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King World Productions, Inc.
Logo descriptions by Jason Jones, Kris Starring, Jeffrey Gray, and Shadeed A. Kelly
Logo captures by Eric S., Shadeed A. Kelly, and V of Doom
Editions by Shadeed A. Kelly
Video captures courtesy of Eric S., Sailorclose, WizardDuck, MidesonicDX, mcydodge919, and mirnawatihusada
Background: King World was a television company established in 1964 by Charles King when they gained the distribution rights to the classic Our Gang (later retitled The Little Rascals) shorts. Years later, the company was ran by his sons; Roger and Michael King. In 1983, King World joined forces with Merv Griffin Enterprises to handle all of Griffin's nightly syndicated programming, including when they've launch a syndicated version of Wheel of Fortune, the syndication rights to The Merv Griffin Show from Metromedia Producers Corporation, and two syndicated pilots of Jeopardy! until the series officially launched on September 10, 1984. King World later formed an ad-sales barter division "Camelot Entertainment Sales", which would become "King World Media Sales" (now CBS Television Distribution Media Sales) in 1997. On September 26, 2006, this company merged with CBS Paramount Domestic Television, CBS Paramount International Television, and CBS Home Entertainment to form CBS Television Distribution. Today, King World remains currently as an in-name-only unit of CBS Television Distribution known as "KWP Studios", a unit of CBS Corporation.
1st Logo
(1964-1977)
Nickname: "The Eagle on a Globe"
Logo: On an orange background, we see an eagle standing on top of a globe, with the text underneath saying "King World Productions".
Variants:
FX/SFX: Unavailable.
Cheesy Factor: Unavailable.
Music/Sounds: Unavailable.
Availability: Extinct.
Scare Factor: Unavailable.
2nd Logo
(1977-1984)
Nicknames: "KWP", "Zooming-In KWP Crown"
Logo: On a brown background, we see a yellow abstract crown motif zooming in. Then two yellow letters, a "K" and a "P", lock in between the crown from left and right of the screen. The crown evolves into a "W" as the bottom part fades away, as the company name "King World Productions" fades in.
Variants:
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The joining of the three initials. Looks very 50's with the film quality to it, though it may have been done intentionally to blend in better with the end of The Little Rascals. It also doesn't even look much like "KWP".
Music/Sounds: None or the end theme of the show.
Availability: Extinct, as was mostly seen on The Little Rascals and other programs from the early '80s. This logo has been plastered by the 1990 King World logo.
Scare Factor: Minimal.
3rd Logo
(September 19, 1983-1984)
Logo: It's just an in-credit text that says:
Variants:
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds/Voiceovers: The end title theme from any show with any announcer announcing "Distributed by King World Productions, Inc.":
Availability: Extinct. This was only seen on The Merv Griffin Show, the first syndicated season of Wheel of Fortune, and the first two pilots of Jeopardy! When GSN re-aired Wheel of Fortune a decade ago, this in-credit text was intact on some episodes. However, this would get plastered by either the 1994 or 1996 CTT logo with Jack Clark announcing "Distributed by" and then would cut to Charlie O'Donnell's voice saying "Columbia TriStar Television" while the CTT theme is playing.
Scare Factor: None.
4th Logo
(1984-1991)
Nickname: "Stars and Stripes"
Logo: Over a purplish space background with lots of stars, we see tons of skinny light rays in shades of blue and green coming from a source of light in the center. All at the same time, a blue star comes from the source of light and flies up while the words "KING" and "WORLD" (in the same color of the star) slide in from the left and the right, respectively, as the entire logo begins to zoom out. The star moves to the bottom of the "W" in "WORLD", then a small blue triangle appears below the star and the "W" in "WORLD", and finally, a set of 3 similarly-colored bars form under "KINGWORLD", positioned perfectly with the ends of text as the space background changes to a purple gradient background. The logo shines in the end.
Variants:
Wheel of Fortune Variants: There is an superimposed in-credit logo onto the closing.
FX/SFX: The star joining the King World name, then the bars going into place, or none.
Music/Sounds: A generic orchestral fanfare that starts out with an ascending roll-up, then a 4-note tune that sounds similar to the ABC News theme, ending up in orchestral warbling sounding almost similar to the 1981 Ruby-Spears jingle. Sometimes the end title theme from any show plays over.
Music/Sounds/Voiceover Variants: Just like on the closings of Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, and Headline Chasers, this logo has been accompanied by a voice-over saying "(and is) distributed by King World" announced by Jack Clark, M.G. "Machine Gun" Kelly, Don Pardo, Charlie O'Donnell, and Johnny Gilbert.
