Columbia Pictures TelevisionThis is a featured page

Logo descriptions by Jason Jones, James Fabiano, Matt Williams, Ryan Mead, and Michael Bode
Logo captures by Shadeed A. Kelly, Eric S, V of Doom, and others
Editions by Shadeed A. Kelly, Logophile and V of Doom
Video captures courtesy of ChadODell, CJOVideo, gman1290, JohnnyL80, Eric S., mcydodge919, and Royger Short


Background:
Columbia Pictures Television (CPT) was the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems (SG), reincorporated on September 4, 1974. In early 2001, Columbia Pictures Television was folded into Columbia TriStar Television. Currently the division is known as Sony Pictures Television.


1st Logo
(1974-1976)

CPT (1974-1975)Columbia Pictures Television (1974)Columbia Pictures Television (1974, B)

Nicknames: "CPT Pretzel", "CPT", "The Pretzel"

Logo: Against a red background, the letters "C-P-T" appear one by one. They are all yellow, and as the picture moves outward, each initial appears on screen. The "T" is in the middle of and on a higher plane than the "C" and "P," which slide upwards diagonally to merge with the "T" to form a stylized logo, which looks like a pretzel. On either side of the logo's stem are the words "COLUMBIA" and "PICTURES," and below that "TELEVISION." Under all that is the message, "A DIVISION OF COLUMBIA PICTURES INDUSTRIES INC.".

FX/SFX: The letters appearing, screen backing away, the letters "combining".

Cheesy Factor: Animation that looks about as rough as its predecessor, the "S From Hell." The design also looks somewhat rushed, leading many to believe that this may be a placeholder logo.

Music/Sounds: For the first year, it used an abridged version of the Screen Gems '65-'74 theme. The three opening notes bring forth the three initials in the logo, and appear to be played faster than on the SG version. For the second year, the same music was heard being played on an organ. Sometimes, the closing theme of the show would play over it.

Availability: Extremely rare; It appears on the DVD of the 1976 TV movie The Story of David with the closing music playing over it. The first version was spotted on an airing of Police Story on Black Starz! years ago. The second version has only appeared on the TV movie The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case and was preserved on the out-of-print VHS version.

Scare Factor: Medium; if it was as well known as SG '65-'74, it would probably not be well liked because of the presence of that music. Low for the second version, as the organ music used sounds less scary. Both are otherwise tame compared to the "S from Hell" logo.



2nd Logo
(1976-1982)
CPT 1976: (Orange)Columbia Pictures Television (1976)CPT'76
Columbia Pictures Television (1981)Columbia Pictures Television (1981)Columbia Pictures Pay Television "Sunburst" (1976)

Nickname: "Sunburst"

Logo: We see a bright torch light appear against a black screen and as it shrinks, it changes into a more "abstract" torch light: an orange or red half circle, or a semicircle, with thirteen white rays in the center and the words "Columbia Pictures Television" under it. The entire logo then slowly backs away as it fades out. This logo is actually the second half of the 1975-1981 Columbia Pictures movie logo, and aside from a different color for the abstract torch, the footage also seems to be played faster than it is in the movies.

Variants:
  • Depending on the quality of the film print or telecine, the sunburst would appear as either orange or red, and the glow around the sunburst varied in brightness, or was not visible at all.
  • It is rumored that "A Unit of the Coca-Cola Company" was seen at some point on the Sunburst logo. Several members of the CLG have thought they saw the Coca-Cola info at some point, but no video evidence has been found yet. The most common claim is that it was seen on syndicated reruns of What's Happening!!! sometime between 1982-1985, but this would not have been in all TV markets, since CLG members from different markets specifically recall seeing the standard Sunburst on WH!!!
  • There is also a variant for Pay Television that reads as "COLUMBIA PICTURES PAY TELEVISION" with "PRESENTS" below.

FX/SFX: The sunburst shrinking and turning into the abstract torch. Nice effects, but are even better when combined with the Torch Lady in the movies.

Music/Sounds: The television theme is a variation of the theatrical inspirational music. Was also written by Suzanne Ciani. Some people find it appropriate for the company that would be owned by Coca-Cola, as the effects in the song resemble the sound of pouring and fizzing soda.

Music/Sound Variants:
  • Some syndicated showings of this logo have a shorter version of the music, only playing the second half.
  • In exceptional cases, it used the closing theme of the show.

Availability:
Extremely rare; It appears with closing music playing over it on the out-of-print VHS tape of the 1981 miniseries Family Reunion with Bette Davis, the 1982 TV movie Ivanhoe on DVD, and the 1982 Tom Selleck TV movie The Shadow Riders on VHS, DVD, and Encore Westerns. It appeared with music at the end of the 1977 TV movie A Killing Affair, but it has not be seen since Encore last aired it in 2006. The Pay Television variant is extinct, so don't expect this to appear anywhere.

