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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 22 2008, 10:43 PM EST | 1deal2008 | 3 words added, 2 words deleted |
| Nov 22 2008, 10:42 PM EST | 1deal2008 | 1 word added, 1 word deleted |
Changes
Key: Additions Deletions
Written and Complied by Michael Bode, Cameron McCaffrey, and Shadeed A. Kelly
Logo captures by Eric S., Shadeed A. Kelly, and others
Editions by Shadeed A. Kelly, V of Doom and MeesterFonnyboy
Background: Originally known as Merv Griffin Productions, this company was formed in 1964 by Merv Griffin to produce game and talk shows mainly. It formed a partnership with King World (now CBS Television Distribution) in 1984, it was sold to Coca-Cola in 1986 after Griffin retired and experienced financial difficulties, it later merged into Columbia Pictures on December 21, 1987, and was sold to Sony Corporation along with CPE's other companies on November 7, 1989. But in December 1995, Merv Griffin founded a new media company named Merv Griffin Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Griffin Group, because all Griffin library from 1964-1994 is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, being distributed on TV by Sony Pictures Television. However, The Griffin Group owns The Merv Griffin Show and Dance Fever. In 2005, Merv Griffin joined forces with Yani-Brune Entertainment and currently, the said company is in charge of Griffin's television division.
Merv Griffin Productions
1st Logo
(March 30, 1964-January 3, 1975)
Nickname: "Medieval Griffin"
Logo: We see a griffin (with the head, wings, and forelegs of an eagle and the body, hindlegs, and tail of a lion) standing on his three legs holding out his left arm on the left side and on the right side says in Old English MT font "A Griffin production".
FX: Just the scrolling of the credits or superimposed.
Music/Sounds: None, just the end title of the theme from any show playing.
Availability: Near extinction; was shown on The Merv Griffin Show and Jeopardy! hosted by Art Fleming. This may have been on the first pilot of Wheel of Fortune (at the time, called Shopper's Bazaar) from 1973 as well, however GSN hasn't aired it since the network's inception (even though it is in the GSN/Sony Pictures Television library), so it's gone outside of home recordings. This logo appears on The Best of The Merv Griffin Show on DVD.
Scare Factor: None.
2nd Logo
(January 6, 1975-November 25, 1983)
Nickname: "The Outlined Griffin"
Logo: We now have an outlined detail of a griffin (having the head and wings of an eagle and the body, hindlegs and tail of a lion), sitting and holding up his left paw inside a rounded rectangle. There is also a line separating the griffin with the name "MERV GRIFFIN productions" underneath.
Variants:
FX: Just the scrolling of the credits or superimposed.
Music/Sounds: None, just the end title theme from any show playing. Normally you'd hear announcer spiels on Wheel or The All New Jeopardy!
Availability: Rare/near extinction; it appeared on Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, The All New Jeopardy!, Dance Fever, and The Merv Griffin Show. It appears on The Best of The Merv Griffin Show on DVD.
Scare Factor: None.
_______________________________________________________________
Merv Griffin Enterprises
1st Logo
(November 28, 1983-March 31, 1993)
Nicknames: "The Griffin", "The Blinking Griffin", "Classic Griffin"
Logo: Against a black background, inside a box with a sky blue border, we see a very detailed drawing of a griffin, or gryphon (a Greek mythological creature with the wings and head of an eagle, and the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion) based on the 1974 Merv Griffin Productions logo, in front of what looks like a chain-link fence. Below that, in a white italic font , we see the text "MERV GRIFFIN PRODUCTIONS".
Variants:
Wheel of Fortune Variants: Wheel of Fortune used different custom variations of this logo:
Dance Fever Variants:
The Merv Griffin Show Variants:
Bylines: Merv Griffin Enterprises would use one of the following bylines:
Trivia Note: The blinking eye of this logo was once the basis of a Jeopardy! question. ("The only part of the Merv Griffin Productions emblem that moved").
FX: The griffin blinking its eye.
Cheesy Factor: The light blue "chrome color" variation for the text looks very cheap and dated.
Music/Sounds: A jazzy theme that was heard on The Merv Griffin Show. Other shows would have the closing theme of the show. This logo and the King World logo following it were accompanied by the following announcements:
Availability: Extremely rare; when GSN aired older episodes of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! in the past, the logo was retained. But if GSN were to begin airing these episodes again, the logo would probably not be seen due to GSN's current practice of running ads during credits and cutting them off early. The Best of Merv Griffin Marathon had the WOF logo variants last year to pay tribute to the late Merv Griffin on GSN. However, the logo can be found on the Jeopardy! An Inside Look At America's Favorite Quiz Show DVD, at the end of the first Trebek syndicated episode. The other variants are extinct.