Availability: Quite rare; was seen on Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, and Monopoly among others. The animated logo was most recently seen on the DVD releases of Branded and The Guns of Will Sonnett.
Scare Factor: Minimal.
5th Logo
(1990-1999)
Nickname: "Spotlights"
Logo: On a backdrop of vertical bars that resemble a doorway (the bars are in this order, for each side, 4 brown, one red, and gradients of blue resembling the "door") we see "KINGWORLD" in silver, on the center of the screen. Below the text are 2 sets of 3 silver bars that switch sides and at the same time, a silver triangle rotates itself from the bottom and fits between the 2 sets of lines. Between the 2 lines are a space formed with help from the "W" and triangle that resembles a star. Then quickly, a white star flashes in this space, and fades out.
Variants:
FX/SFX: The spotlights, and the formation of the door background in the longer variant.
Music/Sounds: A synth fanfare, or the closing theme of the show. Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa had a shorter version of this theme on season 2.
Music/Sounds/Voiceover Variants: Just like on the closing of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, the logo has been accompanied by a voiceover saying "(and is) distributed by King World" announced by Johnny Gilbert and Charlie O'Donnell.
Availability: Very rare; it was seen on several Jeopardy! reruns on GSN, but due to the compressed credits below with the ads on the top, this logo has not been seen since. Currently seen on season one of Hollywood Squares occasionally on GSN. Was also seen on Wheel of Fortune, Inside Edition, and PM Magazine, among others with "Distributed By" above. Without "Distributed By" was seen on Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa. The version with "Produced & Distributed by" appeared on Inside Edition and Instant Recall. This logo was last seen on February 23rd, 2009 on Wheel of Fortune on GSN.
Scare Factor: None.
Final Note: Originally, this logo ended in 1998, but the "Produced & Distributed by" variant was kept until 1999 on the first season of Hollywood Squares.
6th Logo
(1998-2007)
Nickname: "Star-Shooter"
Logo: A modified rendition of logos 4 and 5. Over a golden sunset backdrop of clouds, the "KINGWORLD" name in blue letters, scans through the sky. As it pans backward, a shooting star glides by the logo, revealing a paintbrushed mark and a star shape in the center. The sun shines from behind the logo revealing either "Distributed By", "Produced & Distributed By", or nothing at all appearing above King World.
Variants:
FX/SFX: The shooting star.
Music/Sounds: Various streaking sounds followed by a booming sound of a thunderclap, accompanied by an "airy" musical backdrop. May also have the end theme playing over it.
Music/Sounds Variants: There are 3 music variations. The first one is the long version from the longer animation. The second is the second half of the long version, and the final starts with the thunderclap sound only for game shows.
Availability: Common; it appeared on Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, Inside Edition, The Oprah Winfrey Show (until 2002) and Dr. Phil (until 2007) among others. Currently seen on Everybody Loves Raymond, the CSI franchise, Jeopardy!, and America's Next Top Model in cable syndie reruns. The logo survives when the latter shows are rerun on TBS, Spike TV, A&E, Oxygen, MTV, and GSN respectively. A spiffier version can be seen on various TV movies on Lifetime. Local reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond and the CSI franchise would have this logo plastered by the CBS Television Distribution logo.
Scare Factor: None.
7th Logo
(December 25, 2006-September 2007)
Nickname: "Star-Shooter II"
Logo: Over a blue sky, above the clouds, we see the "KINGWORLD" text looking much like the previous logo, but tilted up and handsomely redone in 3-D with a silver trim. It flies outward and settles itself in the center, and a shooting star flies under the text, leaving a blue paintmark with a star-shaped gap in it. Same applies on the last logo with "Distributed by" or "Produced & Distributed By".
FX/SFX: Great CGI.
Music/Sounds: An ominous wind sound followed by a "glittery" sound.
Music/Sounds Variant: On Everybody Loves Raymond on TV Land.com and Jeopardy!, it uses the 1998 logo theme.
Availability: Extremely rare. Debuted on Christmas Day in December of 2006; was last seen on local Saturday reruns of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Was also used on Inside Edition. Surprisingly seen on Everybody Loves Raymond on TV Land as it replaces the 1998 logo followed by the CBS Television Distribution logo due to TV Land's style of credits on the bottom of the final scenes from any show.
Scare Factor: None; this is a clean logo.