Scare Factor: Low; this is a favorite of many.




3rd Logo
(1982-1993)
Columbia Pictures Television (Tiny Coke Byline, 1982)Columbia Pictures Television (1983, Medium Coke Byline)CPT: 1982-1987CPT: 1982-1983Columbia Pictures Television (B&W, 1982)
Columbia Pictures Television (1982)CPT 1985CPT 1987 (Blue/Gold)Columbia Pictures Television (1987)CPT: 1987-1991
Columbia Pictures Television (IAW, 1991)Columbia Pictures Television - CLG WikiColumbia Pictures Television Distribution (1988)CPT 1990Columbia Pictures Television (1989)
CPT 1991 (Blue/Gold)CPT 1991 (Purple/Gold)CPT: 1991-1993IAW-CPT: 1991-1992CPTD: 1991-1992

Nicknames: "'80s Torch Lady", "Coke Bottle Torch Lady"

Logo
: We see the then-current Columbia Pictures logo, the lady holding a light torch on top of a pedestal (Columbia, a representation of the USA), in her 1981-1993 incarnation. The words "Columbia Pictures" appear on either side of the torch lady, the word "Television" underneath, and underneath that, either the Coca-Cola or CPE byline, or sometimes nothing at all. The woman's torch "shines" after the music ends, and t
he words also shine lightly. Many shows stopped using this logo in 1992, although The Young and the Restless continued to use the blue/ivory logo until 1993. This was also used for the first season of The Larry Sanders Show, which premiered in August 1992.

Variants: There are several versions of this logo, namely in bylines, company name, and animation:
  • 1982-1987: Gold company name, byline is "A UNIT OF THE Coca-Cola COMPANY" with "Coca-Cola" in its familiar logo font. Early version has a very tiny Coke byline.
  • 1982-1987: Gold company name (alternate with no byline).
  • 1982-1987: Another version features darker clouds.
  • 1985: Gray alternate 1982 logo.
  • 1986-1987: Gold company name, smaller Coca-Cola byline with "Coca-Cola" in its familiar logo font.
  • 1986-1987: Gold company name, normal Coca-Cola byline, dark and muddy Torch Lady, little shining animation.
  • 1987-1991: Blue/ivory company name as seen in the movies, byline is changed to "A Unit of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc." (network version, 1987; syndication prints have "Distributed by" on top in 1988).
  • 1987-1991: Blue/gold company name, Columbia Pictures Entertainment byline.
  • 1988-1991: Purple/gold (alternate 1988 network logo).
  • 1988-1992: There was a phrase "In Association With" that was seen above the blue/ivory logo on Screen Gems shows. This was followed by either the 1987 or 1989 LBS Communications logo. On Days of our Lives, the logo used the IAW variant in Souvenir font and was used from 1991-1992.
  • 1991-1992: Blue/gold and purple/gold company name, no byline, animated.
  • 1991-1993: Blue/ivory company name, no byline (network version; syndication prints have "Distributed by" on top from 1991-1992).
  • There is also a B&W rendition of this logo to plaster the Screen Gems logo on classic shows.
  • There is a short version of the 1982 logo.
  • An extremely rare version of the 1987 logo appears on Dark Avenger (1990). The logo is eased back, revealing more of the torch lady's pedestal.
  • There is also another variant of the 1987 logo with the text "In Association With" cheaply tacked below.

Bylines:
  • 1982-1987: "A UNIT OF THE Coca-Cola COMPANY".
  • 1987-1991: "A Unit of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.".
  • For television distribution, the logo had the words "Distributed by" over the Torch Lady.
  • "In Association With" was also seen over the Torch Lady on some shows produced in association with other companies.

FX/SFX: The Lady's torch "shining". The blue/ivory logos would have the name "Columbia Pictures" shining.


Cheesy Factor: In the 1987 and 1991 "blue/ivory" versions, "Television" is obviously optically superimposed onto the movie logo, it has no shining effects to match "Columbia" and "Pictures," and due to the slightly different proportions of the movie logo, "Television" looks more blatantly off-center than in the "gold" version. For the 1988 IAW variant, the words "In Association with" look unprofessional on the logo. It looks like the words has been pasted and using the Times New Roman font rather than using the Souvenir font. Would look very professional on the 1991 version. Also the second 1986 variation with the muddy and dark Torch Lady and the little shining animation is extremely cheesy.

