The Cisco Kid (TV series)

The Cisco Kid is a 1950-1956 half-hour American Western television series starring Duncan Renaldo in the title role, the Cisco Kid, and Leo Carrillo as the jovial sidekick, Pancho. The series was syndicated to individual stations, and was popular with children.[1] Cisco and Pancho were technically desperados wanted for unspecified crimes,[2] but were viewed by the poor as Robin Hood figures who assisted the downtrodden when law enforcement officers proved corrupt or unwilling to help.[3] It was also the first television series to be filmed in color,[4] although few viewers saw it in color until the 1960s.

The Cisco Kid
Duncan Renaldo as the Cisco Kid, with Diablo
GenreWestern
Written byO. Henry
J. Benton Cheney
Barry Cohon
Directed byPaul Landres
Lambert Hillyer
StarringDuncan Renaldo
Leo Carrillo
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes156 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducersFrederick Ziv
Philip N. Krasne
Running time30 minutes
Production companyZiv Television Programs
DistributorZiv Television Programs(1950s)
Walter Schwimmer (1960s and 70s)
Rhodes Productions (1980s)
Peter Rodgers Organization (current)
Release
Original networkFirst-run syndication
Picture formatColor
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseSeptember 5, 1950 (1950-09-05) –
March 22, 1956 (1956-03-22)

There were 156 half-hour episodes filmed between 1950 and 1956.[1] During the series' initial run it was seen on 78 stations in the United States. In 1956 the series was dubbed into foreign languages and distributed to twenty countries, including France, Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Argentina and the Dominican Republic.[5]

The Cisco Kid was a charming ladies’ man, dressed in a highly embroidered black outfit, and his sidekick Pancho brought humor to the series with his heavily accented comments.[1] Duncan Renaldo said of Leo Carrillo playing Pancho: “His accent was so exaggerated that when we finished a picture, no one in the cast or crew could talk normal English any more.”[6] The Cisco Kid rode a horse named Diablo, and Pancho rode Loco.[7]

There was little gunplay in the series. Cisco usually shot the gun out of the villain’s hand, and Pancho often disarmed the bad guys using a bullwhip.[1] There was plenty of action in the series, and Renaldo often did his own stunts, which resulted in several injuries. In one episode Renaldo was to dodge a 65 pound papier-mâché boulder, which struck him in the head, breaking two neck vertebrae. He was paralyzed for two months.[5]

Most of the series’ location work was done at Pioneertown, California.[7]

Episodes
Main article: List of The Cisco Kid episodes

References
  1. Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 – Present, pages 187 and 188 (Seventh Edition), Ballantine Books, 1999
  2. Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 121–122. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
  3. Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, 4th ed., p. 165
  4. Interview with Frederick W. Ziv, in: Irv Broughton, Producers on Producing: The Making of Film and Television, McFarland, 1986, p. 18. ISBN 978-0-89950-199-4.
  5. Grossman, Gary H., Saturday Morning TV, pages 190 to 191, Dell Publishing Company, 1981
  6. Stern, Jane and Michael, Way Out West, pages 21 to 22, HarperCollins, 1993
  7. Summers, Neil and Crowley, Roger M., The Official TV Western Round-Up Book, page 85, The Old West Shop Publishing, 2002
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