Logo captures by Eric S., Shadeed A. Kelly, and V of Doom
Editions by Shadeed A. Kelly
Video captures courtesy of Eric S., Sailorclose, WizardDuck, MidesonicDX, mcydodge919, and mirnawatihusada
Background: King World was a television company established in 1964 by Charles King when they gained the distribution rights to the classic Our Gang (later retitled The Little Rascals) shorts. Years later, the company was ran by his sons; Roger and Michael King. In 1983, King World joined forces with Merv Griffin Enterprises to handle all of Griffin's nightly syndicated programming, including when they've launch a syndicated version of Wheel of Fortune, the syndication rights to The Merv Griffin Show from Metromedia Producers Corporation, and two syndicated pilots of Jeopardy! until the series officially launched on September 10, 1984. King World later formed an ad-sales barter division "Camelot Entertainment Sales", which would become "King World Media Sales" (now CBS Television Distribution Media Sales) in 1997. On September 26, 2006, this company merged with CBS Paramount Domestic Television, CBS Paramount International Television, and CBS Home Entertainment to form CBS Television Distribution. Today, King World remains currently as an in-name-only unit of CBS Television Distribution known as "KWP Studios", a unit of CBS Corporation.
1st Logo
(1964-1977)
Nickname: "The Eagle on a Globe"
Logo: On an orange background, we see an eagle standing on top of a globe, with the text underneath saying "King World Productions".Variants:
- From the company's early years until the switch to color television in 1967, the logo was in black and white.
- On some King World-owned shows prior to 1977, the text underneath the logo said "A King World Production".
- When King World had a separate film company named King World Films, the logo had the text saying "A King World Films Presentation".
- Some shows and short films prior to 1967 had the logo referred to as "A King World Productions Release".
FX/SFX: Unavailable.
Cheesy Factor: Unavailable.
Music/Sounds: Unavailable.
Availability: Extinct.
Scare Factor: Unavailable.
2nd Logo
(1977-1984)
Nicknames: "KWP", "Zooming-In KWP Crown"
Logo: On a brown background, we see a yellow abstract crown motif zooming in. Then two yellow letters, a "K" and a "P", lock in between the crown from left and right of the screen. The crown evolves into a "W" as the bottom part fades away, as the company name "King World Productions" fades in.
Variants:
- This logo was in black & white on The Little Rascals and the logo was referred to as "A King World Productions Release".
- On some shows owned by the company, such as The John Davidson Show, the copyright information fades in when the logo's animation is complete.
- At the beginning of some TV shows and cartoons, the same logo animation played, but with different text that says "King World Productions Presents".
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The joining of the three initials. Looks very 50's with the film quality to it, though it may have been done intentionally to blend in better with the end of The Little Rascals. It also doesn't even look much like "KWP".
Music/Sounds: None or the end theme of the show.
Availability: Extinct, as was mostly seen on The Little Rascals and other programs from the early '80s. This logo has been plastered by the 1990 King World logo.
Scare Factor: Minimal.
3rd Logo
(September 19, 1983-1984)
Logo: It's just an in-credit text that says:
KING WORLD
Productions, Inc.
Variants:
- From November 1983-1984, this text would appear superimposed on the wheel on Wheel of Fortune, while the wheel spins.
- On the 1983 pilot of Jeopardy!, the text said "Distributed by King World, Inc."
- On the 2nd Jeopardy! pilot on January 1, 1984, the text appears on a blue background with white lettering.
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds/Voiceovers: The end title theme from any show with any announcer announcing "Distributed by King World Productions, Inc.":
- Jack Clark from Wheel of Fortune: Wheel of Fortune is a Merv Griffin Production, distributed by King World Productions, Inc.
- Chet Gould from The Merv Griffin Show: The Merv Griffin Show is a Merv Griffin Production in association with and is distributed by King World Productions, Inc.
- Jay Stewart from the 1st Jeopardy! pilot in September 18, 1983: This has been a Merv Griffin Production! Distributed by King World, Inc.
- Johnny Gilbert from the 2nd Jeopardy! pilot on January 1, 1984: This has been a Merv Griffin Production! Distributed by King World Productions.
Availability: Extinct. This was only seen on The Merv Griffin Show, the first syndicated season of Wheel of Fortune, and the first two pilots of Jeopardy! When GSN re-aired Wheel of Fortune a decade ago, this in-credit text was intact on some episodes. However, this would get plastered by either the 1994 or 1996 CTT logo with Jack Clark announcing "Distributed by" and then would cut to Charlie O'Donnell's voice saying "Columbia TriStar Television" while the CTT theme is playing.
Scare Factor: None.
