Premier Collections: 
The Cisco Kid, Volume 1
Liner notes written by Elizabeth McLeod and Harlan Zinck

Click to listen to an audio sample

"The Cisco Kid," as old time radio and B-Western fans know him best, bears little resemblance to the character introduced by writer O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Cabellero's Way" -- a dark-skinned white man passing himself off as Mexican, a scabrous, cold-blooded criminal who expunged his victims as much for the sheer joy of killing as he did as a necessity of his work.

Such a personality would seem to have little potential as a long-running star of juvenile adventure fiction -- but the Kid made the transition, evolving from a series big-budget feature films at the dawn of the talking picture age, down into B-pictures, the comics, and radio. By the time Cisco arrived at the microphone, he had been greatly sanitized to make him acceptable kiddie fare and had picked up the obligatory humorous ethnic sidekick -- Pancho, lifted without acknowledgement from Miguel Cervantes' "Sancho Panza" character in "Don Quixote."

Thus modified, "The Cisco Kid" became a great favorite with western/adventure fans during the 1940s. Dubbed "the Robin Hood of the Old West," his radio adventures originated for many years at WOR, New York, and were widely syndicated by transcription by the Frederic W. Ziv Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. Jack Mather and Harry Lang filled the lead roles, supported by the usual WOR stock company, and the transcribed series was produced for nine highly successful and lucrative years.

Since the 1947-1956 syndicated ZIV series was pre-recorded, a great many of Cisco and Pancho's adventures have been in the hands of collectors for years -- with the majority of available programs dating from earlier entries in the series. Recently, however, a large collection of beautiful discs was discovered in Des Moines, Iowa -- uncirculated and largely unplayed 16" vinyl transcription recordings, carefully preserved by a local advertising agency. These programs have, for the most part, been unheard since the 1950s and most have never been available to collectors - a real "find" for radio enthusiasts everywhere.

In addition to their rarity, a unique feature of these restored broadcasts is the reintegration of regional commercials, voiced by well-known announcer Marvin Miller. The series was sponsored on a number of midwestern radio stations by the bakers of Butter-nut Bread, and the program recordings were accompanied by separate discs containing the commercials. As presented in this set, the commercials have been edited back into the programs -- allowing you to hear them just as they originally aired in the early 1950s.

Of special interest to radio enthusiasts are the last two shows in this new Premier Collection: "Murder at North San Juan" and "Porfirio and the Bearded Lady," starring Jack Mather as Cisco and Mel Blanc standing in for Harry "Pancho" Lang as Pancho's cousin-in-law, Porfirio. Lang fell ill in early 1953 and, rather than have another actor temporarily fill in, the producers instead chose to have Pancho fall ill as well and be replaced with a series of relatives. For the next few months, a varied array of cousins and uncles would ride with Cisco until Harry was well enough to return to the show. Lang did return for a brief time but, sadly, he suffered a fatal heart attack in August of 1953. The relatives - including Uncle Jose and Great Uncle Cipriano - returned in his stead until, finally, Mel Blanc assumed the role of Pancho himself. Fans of the series will be happy to hear that there will be many more shows featuring Mel Blanc in his best "Frito Bandito" voice in upcoming! Cisco Kid Premier Collections.

Here is the complete content of this new and uncirculated ten-CD set:

