Mike Road

Biography

Milton Brustin was born in Malden in Middlesex County, Massachusetts.

He got his start as a thespian in school plays, while in Malden High School. The acting bug led to him joining a theatre troupe in Boston. His Broadway debut came in the late 1930s in the short-lived play Doodle Dandy of the U.S.A. Due to its short run, he was forced to support himself by doing odd jobs such as usher, waiter, truck driver, delivery man and sign painter.

Mike Road soon returned to acting with a role in the play The Moonvine. His film career had also begun by this time. Between 1943-46, he appeared in Gildersleeve on Broadway, Tender Comrade, Music in Manhattan, Heavenly Days and several other motion pictures. In 1946, he successfully returned to the stage, playing the lead role in Dear Ruth. By 1952, Road had been elected as director for The John Hancock Summer Theatre.

In 1955, Road made his directorial debut in Sweden with the film Den Underbara Lognen, starring Signe Hasso.

In the late 1950s, his television career also took off. He portrayed Marshal Tom Sellers on the 1958-59 NBC western series Buckskin, co-starring with Sally Brophy and Tom Nolan. Road guest starred twice on Maverick as Bart Maverick's rival Pearly Gates. He was also a regular on the ABC/Warner Brothers detective series Surfside 6, as well as on The Roaring 20s. He later appeared in the series The Alaskans and Lawman, and in other venues: Sea Hunt, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, The Wild, Wild West, and Alias Smith and Jones.

In his two appearances on the western series Colt .45, Road played Jesse James in "Alias Mr. Howard". He was also cast as a bandit-turned-storekeeper in the segment "Arizona Anderson", which aired on February 14, 1960. In it, Sam Colt, Jr., played by Donald May, goes undercover as a gambler in a bid to force Arizona Anderson, the owner of a general store, to reveal the location of stolen government money taken in a robbery in which Anderson had been a participant. Meanwhile, two former partners in crime appear intent on collecting their share of the loot. Catherine McLeod, Don "Red" Barry, and Arthur Space appear with Road in this episode in the roles of Kate Anderson, Yakel, and Sheriff Len Jennings, respectively.

As a voice actor, Road remains best known for playing Race Bannon on Hanna-Barbera's Jonny Quest (1964-1965). During this time, he guest starred as Go-Go Ravine on The Flintstones episode "Fred Meets Hercurock". He was also the voice of Zandor on The Herculoids, Ugh the Giant Caveman on Space Ghost and Dino Boy, Reed Richards on The New Fantastic Four and John Butler on Valley of the Dinosaurs. Road retired from voice acting in 1981.

He returned to directing plays on the stage in the 1970s. In 1973, Road won the Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle Award for Come Slowly Eden. He directed Toni Gerry in the drama one-woman play Hanna Speaks in 1988.

Mike Road died on April 14, 2013 at the age of 95 in Los Angeles.