Colt .45 (TV series)

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 (brother of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln), Sam Bass, Billy the Kid, Lew Wallace, Judge Roy Bean, Buffalo Bill Cody, Ned Buntline, and Calamity Jane. as Sam Colt Jr., in 1959 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. 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 • Fred Aldrich • Rayford Barnes • Russ Bender • Dan Blocker • Nesdon Booth • Lane Bradford • Charles Bronson • Peter Brown • Stephen Chase • Don Chastain • John Cliff • Fred Coby • Robert Conrad • Kathleen Crowley • Alan Dexter • Angie Dickinson • Kem Dibbs • Troy Donahue • John Doucette • Richard Garland • Sean Garrison • Bing Russell • Jock Gaynor • Robert Griffin • Alan Hale Jr. • Tom Hennesy • Robert 'Buzz' Henry • Bern Hoffman • Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. • I. Stanford Jolley • Stacy Keach Sr. • Sandy Koufax • Britt Lomond • Jimmy Lydon • Herbert Lytton • Lee Van Cleef • Walter Maslow • Rod McGaughy • Leonard Nimoy • James Nolan • Gilman Rankin • Lyle Talbot • Guy Teague • Kelly Thordsen • John Vivyan • Max Wagner • Adam West • Margaret Whiting ==Series overview==

Season 1: 1957–1958 }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} Season 2: 1959 }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} Season 3: 1959–1960 }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} ==Reception and cancellation==

series leads Will Hutchins (Sugarfoot), Peter Brown (Lawman), Jack Kelly (Maverick), Ty Hardin (Bronco), James Garner (Maverick), Wayde Preston (Colt .45), and John Russell (Lawman). 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 to 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. Merchandising The TV show was adapted into a comic strip by Dan Spiegle, distributed by Dell Comics. ==Release notes==

In January 2024, the Warner Archive announced that the complete series would be released in a Blu-ray set. It was released on March 12, 2024. ==References==