Night Rider of Redrock (#531)
A series of intentionally set wildfires leads to property loss when the fires are used as a cover for the widespread looting of settler's homesteads.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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Dynamite in the River (#532)
In Silver City, New Mexico, an outlaw attempts to recover a cache of long-lost stolen ore by dynamiting a river.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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Chinook (#535)
In Idaho, Cisco and Pancho are on the trail of escaped outlaws Rod Yeager and Leith Riker - desperate men who will stop at nothing to escape capture.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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Convict's Revenge (#536)
In Gainesville, Texas, Maude Reeves is held captive in her general store by escaped outlaws Mal Coates and Gruen Staples.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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Rustlers of the Shoshone (#543)
In Wyoming, Cisco and Pancho take on a gang of cattle rustlers who have killed the local sheriff in cold blood.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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Cisco Meets the Sundance Kid (#544)
The Sundance Gang, led by the ruthless and notorious Sundance Kid, are using a cave outside Cimarron, New Mexico as a hideout. One Sunday morning, they ride in to loot the town -- but Sundance is talked out of it by the beautiful and fearless newcomer, Milo Normandy.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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Morbid Jones and the Web of Death (#545)
The series takes a brief turn into "Lights Out" territory as Cisco travels to Farmington, New Mexico to investigate two mysterious murders and a series of threat notes. He soon encounters Town Chairman Ellis Ambrey, a wealthy and soft-spoken eccentric whose apparent mildness is really a cover for a sick, devious, and murderous mind.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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Wheel of Chance (#546)
Casino owner "Dice" Stratton and devious Grant Dundee conspire to bilk a Pennsylvania Dutch farmer and his daughter out of their life savings through the use of a crooked roulette wheel.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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The Vengeance of Laughing Lou (#547)
"Laughing Lou" Mason was thrown out of Guthrie, Texas after stealing a horse from the local livery stable. Three years later, Mason and his henchman Fritz Cape steal the badge of a deputy sheriff and return to town, determined to get revenge.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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Pancho and the Princess (#548)
Sunny Langley, an orphaned child who was the only survivor of a wagon train attack, finds her sad life brightened when she meets up with the ever-jovial Pancho.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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Flood at Humbug City (#571)
John Hobart is a successful store owner in Yreka Flats, California -- so successful, in fact, that a rival store owner is willing to kill in order to put Hobart out of business. So, when Hobart has a fist fight with Bud McGinley, his rival sees his chance: he kills McGinley in cold blood, leaves one of Hobart's work gloves as evidence, and hopes that local lawman Fresno Frank Revere will pin the murder on Hobart.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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Salmon River Rustlers (#572)
On a clear morning in lawless northeastern Nevada, Cisco and Pancho come upon a gang of cattle rustlers busy changing the brand on a stolen calf. They chase them off, but when they move in to free the calf and put out the fire, they find themselves accused of rustling themselves.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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Stampede in Texas (#575)
Cisco does a favor for an old friend when he agrees to act as the trail boss of an herd of cattle being moved to Lompasas, Texas for sale. But trouble brews when Buck Steinert, "Squint" Keyes, and Joe Evans make plans to kill Cisco and stampede the herd.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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Jingle Bob's Last Stand (#576)
Sean O'Hara, owner of the Jingle Bob Ranch, has been killed by a rattlesnake bite and his envious neighbors use his death as an opportunity to take over his hard-won property.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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The Fighting Deputies (#577)
Conniving "Big Monk" Sibley and his brother "Little Billy" Casper conspire to buy an Arizona ranch which they believe contains valuable strains of copper, but Mr. Winthrop, the ranch's honest owner, refuses to sell to them. A barn dance provides a chance for the two to press the issue -- with threats and violence.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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The Old Shell Game (#578)
A carnival in Kingman, Arizona gives swindler Brix Matson yet another chance to con the suckers with "the Old Army Game" -- but when he takes on escaped criminal Kip Retton as a partner, the game turns to murder.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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The Law's a Fool (#579)
Ex-convict Rick Baylen and his henchman Bud Rommel have been holding up construction of the railroad though Dillon, Montana by sabotaging the tracks and blowing up bridges. Baylen escapes prosecution by never leaving behind a scrap of evidence that could convict him -- but he goes too far when he tries to shake down the railroad for protection money.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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The Son of Rawhide Cargan (#580)
After five years in jail, Rawhide Cargan breaks out and meets up with an old partner in crime, Elton Miller. Together they plan to make the town of Buckeye, Arizona the headquarters for every dangerous desperado in the Southwest. But Rawhide's son, the deputy sheriff of the town, hears of the plan and solicits Cisco's help in defeating his outlaw father.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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Murder at North San Juan (#583)
In Northern California, the main attraction of a wide-open mining town is the Palace, an ornate gambling salon run by cold-eyed, smooth-shaven Denver Dick Todd. Few men win much at the gaming tables - but when a man named Higgins wins $10,000.00 at the roulette wheel, Todd orders him killed, his body disposed of, and the money returned. When Cisco and Pancho's cousin-in-law Porfirio (Mel Blanc) ride into town, they soon find themselves accused of the murder.
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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Porfirio and the Bearded Lady (#584)
Pancho still has the measles, so Porfirio continues to ride with Cisco in the tale of an escaped outlaw who plans to rob banks -- in the guise of a bearded lady!
1953 - 30:00 - ZIV Syndication, sponsored by Butter-nut Bread
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