''The Adventures of Kit Carson'' is an American Western television series that aired from 1951 to 1955 and consisted of 104 episodes. While airing, the show was shown in over 130 markets and was sold to the Coca-Cola Bottling Company by MCA-TV. After airing, MCA-TV acquired

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

rights to the show. In New York, the show aired on Tuesday evenings on WNBT (TV) and ran for thirty-minutes. The show starred Bill Williams in the title role as frontier scout

Christopher "Kit" Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and n ...

, and

Don Diamond Donald Alan Diamond (June 4, 1921 – June 19, 2011) was an American radio, film, and television actor who portrayed "Crazy Cat", the sidekick and heir apparent to Chief Wild Eagle on the popular 1960s television sitcom, ''F Troop'' (1965–19 ...

co-starred as El Toro, Carson's Mexican companion. Though the show may have been inspired by the historic Kit Carson, it is not historically accurate.

Premise

The show is set in the

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

in the late 19th century. Carson and El Toro, his Mexican partner, travel around the American West helping people.

Cast

Main

* Bill Williams as

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...

(103 Episodes) *

as El Toro (103 Episodes)

Notable guests

* John Cason as Carl Rigby, Deputy, Drayson's Henchman, Henchman Ben, Henchman Carson, Henchman Trig, Lead Henchman, Marshal Trent, Morgan, Porter, Stage Driver, Trigger Dawson, Wagon driver Morris *

Peter Mamakos Peter Mamakos (December 14, 1918 – April 27, 2008) was an American film and television actor. Early life Mamakos was of Greek descent. Mamakos' father owned Pilgrim restaurants in New England. Mamakos was sent to California to scout lo ...

as El Broho, Benito Morales aka El Morosco, Henchman Spence, Hernandez, Marco Mesconti, Padre Diego, Ricardo *

Boyd Stockman Ira D. Boyd Stockman (February 12, 1916 – March 10, 1998) was an American actor and stuntman. He was best known for his appearances in the American western television series '' The Adventures of Kit Carson'', and for playing the role of Spud O ...

as Henchman, Henchman Joe, Henchman Pete, Last Stage Driver, Murdock * Carol Henry as Henchman, Deputy, Garth, Hadley Man, Hank, Ned, Outlaw * Tristam Coffin as Col. Culver, Maj. John Phelps, Malee, Mark Stacey, Padre, Taggart, The Baron *

Richard Avonde Richard Avonde (1914–1981) was a Canadian film actor who settled in the United States. He appeared in more than 50 films and television series. In 1956, Avonde completed his 200th role in a television series when he appeared in an episode of '' ...

n as Don Felope, Barker, Captured Henchman, Henchman Wolf *

Terry Frost Sir Terence Ernest Manitou Frost RA (13 October 1915 – 1 September 2003) was a British abstract artist, who worked in Newlyn, Cornwall. Frost was renowned for his use of the Cornish light, colour and shape to start a new art movement in ...

as Commandant, Henchman, Langley, Sheriff

Episodes

Production

The show was produced by Revue Productions. Although

was a real historical character, the show was far removed from historical fact. For example, the show is set in the 1880s, but the real Kit Carson died in 1868. Carson was a mountain man, guide, and trapper; not a cowboy or a lawman as portrayed in the series. Eric Taylor, who had written numerous early horror scripts such as Son of Dracula and

The Ghost of Frankenstein ''The Ghost of Frankenstein'' is a 1942 American horror film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Cedric Hardwicke, Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi. It is the fourth film in the ''Frankenstein'' series by Universal Pictures, and the follow-up ...

in the 1940s, was hired on a script writer for ''Kit Carson''. As many as a total of 678 actors were used in filming for mounted posses, outlaw gangs, townsfolk, and other assorted characters. Production operations employed 245 different sets, with 135 interior sets and 110 exterior backgrounds. Roughly half of the working days were on location, many of which were the historical sites of the stories being filmed.

KETV KETV (channel 7) is a television station in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with ABC. The station is owned by Hearst Television, and has studios on 10th Street in the historic Burlington Station, which carries the address of 7 Burlin ...

held a pony drawing contest for children to promote ''The Adventures of Kit Carson.'' The promotion was targeted at children to determine who could draw the best horse. The winner of the competition received a real Shetland pony. Trying to reach the youth market through the medium of television,

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

signed on as a sponsor for the show beginning in 1951.

Reception

During its second season, ''The Adventures of Kit Carson'' became the most watched children's Western on television. According to ''Variety'', in 1954, the show reached more children's homes than any other series, with an estimated 3.5 million households. During ''The Adventures of Kit Carson's'' original run, the show was generally well-received. The show saw several good reviews in trade press publications at the time. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said that the show "fit like a glove into the groove for which it's patterned; and should keep the juves (and Coca-Cola) happy." ''Variety'' also said that Bill Williams and Don Diamond were "just okay." S.S. Picturegoer called the show "energetic and likeable" but also critiqued the direction of the show. Additionally, they stated the plot was "well-constructed" and applauded the acting of Bill Williams and Don Diamond.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures of Kit Carson 1951 American television series debuts 1955 American television series endings 1950s Western (genre) television series Cultural depictions of Kit Carson NBC original programming Television series set in the 19th century