4th Logo
(1984-1991)
Nickname: "Stars and Stripes"
Logo: Over a purplish space background with lots of stars, we see tons of skinny light rays in shades of blue and green coming from a source of light in the center. All at the same time, a blue star comes from the source of light and flies up while the words "KING" and "WORLD" (in the same color of the star) slide in from the left and the right, respectively, as the entire logo begins to zoom out. The star moves to the bottom of the "W" in "WORLD", then a small blue triangle appears below the star and the "W" in "WORLD", and finally, a set of 3 similarly-colored bars form under "KINGWORLD", positioned perfectly with the ends of text as the space background changes to a purple gradient background. The logo shines in the end.
Variants:
- This logo was shown in all white with "Distributed By" above on a navy blue background. This was seen on first season of Jeopardy!
- At the beginning of some programs, "PRESENTS" in white similar to the company's name font, fades in under the company's name.
- On classic shows, including Branded, there was a B&W variant of the logo.
- On The Guns of Will Sonnet, the logo appears darker.
- On Super Jeopardy! and Monopoly, the logo would freeze at the near finish.
- There was a shortened version of the normal logo with "Distributed By" above it. This was used on The Oprah Winfrey Show until at least 1991.
Wheel of Fortune Variants: There is an superimposed in-credit logo onto the closing.
- 1984-1985: White in-credit King World logo on the spinning wheel.
- 1985-1989: Light blue in-credit King World logo.
- November 1988: Yellow in-credit King World logo. Used only for the two weeks at Radio City Music Hall.
- 1989-1990: Aqua blue (or teal) in-credit King World logo.
FX/SFX: The star joining the King World name, then the bars going into place, or none.
Music/Sounds: A generic orchestral fanfare that starts out with an ascending roll-up, then a 4-note tune that sounds similar to the ABC News theme, ending up in orchestral warbling sounding almost similar to the 1981 Ruby-Spears jingle. Sometimes the end title theme from any show plays over.
Music/Sounds/Voiceover Variants: Just like on the closings of Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, and Headline Chasers, this logo has been accompanied by a voice-over saying "(and is) distributed by King World" announced by Jack Clark, M.G. "Machine Gun" Kelly, Don Pardo, Charlie O'Donnell, and Johnny Gilbert.
Availability: Quite rare; was seen on Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, and Monopoly among others. The animated logo was most recently seen on the DVD releases of Branded and The Guns of Will Sonnett.
Scare Factor: Minimal.
5th Logo
(1990-1999)
Nickname: "Spotlights"
Logo: On a backdrop of vertical bars that resemble a doorway (the bars are in this order, for each side, 4 brown, one red, and gradients of blue resembling the "door") we see "KINGWORLD" in silver, on the center of the screen. Below the text are 2 sets of 3 silver bars that switch sides and at the same time, a silver triangle rotates itself from the bottom and fits between the 2 sets of lines. Between the 2 lines are a space formed with help from the "W" and triangle that resembles a star. Then quickly, a white star flashes in this space, and fades out.
Variants:
- There is a longer variant of the logo where we see a background with colorful stripes and a large tan star that is similar to the one used in the star space of the logo. All at the same time, the background changes to the formation of the doorway background and the spotlights fade in as the words "KING" and "WORLD" fly into the screen ala the 1983 MGM/UA Home Video logo ("KING" going from right to left, and "WORLD" going from left to right). The rest of the logo proceeds as normal as the words "Distributed By" or "Produced & Distributed By" fade in at the top. This was seen on episodes of Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, Inside Edition, and a short-lived 1992 news magazine called Instant Recall from 1990-1992.
- There is a shorter version of the logo where "Distributed By" or "Produced & Distributed By" already appears at the top and the logo is already formed. It starts at the place where the star flashes in the star space.
- There was a black & white variant of the shorter version that appeared on The Little Rascals.
- On the 1998 version of Hollywood Squares, the copyright stamp "Copyright (Year) King World Studios West, Inc." is seen below the logo.
- On Wheel of Fortune from 1996-1998, this logo would appear in as a graphical effect, such as a page turning effect like the 1988, 1992, and 1993 Merv Griffin Enterprises logos or a flipping effect.
FX/SFX: The spotlights, and the formation of the door background in the longer variant.
Music/Sounds: A synth fanfare, or the closing theme of the show. Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa had a shorter version of this theme on season 2.
Music/Sounds/Voiceover Variants: Just like on the closing of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, the logo has been accompanied by a voiceover saying "(and is) distributed by King World" announced by Johnny Gilbert and Charlie O'Donnell.
