| Alt Name: | The Colt Cousins |
| Genre: | Western |
| Developer: | Roy Huggins |
| Open Theme: | Performed by Hal Hopper |
| Company: | Warner Bros. Television |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 3 |
| Num Episodes: | 67 |
| Executive Producer: | William T. Orr |
| Producer: | Gordon Bau (make-up) |
| Editor: | James Moore |
| Runtime: | 23-25 minutes |
| Network: | ABC |
Colt .45 (also known as The Colt Cousins) is an American Western television series, originally starring Wayde Preston, which aired on ABC between October 1957 and September 1960.[1]
The half-hour program is loosely based on the 1950 Warner Bros. film of the same name, starring Randolph Scott. Colt .45 was part of the William T. Orr-produced array of Westerns which Warner produced for ABC in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
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.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.
In 1959, Donald May assumed the lead role as Sam Colt, Jr., the cousin of Christopher Colt.[2] 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.[3] Due to the casting changes, the series was eventually marketed in the United Kingdom as The Colt Cousins.
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.[4]
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.[5] 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.
The Colt .45 opening theme music was composed by Hal Hopper with lyrics by Douglas Heyes.
The TV show was adapted into a comic strip by Dan Spiegle, distributed by Dell Comics.[6]
In January 2024, the Warner Archive announced that the complete series would be released in a Blu-ray set on March 12, 2024. It was released on March 12, 2024.