Scare Factor: Depends on the logo:
2nd Logo
(April 1, 1993-July 22, 1994)
Nicknames: "Cloud BG Griffin", "Sony Griffin", "'90s Griffin", "Golden Griffin"
Logo: Against the same cloud background as the then-current Columbia Pictures Television logo, we see a gold-colored griffin on a pedestal (appears to be a statue). Underneath the griffin, in the same font used in the CPT and TriStar Television logos of the time, is the phrase "MERV GRIFFIN ENTERPRISES," and under that, the byline "a SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT company." This logo was always followed by a graphic with the show's title card and copyright information.
Variant: On Wheel of Fortune, this logo would appear as a turning page effect.
FX: None, this is a still logo.
Music/Sounds: The closing theme for the show (Jeopardy! or Wheel of Fortune) would fade out as this logo appeared and the show's announcer (Johnny Gilbert on the former, Charlie O'Donnell on the latter) identified the company. A drumroll would play while the title card/copyright info graphic was shown, followed by the (then-current) 1989 King World logo with its music AND the announcement "Distributed by King World." Here are the announcements used:
Availability: Near extinction; was last seen regularly when GSN aired reruns of 1993-1994 Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune episodes earlier this decade. More recently, it showed up at the end of a Late Night with David Letterman episode with Merv Griffin as a guest.
Scare Factor: None.
Final Note: Columbia TriStar Television (now Sony Pictures Television) later took over the shows by Merv Griffin Enterprises in 1994.
_______________________________________________________________
Merv Griffin Entertainment
1st Logo
(1997-1999/2003)
Nickname: "The Silver Griffin"
Logo: On a blue BG, we see a silver griffin that looks like the 1974 and 1984 Merv Griffin Enterprises logos. We see the text "MERV GRIFFIN ENTERTAINMENT" zooming out from screen bottom and placing itself underneath the griffin.
Variants:
FX: The zooming-out of the name.
Music/Sounds: A two-note jingle that resembles "tada" but holding the second note. On Click, however, the closing theme was heard.
Availability: Extinct on TV; last seen surprisingly on the 2003 pilot episode of Dance Fever on ABC Family. Also, the Merv Griffin Productions variant was seen on the 1997 game show Click.
Scare Factor: None.
2nd Logo
(1999-2006)
Nicknames: "Silver Griffin in Space", "Sparkling Silver Griffin", "Silver Griffin II"
Logo: On a space background filled with stars and mixtures of colors of yellow, green, blue, light blue, and magenta, we see two planets; one on the lower left hand corner and one on the upper right hand corner flying out. We later see another planet flying from left fast and a star from the right side flying to the middle, where other stars from each direction join the star in the middle to form a light with a laser whoosh-like sound effect. The light later forms a sparkling silver griffin, where we later see the name "MERV GRIFFIN ENTERTAINMENT" zoom out from screen bottom in Times New Roman font placing itself underneath the griffin.
Opening Variant: There is an opening variant of this logo seen on theatrical movies by this company, but it's a still image centered on top of a black background.
FX: The flying of the planets, the stars gathering, the griffin sparkling. Except for the opening variant, which is a still logo that fades in and fades out.
Music/Sounds: A 7-note jingle adding 5 notes in the beginning of the first Merv Griffin Entertainment theme. A synthesized whoosh can also be heard.
Availability: A hard call; was last seen in 2003 on Dance Fever. Also spotted on African-British chef Ainsley Harriott's failed talk show in 1999. The opening variant is seen on the Griffin film Rain on TVOne.
Scare Factor: None; an excellent logo.
3rd Logo
(2006- )
Nicknames: "The CGI Blinking Silver Griffin", "Silver Griffin III"
Logo: In a blue BG, a remodified griffin from the second logo of Merv Griffin Productions and first logos of Merv Griffin Enterprises and Merv Griffin Entertainment, comes from the bottom of the screen and places itself to the middle with "Merv Griffin Entertainment" (in the same font as the Yani-Brune logo) following it. The text places itself below the griffin. The griffin later blinks his eye once (an obvious nod to the '80s logo) and we see light sparkles on the letters "T", "E", "I", "E", and "T".
FX: The unfolding griffin, the name spelling, the griffin blinking its eye.
Music/Sounds: A soothing 7-note synthesizer theme that almost sounds like the Lorimar-Telepictures chimes and NBC jingle as the light sparkles three times. Composed by Merv Griffin himself.
Availability: Common; currently seen on Lisa Williams: Life Among the Dead on Lifetime and Lifetime Real Women and Merv Griffin's Crosswords in syndication. Was also seen on a week-long special of Lisa Williams: Voices from the Other Side from October 27-31, 2008 on Lifetime.