Music/Sounds
:
  • From 1982-1987, a shortened, slightly higher pitched version of the Sunburst music was used by Suzanne Ciani. The 1976 version was also used on this logo for a long version.
  • Around November 1987, when the byline changed from Coca-Cola to CPE, the music was changed to a 6-note horn-driven jingle mixed with twinkles composed by Tim Thompson. Also consider that Columbia's logo editing habits were so sloppy during this era that sometimes this logo was plastered over a Screen Gems or Embassy Communications logo with the original logo's music still intact. No trace of the SG or Embassy music for this logo hasn't been shown since.
  • Sometimes, the end theme of the show is played over the logo.

Music/Sound Variants:

  • On Married... with Children: The Most Outrageous Episodes: Volume 2, at the end of the episode "A Man's Castle", the 1993 music from the fifth logo (see below) is heard.
  • There was a warped version with Thompson's music seen on 80s prints of Screen Gems shows such as Occasional Wife.
  • Mistakenly, there was a slowed down version with Thompson's music on the second episode of The Real Ghostbusters, part of the Ghostbusters/Ghostbusters II DVD set.
  • On the season 4 DVD set of Punky Brewster, at the end of the episode, "The Nun's Story", the short Columbia TriStar Television Distribution theme is used in the 1982 CPT logo.
  • On the season 1 DVD set of What's Happening Now!! entitled "Mr. First Nighter", the Suzanne Ciani music is used over the LBS Communications logo, followed by the SPT logo.
  • On a couple episodes of My Two Dads S1 DVD set, it had the first two notes of the 1987 fanfare gone. The music fades in at the third note.

Availability:
Extremely rare; most of these logos have been plastered by the Columbia TriStar and/or Sony Pictures Television logos, but it just might pop up on some older prints of shows. It was previously found on some episodes of Designing Women on TV Land (followed by SPT). It was also spotted when Chiller aired reruns of the short-lived series Werewolf. Comedy Central's print of the movie Hairspray used the 7th variation listed in the opening (w/the 87-93 jingle). Local reruns would have the 1988 Distributor logo on several Good Times episodes, which would also appear on S1 on DVD. This can also been seen at the beginning of Village of the Giants when it was shown on Mystery Science Theater 3000 as Mike, Crow and Tom Servo were entering the theater. The 1982 logo can be seen on DVD in many places: the 1982 miniseries The Blue and the Gray, the 1985 version of Alice in Wonderland, and with music on most episodes on the season 4 DVD release of Punky Brewster from Shout! Factory!The 1987 and 1991 logos can be found on Married... with Children: The Most Outragous Episodes Volumes 1 & 2. The 1987 logo can be seen on the 1991 VHS release of All in the Family: The Twentieth Anniversary Special. The 1988 logo can also be seen on plenty S1 My Two Dads episodes by Shout! Factory under SPHE's license.

Scare Factor: It depended on the music used:
  • 1982-1987: Low with the "sunburst" music; the music and the Mona Lisa torch lady don't mix, but most will not mind.
  • 1987-1993: Low to medium; the loud music/dark background combination might startle some people.



4th Logo
(1992-1998)
CPTD 1992-1993 (Beakman)CPTD 1993-1998 (Beakman)

Logo: It's a custom in-credit CPT logo only used for Beakman's World. We have the Torch Lady in white with the words "Columbia Pictures Television Distribution" in Souvenir font (later Bank Gothic MD BT font in 1993) under the Torch Lady.
Underneath that is the phrase "In Association With".

Variants:
  • 1992-1993: The 1987-1992 print Torch Lady with the sunburst behind her.
  • 1993-1998: The current Torch Lady with a cloud BG placed inside a box.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The end title theme of Beakman's World.

Availability: Only commonplace on Beakman's World on syndicated and international prints, and on Univision. The first variant is also seen on The Best of Beakman's World on VHS and DVD.

Scare Factor: None.



5th Logo
(1992-2001)
Columbia Pictures Television - CLG WikiCPT (Beakman): 1992Coulmia Pictures Television Distribution
CPT 1992 (B&W)CPTD 1992 (B&W)



Nicknames: "'90s Torch Lady", "Majestic Torch Lady"


Logo: We see a still picture of a brand new Columbia Torch Lady (designed by Michael J. Deas, and modeled by actress Jenny Joseph; some think it looks like Annette Benning) holding a light torch on top of a new pedestal. The word "COLUMBIA" appears in giant chiseled silver letters behind her at the very top, similar to the classic Columbia Pictures logo from 1936-1975. Underneath the lady are the words "COLUMBIA PICTURES TELEVISION," or, until 1998, "COLUMBIA PICTURES TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION" (in Bank Gothic MD BT font) and underneath that, the byline "a SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT company." The Young and the Restless did not begin using this logo until 1993. It should also be noted that movies did not begin using this new Torch Lady until 1993, as well.

