''The Cisco Kid'' is a 1950–1956 half-hour American

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starring

Duncan Renaldo Renault Renaldo Duncan (April 23, 1904 – September 3, 1980), better known as Duncan Renaldo, was a Romanian-born American actor best remembered for his portrayal of The Cisco Kid in films and on the 1950–1956 American TV series ''The Cisco K ...

in the title role,

the Cisco Kid The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in '' Everybody's Magaz ...

, and

Leo Carrillo Leopoldo Antonio Carrillo (; August 6, 1880 – September 10, 1961), known professionally as Leo Carrillo, was an American actor, vaudevillian, political cartoonist, and conservationist. He was best known for playing Pancho in the television ...

as the jovial sidekick, Pancho. The series was syndicated to individual stations, and was popular with children.Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present'', pp. 187, 188 (Seventh Edition), Ballantine Books, 1999 Cisco and Pancho were technically

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wanted for unspecified crimes, but were viewed by the poor as

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figures who assisted the downtrodden when law enforcement officers proved corrupt or unwilling to help.Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, 4th ed., p. 165 It was also the first television series to be filmed in color, although few viewers saw it in color until the 1960s. There were 156 half-hour episodes filmed between 1950 and 1956. The show was never run as a network series and was instead sold to local stations. 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.Grossman, Gary H., ''Saturday Morning TV'', pp. 190–191, Dell Publishing Company, 1981

Synopsis

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. 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.”Stern, Jane and Michael, ''Way Out West'', pp. 21–22, HarperCollins, 1993 The Cisco Kid rode a horse named Diablo, and Pancho rode Loco.Summers, Neil and Crowley, Roger M., ''The Official TV Western Round-Up Book'', p. 85, The Old West Shop Publishing, 2002

Cast

as Pancho, Cisco's sidekick

Episodes

Production

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. 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

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boulder, which struck him in the head, breaking two neck vertebrae. He was paralyzed for two months. Most of the series’ location work was done at Pioneertown, California.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cisco Kid (Tv Series), The First-run syndicated television programs in the United States 1950s Western (genre) television series 1950 American television series debuts 1956 American television series endings Television series based on radio series Television series by MGM Television Television series by 20th Century Fox Television English-language television shows Adaptations of works by O. Henry Cisco Kid Television shows filmed in California