Scare Factor: Minimal; the blinking griffin may get some. Other than that, it's a neat logo and the theme is rather soothing.
Logo captures by Eric S., Shadeed A. Kelly, and others
Editions by Shadeed A. Kelly, V of Doom and MeesterFonnyboy
Background: Originally known as Merv Griffin Productions, this company was formed in 1964 by Merv Griffin to produce game and talk shows mainly. It formed a partnership with King World (now CBS Television Distribution) in 1984, it was sold to Coca-Cola in 1986 after Griffin retired and experienced financial difficulties, it later merged into Columbia Pictures on December 21, 1987, and was sold to Sony Corporation along with CPE's other companies on November 7, 1989. But in December 1995, Merv Griffin founded a new media company named Merv Griffin Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Griffin Group, because all Griffin library from 1964-1994 is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, being distributed on TV by Sony Pictures Television. However, The Griffin Group owns The Merv Griffin Show and Dance Fever. In 2005, Merv Griffin joined forces with Yani-Brune Entertainment and currently, the said company is in charge of Griffin's television division.
Merv Griffin Productions
1st Logo
(March 30, 1964-January 3, 1975)
Nickname: "Medieval Griffin"
Logo: We see a griffin (with the head, wings, and forelegs of an eagle and the body, hindlegs, and tail of a lion) standing on his three legs holding out his left arm on the left side and on the right side says in Old English MT font "A Griffin production".
FX: Just the scrolling of the credits or superimposed.
Music/Sounds: None, just the end title of the theme from any show playing.
Availability: Near extinction; was shown on The Merv Griffin Show and Jeopardy! hosted by Art Fleming. This may have been on the first pilot of Wheel of Fortune (at the time, called Shopper's Bazaar) from 1973 as well, however GSN hasn't aired it since the network's inception (even though it is in the GSN/Sony Pictures Television library), so it's gone outside of home recordings. This logo appears on The Best of The Merv Griffin Show on DVD.
Scare Factor: None.
2nd Logo
(January 6, 1975-November 25, 1983)
Nickname: "The Outlined Griffin"
Logo: We now have an outlined detail of a griffin (having the head and wings of an eagle and the body, hindlegs and tail of a lion), sitting and holding up his left paw inside a rounded rectangle. There is also a line separating the griffin with the name "MERV GRIFFIN productions" underneath.
MERV GRIFFIN
productions
productions
Variants:
- The Merv Griffin Show: Above the logo would carry "A MERV GRIFFIN PRODUCTION"
- Wheel of Fortune: Above the logo would say "WHEEL OF FORTUNE Is Produced by" with a Califon copyright notice below the logo.
FX: Just the scrolling of the credits or superimposed.
Music/Sounds: None, just the end title theme from any show playing. Normally you'd hear announcer spiels on Wheel or The All New Jeopardy!
- The All New Jeopardy! (John Harlan): John Harlan speaking, Jeopardy! is a Merv Griffin Production.
- Wheel of Fortune (Charlie O'Donnell 1975-1980, Jack Clark 1980-1984): Wheel of Fortune is a Merv Griffin Production. (Distributed by King World Productions, Inc. (Prior to fall 1983 syndicated episodes of Wheel of Fortune)).
- The Merv Griffin Show (Arthur Teacher/Chet Gould): This is Arthur Teacher/Chet Gould. The Merv Show is a Merv Griffin Production, in association with and is distributed by Metromedia Producers (1974-1983) King World Productions, Inc. (1983-1984).
- Dance Fever (TBA): Dance Fever is a Merv Griffin Production in association with 20th Century Fox.
Availability: Rare/near extinction; it appeared on Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, The All New Jeopardy!, Dance Fever, and The Merv Griffin Show. It appears on The Best of The Merv Griffin Show on DVD.
Scare Factor: None.
Merv Griffin Enterprises
1st Logo
(November 28, 1983-March 31, 1993)
Nicknames: "The Griffin", "The Blinking Griffin", "Classic Griffin"
Logo: Against a black background, inside a box with a sky blue border, we see a very detailed drawing of a griffin, or gryphon (a Greek mythological creature with the wings and head of an eagle, and the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion) based on the 1974 Merv Griffin Productions logo, in front of what looks like a chain-link fence. Below that, in a white italic font , we see the text "MERV GRIFFIN PRODUCTIONS".
Variants:
- Later in 1984, the name was changed to "MERV GRIFFIN ENTERPRISES" after Griffin expanded his company.
- There is a variation of this logo where instead of the still white italic text appearing, it is animated. Inside the text, a light blue "chrome" color moves inside it.
- Sometimes, the logo is animated with the griffin blinking its eye, other times it's just a still picture.
- Some 1989 and early 90s Wheel of Fortune episodes, the logo used a "page flipping" effect to bring itself forward, instead of a straght cut.
