The Cisco Kid

I remember when I was little that I was just glued to this show. One of the 1st westerns that I remember seeing, and I've seen just about all of them. I haven't seen this show for years and it would be nice to see it again sometime.

The Cisco Kid was originally introduced in O. Henry's "The Caballero's Way".

However,in the book he was a dangerous desperado, not the "Robin Hood" type character created in the TV series, etc.

This comment is in answer to a request by another commenter.

He could not find out where the Cisco Kid character came from.

He could not find it in his collection of O. Henry works.

I hope this has been of some help to him.

I find it really difficult to make this simple comment 10 lines.

If you would like to research it yourself, you can do so on-line.

Simply type in O'Henry.

Look up his biography, and short stories.

There you will find "The Caballero's Way" listed.

Fell in love with the show when I was four years old, and never stopped loving it. I always felt that Cisco and Pancho were the ideal men--caring, brave, and gallant, protecting defenseless victims, sending their rewards to mission orphans, etc.

The early shows mentioned O. Henry, as in "O. Henry's Cisco Kid"--I have always wanted to know the name of the book or short story that contained the Cisco Kid. The story is not in any of my O. Henry collections, so maybe it went out of print. Also, it would be nice to know who wrote the lovely theme music, and if it's currently available.

The show was also notable, to me, for not using women characters only as victims--often, women were just as devious, villainous, and able as the men with whom they were associated.

I remember the TV series fondly. One of the Connecticut TV stations ran reruns in the late 1960s/early 1970s. I enjoyed it as a child. I just picked up a bargain DVD with several episodes. Nothing is the same as an adult as when you first saw something as a child or teenager but these hold up well.

Some may see some ethnic stereotyping. Isn't that true for too many things coming out of an earlier era. I would be interested in reading the O. Henry story. Remember the dime novels of the late 1800s/early 1900s led into the shorts and westerns of the early decades of American films.

I used to have a television that occasionally got a weak signal station from Fort Erie, Ontario over here in Buffalo. And I got to relive a little childhood seeing episodes of Cisco Kid and the Lone Ranger.

Unlike the Ranger all of Cisco's stuff was in color. Great foresight because a whole lot of westerns that were done in black and white can't be given away now.

Cisco was quite the guy. A gentleman always, a righter of wrongs, and an amazingly tolerant guy to keep Pancho around. Unlike Tonto who was really useful to the Lone Ranger, I think Cisco kept Pancho around for laughs. He was slow on the uptake, but devoted to Cisco, and someone you didn't have to worry about betraying you.

I thought and still Cisco was great. Many friends in my age group and slightly older who are of Latino background told me how much Cisco meant to them as a role model. He was such a good guy, I wonder what he did that made him an outlaw in the first place.

O Henry spent much time in border towns on the American side and in old Mexico himself. In writing The Caballero's Way and introducing us to Cisco, he gave us another universal hero. Cisco will be syndication 100 years from now.

Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo were a couple of Hollywood veterans with substantial credits. But they will always be known as the Cisco Kid and Pancho.

By the way, did Pancho have a last name?