Availability: Very rare; it was seen on several Jeopardy! reruns on GSN, but due to the compressed credits below with the ads on the top, this logo has not been seen since. Currently seen on season one of Hollywood Squares occasionally on GSN. Was also seen on Wheel of Fortune, Inside Edition, and PM Magazine, among others with "Distributed By" above. Without "Distributed By" was seen on Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa. The version with "Produced & Distributed by" appeared on Inside Edition and Instant Recall. This logo was last seen on February 23rd, 2009 on Wheel of Fortune on GSN.
Scare Factor: None.
Final Note: Originally, this logo ended in 1998, but the "Produced & Distributed by" variant was kept until 1999 on the first season of Hollywood Squares.
6th Logo
(1998-2007)
Nickname: "Star-Shooter"
Logo: A modified rendition of logos 4 and 5. Over a golden sunset backdrop of clouds, the "KINGWORLD" name in blue letters, scans through the sky. As it pans backward, a shooting star glides by the logo, revealing a paintbrushed mark and a star shape in the center. The sun shines from behind the logo revealing either "Distributed By", "Produced & Distributed By", or nothing at all appearing above King World.
Variants:
- The more common "short" version cuts out the close-up panning of the logo.
- On Hollywood Squares, the copyright stamp "Copyright [YEAR] King World Studios West, Inc." is seen below the logo.
FX/SFX: The shooting star.
Music/Sounds: Various streaking sounds followed by a booming sound of a thunderclap, accompanied by an "airy" musical backdrop. May also have the end theme playing over it.
Music/Sounds Variants: There are 3 music variations. The first one is the long version from the longer animation. The second is the second half of the long version, and the final starts with the thunderclap sound only for game shows.
Availability: Common; it appeared on Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, Inside Edition, The Oprah Winfrey Show (until 2002) and Dr. Phil (until 2007) among others. Currently seen on Everybody Loves Raymond, the CSI franchise, Jeopardy!, and America's Next Top Model in cable syndie reruns. The logo survives when the latter shows are rerun on TBS, Spike TV, A&E, Oxygen, MTV, and GSN respectively. A spiffier version can be seen on various TV movies on Lifetime. Local reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond and the CSI franchise would have this logo plastered by the CBS Television Distribution logo.
Scare Factor: None.
7th Logo
(December 25, 2006-September 2007)
Nickname: "Star-Shooter II"
Logo: Over a blue sky, above the clouds, we see the "KINGWORLD" text looking much like the previous logo, but tilted up and handsomely redone in 3-D with a silver trim. It flies outward and settles itself in the center, and a shooting star flies under the text, leaving a blue paintmark with a star-shaped gap in it. Same applies on the last logo with "Distributed by" or "Produced & Distributed By".
FX/SFX: Great CGI.
Music/Sounds: An ominous wind sound followed by a "glittery" sound.
Music/Sounds Variant: On Everybody Loves Raymond on TV Land.com and Jeopardy!, it uses the 1998 logo theme.
Availability: Extremely rare. Debuted on Christmas Day in December of 2006; was last seen on local Saturday reruns of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Was also used on Inside Edition. Surprisingly seen on Everybody Loves Raymond on TV Land as it replaces the 1998 logo followed by the CBS Television Distribution logo due to TV Land's style of credits on the bottom of the final scenes from any show.
Shadeed329 |
Latest page update: made by Shadeed329
, Jul 10 2010, 1:43 AM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by Shadeed329
3 words added 2 words deleted view changes - complete history) |
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Keyword tags:
CBS Corporation
CBS Paramount Television
CBS Television Distribution
King World Productions Inc.
KWP Studios
National Amusements Inc.
More Info: links to this page
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| Beakerfreak93 | King World | 4 | Aug 13 2008, 3:43 PM EDT by Shadeed329 | ||
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Thread started: Aug 7 2008, 10:04 AM EDT
Watch
I guess the only way to see King World logos is on DVD's of shows they syndicated.Since its been murdered on NBC and The CW where else are you supposed to see it.Also after KingWorld's closure CBS Corporation linked its website to CBS Television Distribution
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| Jnelson09 | King World 1990 | 12 | Jun 14 2008, 12:06 PM EDT by Jnelson09 | ||
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Thread started: May 9 2008, 11:58 PM EDT
Watch
As seen in this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3OEqUpGHSQ) at about 1:32 into it, there's a King World logo not covered here. As far as I know, it was only seen on the short-lived Monopoly game show in 1990.
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Keyword tags:
CBS Corporation
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KingWorld
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| mcy919 | Kingworld B&W "Spotlights" logo | 0 | Feb 21 2008, 7:42 PM EST by mcy919 | ||
Showing 3 of 3 threads for this page