Variants:
  • On Beakman's World, there is a yellow-orange CGI rocket which flies clockwise around the Torch Lady and makes its way to the center of the Torch Lady.
  • There is a black & white variation that was used to plaster Screen Gems logos on classic shows.

FX/SFX: None; aside from the Beakman variant, it's a still logo. Except when it fades out, the name along with the byline below dims out and later fades out completely.


Music/Sounds: Depending on the variant:
  • 1992-1993: The 1987 music from logo 3.
  • 1993-2001: A 6-note majestic tune is heard; full of brass instruments composed by Dave Grusin. For the black & white and color versions of CPTD, they sometimes used a warped version of the 1993 theme.

Music/Sound Variants:
  • Sometimes, the ending theme of the show plays over it.
  • There is a silent version of the logo.
  • The Beakman's World variation used the 1987 music for Season 1 and the first part of Season 2, and then used the 1993 music for Season 2 and beyond. Another variant of this logo had no music but kept the flying rocket and its sound.
  • On The Greatest '70s Cop Shows, the short Columbia TriStar Television Distribution theme was heard on the pilot of Police Woman, and the long Columbia TriStar Television Distribution theme on the pilot of Starsky & Hutch. This was the fact that it was a rush due to horrible plastering.
  • In the early to mid 90s, the short-lived series Ivanhoe used the second half of this logo in black-and-white.

Availability: Uncommon. It previously appeared on several final season episodes of Designing Women on TV Land and occasionally on Nick @ Nite and several 1998 episodes of Just Shoot Me! both on TV Land. Also on local stations, it's spotted on a majority of Good Times reruns. The CPTD logo can also be found on the 1987 movie Withnail & I on the Showtime Networks and on several movies on TCM. As for the Beakman's World variation, it survives in pre-1994 reruns on Univision (usually followed by SPT), but the SPT logo plasters it on local TV airings. The black & white version appeared on I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched and was spotted at the beginning of the 1965 film Darling on TCM. On VHS and DVD, this logo is available on DVD releases of All in the Family, Good Times, The Jeffersons, and Sanford and Son complete first seasons. This logo is also seen on DVD volume releases of The Real Ghostbusters released by Sony in 2005. It is also seen on Volume 1 of Married... with Children: The Most Outrageous Episodes and The Greatest '70s Cop Shows on DVD. The version with the 1987 music can be seen on the VHS release of Married... with Children: It's a Bundyful Life and The Best of Beakman's World on VHS and DVD.


Scare Factor: Depending on the logo variant:
  • 1992-1993: Minimal because the 1987 theme is still there, but a bit tamer.
  • 1993-2001: None.

Final Note: Columbia TriStar Television took over for then-current shows formerly ending with this logo by 2001, though the copyright holder at the end of each show would credit "Columbia Pictures Television, Inc." or "CPT Holdings, Inc." until 2002, shortly after the debut of the Sony Pictures Television logo. However, "CPT Holdings, Inc." is still being used today as the copyright holder of The Young and the Restless and old incarnations from their television library such as What's Happening!!, The New $100,000 Pyramid, and others. But would also be used on foreign shows by Sony Pictures Television International.


VofDoom
VofDoom
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Logophile 1976 CPT Pay Television 1 Aug 17 2009, 2:38 PM EDT by THELOGOfactory1.12
Thread started: Apr 9 2009, 10:44 AM EDT  Watch
Why isn't there a description of the 1976 CPT Pay Television logo. The image is there, but no description.
2  out of 2 found this valuable. Do you?    
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Logophile Another version of the 1987 logo 2 Mar 5 2009, 5:40 PM EST by subzero917
Thread started: Nov 4 2008, 12:46 PM EST  Watch
On tape, I have a rare version of the 1987 logo. This logo is zoomed back, revealing more of the torch lady's pedestal. The company name and CPE byline are there, but are smaller as like I say is zoomed back. This version was found on some old 1990 TV movie. I have some of the credits recorded. And it is silent. I would put it up on YouTube, but I don't know how.
2  out of 2 found this valuable. Do you?    
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Logophile Rare version of CPT 87 added 0 Dec 30 2008, 11:10 AM EST by Logophile
Thread started: Dec 30 2008, 11:10 AM EST  Watch
I've added the rare version of the 1987 CPT logo between the 1987 Blue/Ivory distribution logo and the 1991 Blue/Gold logo.
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