Colt .45 (TV series)

Overview

Roy Huggins developed the series with Wayde Preston playing undercover government agent Christopher Colt, who adopts the cover of a traveling Old West pistol salesman, giving the series its title. The show included fictionalized versions of historical figures such as Edwin Booth, Sam Bass, Billy the Kid, Lew Wallace, Judge Roy Bean, Buffalo Bill Cody, Ned Buntline, and Calamity Jane. Colt .45 was one of several ABC/WB Western productions of the period, alongside Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Lawman, Maverick, and Bronco, and its lead occasionally crossed over into other WB programs.

In one notable Maverick episode, Bart Maverick discovers Christopher Colt's abandoned sales satchel, as the series had been cancelled the previous season. In 1958, Wayde Preston left the series, claiming he was forced to perform stunts requiring a stunt man and was unhappy with the low budget. Producers aired repeats and a few new episodes to complete the 1958–1959 season. In 1959, Donald May took the lead as Sam Colt Jr., Christopher Colt's cousin.

After leaving, Warner Bros. prevented Preston from obtaining other acting jobs; he eventually returned briefly in a co-starring role with May. The series was later marketed in the United Kingdom as The Colt Cousins.

Reception and cancellation

Upon its debut in October 1957, Colt .45 drew respectable ratings for ABC, helping the network win its timeslot against NBC and CBS. By season two, behind-the-scenes problems caused a dip in viewership after Wayde Preston left, forcing producers to repeat episodes. The show also faced repeated sponsorship changes. According to author Alvin H. Marill, the choice to cast Donald May as the new lead was not explained in the storyline. After Preston returned, ratings had dropped, and ABC cancelled the series in 1960, with the final episode airing on 27 September 1960.