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. Cisco and Pancho were technically desperados wanted for unspecified crimes, but were viewed by the poor as Robin Hood figures who assisted the downtrodden when law enforcement officers proved corrupt or unwilling to help. 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.: 187 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.

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.” The Cisco Kid rode a horse named Diablo, and Pancho rode Loco.

Cast

• Duncan Renaldo as the Cisco Kid
• Leo Carrillo as Pancho, Cisco s sidekick

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	26		September 5, 1950	February 20, 1951
2	26		September 3, 1951	February 19, 1952
3	26		August 3, 1952	March 8, 1953
4	26		October 1, 1953	March 25, 1954
5	26		September 25, 1954	March 17, 1955
6	26		October 6, 1955	March 22, 1956

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 papier-mâché 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.

Year	1950
ReleaseDate	1950-03-06
Plot	The Cisco Kid rides through the American frontier with his sidekick, Pancho, fighting corruption with a blend of pride and humor that created a legend in the hearts of generations of television viewers.
Awards	Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy, 1 nomination total
Stars	Duncan Renaldo, Leo Carrillo, Troy Melton
Series Produced by	Walter Schwimmer, Philip N. Krasne, Frederick W. Ziv, Herbert L. Strock
Series Music by	Albert Glasser
Series Cinematography by	Curt Fetters, Kenneth Peach, Robert Hoffman, Monroe P. Askins, Daniel B. Clark
Series Film Editing by	Asa Boyd Clark, Martin G. Cohn, John B. Woelz, Sam Starr, Thomas Scott, Tholen Gladden, Arthur H. Bell, Charles Craft, Owen C. Gladden, Duncan Mansfield, Richard Fritch, Charles Diltz, Richard Belding, Harvey Johnston, Samuel E. Beetley
Series Set Decoration by	Lucien Hafley, Vin Taylor, Bruce MacDonald, Robert C. Bradfield, Budd Friend, Stanley Walter, John MacNeil, Jerry Welch
Series Makeup Department	George Gray, Glenn Cavender, Curly Batson, Armand Delmar
Series Production Management	Eddie Davis, Barry Cohon, Leon Benson, Tom Gries
Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Eddie Stein, Eddie Davis, Donald Verk, William A. O Connor, Marty Moss, George Loper, Edmond F. Bernoudy, Ralph Slosser, Edward F. Mull, Louis Germonprez, Lou Perlof, Joe Wonder, Jack Gertsman
Series Art Department	Lucien Hafley, Ygnacio Sepulveda, Victor E. Petrotta Sr., Eugene C. Stone, Jack T. Collis, Donald Sandstrom, Max Pittman
Series Sound Department	Garry A. Harris, Herbert Norsch, Gus Galvin, Jay Ashworth, Victor B. Appel, Sidney Sutherland, Quinn Martin, Roy Meadows, Hayes Pagel, Hugh McDowell Jr., Jack F. Lilly, Philip Mitchell, T.T. Triplett, Bill Naylor, Robert Post
Series Stunts	Troy Melton, Bill Catching, David Sharpe
Series Camera and Electrical Department	Barlow Simpson, Richard L. Rawlings, Joe Wharton, Donald Tait
Series Costume and Wardrobe Department	Alfred Berke
Series Editorial Department	Donald Tait
Series Script and Continuity Department	Larry Lund, Billy Vernon, Helen McCaffrey, Helen Gailey, Jane Ficker, Pearl Leiter
Series Additional Crew	Donald Tait, Joe Wonder, Mel Mark, Leon Benson, Julius Evans, Maurice Unger, Ralph McCutcheon
Genres	Western
Companies	ZIV Television Programs
Countries	USA
Languages	Spanish, English
ContentRating	Approved
ImDbRating	7.1
ImDbRatingVotes	575
Keywords	character name as series title,the cisco kid character,three word series title,classical western,epic western