''Colt .45'' (also known as ''The Colt Cousins'') is an American Western series, originally starring Wayde Preston, which aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

between October 1957 and September 1960. The half-hour program is loosely based on the 1950 Warner Bros. film of the same name, starring

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

. ''Colt .45'' was part of the

William T. Orr William T. Orr (born William Ferdinand Quinn Jr.; September 27, 1917December 25, 2002) was an American actor and television producer associated with various Western and detective programs of the 1950s-1970s. In most of his Warner Bros. series, ...

-produced array of Westerns that Warner produced for ABC in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Overview

Roy Huggins developed the series with Wayde Preston in the part of undercover government agent Christopher Colt, who takes the cover of a traveling Old West pistol salesman, hence the title of the series. ''Colt .45'' also featured fictionalizations of actual historical characters, including

Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American actor who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Theatre in New York. Some theatri ...

(brother of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Abraham Lincoln), Sam Bass, Billy the Kid, Lew Wallace, Judge Roy Bean, Buffalo Bill Cody, Ned Buntline, and Calamity Jane. Donald May Colt 45 1960

During this period, ''Colt .45'' was one of several ABC/WB Western productions, along with '' Cheyenne'', '' Sugarfoot'', '' Lawman'', '' Maverick'', and '' Bronco''. Various series leads occasionally did crossover episodes on some of the other WB programs. One of the most imaginative was the "Hadley's Hunters" episode of ''Maverick'', in which Bart Maverick ( Jack Kelly) comes upon Christopher Colt's sales satchel, abandoned in a room and covered with dust, as the series had been cancelled the previous season. In 1958, series star Wayde Preston left the series because he claimed he was made to do stunts that required a stunt man. Preston was also reportedly unhappy with the show's low budget, which caused other problems. Because of Preston's departure, producers were forced to air repeats of the series along with a few new episodes to complete the 1958–1959 season. In 1959, Donald May assumed the lead role as Sam Colt, Jr., the cousin of Christopher Colt. After leaving the series, Warner Bros. prevented Preston from obtaining other acting jobs. He eventually returned briefly to the series, but was demoted to a co-starring role with May. Due to the casting changes, the series was eventually marketed in the United Kingdom as ''The Colt Cousins''.

Guest stars

* Chris Alcaide * Rayford Barnes * Russ Bender * Dan Blocker * Nesdon Booth * Lane Bradford *

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* Peter Brown * Stephen Chase *

Don Chastain Don Chastain (September 2, 1935 – August 9, 2002) was an American actor, singer, and screenwriter. He worked in television in Los Angeles and New York and toured the United States and Canada. Early years Chastain was born in Oklahoma Ci ...

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* Kathleen Crowley * Alan Dexter * Angie Dickinson * Troy Donahue * John Doucette * Richard Garland *

Sean Garrison Sean Garrison (October 19, 1937 – March 2, 2018) was an American film, television and theatre actor. He played Mark Dominic in the 1966 film '' Moment to Moment''. Garrison also played The Culhane in the American western television series ''Du ...

Jock Gaynor Jock William Gaynor (September 14, 1929 – April 2, 1998) was an American television actor and producer. He was known for playing the role of Deputy Marshal Heck Martin in the first season of the American western television series '' Outlaws''. ...

* Robert Griffin *

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* Bern Hoffman *

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* Stacy Keach Sr. * Sandy Koufax *

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* Jimmy Lydon *

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* Walter Maslow * Leonard Nimoy * James Nolan * Gilman Rankin * Lyle Talbot * Guy Teague * Kelly Thordsen *

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* Max Wagner * Adam West *

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Series overview

Episodes

Season 1: 1957–58

Season 2: 1959

Season 3: 1959–60

Reception and cancellation

Warner Brothers television westerns stars 1959

Upon its debut in October 1957, ''Colt .45'' was a respectable ratings draw for ABC. It helped ABC win its timeslot against NBC and CBS. By season two, however, behind the scenes problems caused a dip in viewership. After series star Wayde Preston left the series due his dissatisfaction with working conditions, producers were forced to repeat episodes to fill out the second season. There were also problems with the show's sponsorship which changed repeatedly. According to author Alvin H. Marill, the choice to cast Donald May in the lead role after Preston's departure was not explained in the storyline. Wayde Preston eventually returned to the series but by then, ratings had dropped off and ABC canceled the series in 1960. The final episode aired on 27 September 1960.

Production notes

Theme song

The ''Colt .45'' opening theme music was composed by Hal Hopper with lyrics by

Douglas Heyes Douglas Heyes (May 22, 1919 – February 8, 1993) was an American film and television writer, director, producer, actor, composer, and author with a long list of accomplishments. He was sometimes credited under the pseudonym Matthew Howard. Pers ...

Merchandising

The TV show was adapted into a comic strip by Dan Spiegle, distributed by Dell Comics.

References

External links

* * *
Colt .45
' at The Classic TV Archive {{William T. Orr shows 1957 American television series debuts 1960 American television series endings 1950s Western (genre) television series 1960s Western (genre) television series American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln Cultural depictions of Buffalo Bill Cultural depictions of Calamity Jane English-language television shows Period television series Television shows adapted into comics Live action television shows based on films Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television series created by Roy Huggins