\u2019s service.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was the guy in a different time when politics weren\u2019t transactional. You just did the right thing because it was the right thing,\u201d he said. \u201cHe was absolutely one of the most impactful humans ever in Central Florida. He only wanted what was best for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Born in 1932 in Leesburg, Gray was a grade-schooler when his family moved to Orlando.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a nice place. Everybody knew everybody,\u201d he said in his oral history.<\/p>\n
Gray recounted that he had been born Charles Stinson, but his father died after returning home from World War II. His mother then remarried, wedding a local attorney, G. Wayne Gray, who adopted him prior to\u00a0 high school.<\/p>\n
As a youth, he sold copies of the Orlando Sentinel morning paper and the Orlando Sentinel Star evening paper in an area now known as Baldwin Park. During World War II, the area served as a training base for the U.S. Army Air Corps, predecessor to the U.S. Air Force.<\/p>\n