Cisco Kid, The

The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television, and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story “The Caballero’s Way”, published in Everybody’s Magazine. Originally a murderous criminal in O. Henry’s story, the Kid was depicted as a heroic Mexican caballero later in films, radio, and television adaptations.

The Stars

In the early sound film In Old Arizona (1928), Warner Baxter won the second Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the Cisco Kid. This film was a revised version of the original story, in which the Kid is portrayed in a positive light. It was directed by Irving Cummings and Raoul Walsh, who was originally slated to play the lead until a jackrabbit jumping through a windshield cost him an eye while on location.

The film series began with The Return of the Cisco Kid (1939), featuring Baxter in the title role with Cesar Romero as his sidekick, Lopez, and Chris-Pin Martin as the other sidekick, Gordito (“Fatty”). Romero took over the lead role of Cisco and Martin continued to play Gordito in six further films before the series was suspended with America’s entry into World War II in 1941.

At the beginning of the Radio series the Cisco Kid was played by Jackson Beck then later Jack Mather took over the role. Whilst Pancho was played first by Louis Sorin then by Harry Lang. When Harry Lang suffered a major heart attack, he asked his good friend Mel Blanc to be his substitute. He did so, but only after insisting that his wages be sent to Lang. Mel Blanc stayed with "The Cisco Kid" for several years, and throughout his friend's convalescence, never took a penny. Harry remembered that till the day he died.

Key Dates

• The Cisco Kid came to radio on October 2, 1942, with Jackson Beck in the title role and Louis Sorin as Pancho.
• This weekly series continued on Mutual until February 14, 1945. It was followed by a thrice weekly series on a Mutual-Don Lee regional network in 1946, starring Jack Mather in the title role, who continued to head the cast in the syndicated radio series of more than 600 episodes from 1947 to 1956.
• Renaldo returned to the role for the popular 156-episode Ziv Television series The Cisco Kid (1950–1956), notable as the first TV series filmed in color. For the 1950s TV series, the Cisco Kid’s sidekick Pancho was portrayed by Leo Carrillo, riding a Palomino named Loco. The Cisco Kid’s horse was named Diablo.
• After a long absence, the character galloped back onto TV screens in the 1994 made-for-TV movie The Cisco Kid, starring Jimmy Smits with Cheech Marin as Pancho.

Other Information

The radio series depicted the Cisco Kid as a virtuous wanderer and quasi-Robin Hood figure, often erroneously believed to be on the wrong side of law due to his habit of tangling with “the rich and greedy” who are victimizing the poor. Episodes ended with one or the other of them making a corny joke about the adventure they had just completed, before galloping off, while laughing.

Duncan Renaldo took over the reins as the Kid when Monogram Pictures revived the series in 1945 with The Cisco Kid Returns, which also introduced the Kid’s best-known sidekick, Pancho, played by Martin Garralaga. Pancho also became established as his sidekick in other media.

After three Renaldo/Cisco films, Gilbert Roland played the character in a half-dozen 1946–1947 films beginning with The Gay Cavalier (1946). Renaldo then returned to the role with Leo Carrillo as Pancho, and they made five films, with Renaldo assuming the flowery “Charro” suit in the final film that he would wear throughout the TV series that followed.

The TV episodes and the 1994 movie, like the radio series, ended with one or the other of them making a corny joke about the adventure they had just completed. They would laugh, saying, “Oh, Pancho” “Oh, Cisco”, before galloping off, while laughing, into the sunset, and Spanish-styled Western theme music was heard as the credits rolled.

Throughout the TV series, Carrillo addressed Renaldo as “Cisco”, and others (mostly Anglo characters) refer to him as “the Kid” (Renaldo was 46 years old when the TV series began). Although both Pancho and Cisco are clearly identifiable as Mexicans, throughout the entire series they spoke to each other in English, with Pancho speaking a thickly accented and very tortured English, as if the two of them were not both fluent and comfortable in English.

The character has also appeared in numerous comic book series, including Cisco Kid Comics by Baily Publishing in 1944, 41 issues of The Cisco Kid by Dell Comics from 1950 to 1958, and a comic strip syndicated by King Features from 1951 to 1967. Moonstone Books has published six graphic novels about the Kid as of 2009.

The Cisco Kid has also inspired various musical works, including the hit song “The Cisco Kid” by the band War, which reached number two on the US pop charts in 1972. Elvis Presley also wore a jumpsuit he referred to as “The Cisco Kid” during his early 1971 concerts.

Overall, the Cisco Kid has become an enduring icon of the American Western genre, with his heroic exploits and comedic banter with his sidekick Pancho captivating audiences across multiple media for over a century.