- Colt .45 (TV series)
-
Colt .45 Also known as The Colt Cousins
on the BBCGenre Western Created by Based on the film by
Thomas W. BlackburnDeveloped by Roy Huggins Starring Wayde Preston
Donald MayTheme music composer Mack David and
Jerry LivingstonOpening theme performed by Hal Hopper Composer(s) Paul Sawtell and
Bert ShefterCountry of origin 
United StatesLanguage(s) English No. of seasons 3 No. of episodes 67 Production Executive producer(s) William T. Orr Producer(s) Roy Huggins
Harry Tatelman
Cedric Francis
Mack David
Joseph HoffmanEditor(s) James Moore,[disambiguation needed 
] supervisorLocation(s) 
California
Warner Bros. back lot
and Warner RanchRunning time 30 minutes Broadcast Original channel ABC Picture format 1.33:1 monochrome Audio format monaural First shown in Fridays at 10pm Original run 18 October 1957 – 21 June 1960 Chronology Preceded by Colt .45 Related shows Maverick Colt .45 (also known as The Colt Cousins) is an American Western television series shown on ABC between 1957 and 1960[1]. The half-hour show derives from the 1950 Warner Brothers film of the same name starring Randolph Scott and formed part of the William T. Orr-produced "family" of Westerns which Warner produced for ABC in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Roy Huggins developed the series, casting Wayde Preston in the part of undercover government agent "Christopher Colt". Colt's cover would be as a travelling Wild West pistol salesman, hence the double entendre of the show's title[2].
After about the first season, Preston and the studio had a falling-out and Christopher Colt's cousin, "Sam Colt, Jr.", portrayed by Donald May, became the series lead in 1959. Preston would eventually return for the final episodes.
The series was one of several Warner Bros. westerns on ABC during this period, including Maverick with James Garner, Jack Kelly, and Roger Moore, Sugarfoot with Will Hutchins, Cheyenne with Clint Walker, Bronco with Ty Hardin, and Lawman with John Russell and Peter Brown. Various series leads occasionally did crossover episodes on some of the other shows, and one of the most imaginative was the "Hadley's Hunters" episode of Maverick, in which Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick comes upon Christopher Colt's sales satchel, abandoned in a room and covered with dust since the series had been cancelled the previous season[3].
The original opening theme music was performed by Hal Hopper, who also performed the theme for another western TV series, 26 Men.
Guest stars
Colt .45 guest stars included:
- Chris Alcaide played Grimes in the 1957 episode "Small Man".
- Francis De Sales starred in "Sign in the Sand" (1958).
- Ron Foster, as Tommy Potts in "Bounty List" (1960)
- Ron Hagerthy, as Deputy Jim Benson, and I. Stanford Jolley, in 1960 episode "Impasse"
- Ron Hayes, who later starred in the syndicated series The Everglades
- Tyler McVey appeared as Colonel Ben Williams in the 1960 episode "Absent Without Leave".
- Bob Steele in the series' first episode, "The Peacemaker" (1957)
- Barbara Stuart appeared as Belle in the 1959 episode "The Magic Box".
- Randy Stuart, as Julie in the 1958 episode "Blood Money"
- Gary Vinson appeared in the episode "The Runaway Groom".
- John Vivyan, later cast as Mr. Lucky, a CBS adventure series
References
William T. Orr television shows September 1955 Warner Bros. Presents (Kings Row · Cheyenne · Casablanca)September 1956 September–October 1957 September–October 1958 October 1959 October 1960 Surfside 6 · The Roaring 20sJanuary–October 1962 January 1963 September 1963 September 1964 September 1965 F Troop · Hank · Mister Roberts
Categories:- Television series by Warner Bros. Television
- American Broadcasting Company network shows
- Western (genre) television series
- 1957 television series debuts
- 1960 television series endings
- 1950s American television series
- 1960s American television series
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