Wheel of Fortune Variants: Wheel of Fortune used different custom variations of this logo:
- Late 1983/early 1984: Standard logo. It uses the Califon copyright stamp below the MGP name.
- February 1984-1987: A still version of this logo. The border of the box was silver insead of sky blue and the sides were pretty close in on the griffin. The text, which consisted of the company name and a Califon Inc. copyright notice, was in a Peignot font (as seen on the 1971 Viacom logo and the MTM logo). Some 1985 episodes would have this logo boarderless. Plus, several 1985 episodes would have the copyright stamp say "Califon Production, Inc." In 1986, the company name and the copyright stamp were in blue instead of silver. Around fall 1986, the byline "A unit of The Coca-Cola Company" was placed under the MGE name in the same byline setup as was used on the 1986-1987 Embassy Communications logo in red, with "Coca-Cola" in its signature font and "The" and "Company" in Loki Cola font except "A unit of" wasn't italicized. The name and logo were shifted up to place the byline under. In September 1987, the byline was later changed to "A unit of Coca-Cola TELEVISION".
- 1987-1990: The background was yellow-orange instead of the normal black. The MGE and Califon copyright stamp were in dark blue Peignot font and the Coca-Cola Television (later CPE in January 1988) byline was in red. As for the boarder on the box, it's was still silver. Until 1989, when the color of the font and the boarder were changed to the original blue.
Dance Fever Variants:
- 1984-1986: (Instead of "MERV GRIFFIN ENTERPRISES", it says): "A MERV GRIFFIN PRODUCTION in association with 20th CENTURY - FOX TELEVISION" in Arial font.
- 1986-1987: MERV GRIFFIN ENTERPRISES with the byline "A UNIT OF THE Coca-Cola COMPANY" underneath and with the phrase "in association with" below to bring forth the static 20th Century Fox Television logo.
The Merv Griffin Show Variants:
- Late 1983/early 1984: It uses the Anthony Productions copyright stamp below the MGP name.
- 1986: A still logo of the MGE logo. The logo and name were shifted up a little to place the byline "A UNIT OF THE Coca-Cola COMPANY" with "Coca-Cola" in its red signature trademarked font underneath the name.
Bylines: Merv Griffin Enterprises would use one of the following bylines:
- 1983-1986: Standard logo with no byline.
- 1986-1987: Logo and name are shifted up. "A UNIT OF THE Coca-Cola COMPANY" or "A unit of The Coca-Cola Company" (in red, with "Coca-Cola" in its signature font; "The" and "Company" in Loki Cola font) is placed underneath.
- September 1987: "A unit of Coca-Cola TELEVISION" (in red, with "Coca-Cola" in its signature font)
- November 1987-1992: "A unit of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc." (in the 1975-1993 Columbia Pictures font in yellow)
- 1991-February 1992: Bylineless again, because the CPE byline was removed. Not to be confused with the original 1983 version.
- February 1992-March 31, 1993: "a Sony Pictures Entertainment company"
Trivia Note: The blinking eye of this logo was once the basis of a Jeopardy! question. ("The only part of the Merv Griffin Productions emblem that moved").
FX: The griffin blinking its eye.
Cheesy Factor: The light blue "chrome color" variation for the text looks very cheap and dated.
Music/Sounds: A jazzy theme that was heard on The Merv Griffin Show. Other shows would have the closing theme of the show. This logo and the King World logo following it were accompanied by the following announcements:
- Jeopardy! (Johnny Gilbert): "(This is Johnny Gilbert speaking). Jeopardy! is a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises (and (is)) distributed by King World." (1992-1993 episodes with Gilbert: "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking. Jeopardy! is a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises. (copyright screen appears/drumroll is heard) (on the 1989 King World logo with its music) Distributed by King World.")
- Wheel of Fortune (Jack Clark early-fallNovember 1983-Fall 1984):Wheel of Fortune is a Merv Griffin Production. (Distributed by King World Productions, Inc.) (Fall 1984-19921984-1992, Jack Clark (1984-1988)/M.G. Kelly (1988-1989)/Don Pardo (Two weeks at Radio City in 1988)/Charlie O'Donnell 1989-1992): Wheel of Fortune is produced by Merv Griffin Enterprises (Distributed by King World)." (1992-1993 episodes with O'Donnell: "Merv Griffin Enterprises produces... (copyright screen appears/drumroll starts) Wheeeeel of Fortune! (on the 1989 King World logo with its music) Distributed by King World.")
- The logos were not accompanied by announcer spiels on Headline Chasers, Super Jeopardy!, Monopoly, Ruckus and most episodes of The Merv Griffin Show.
Availability: Extremely rare; when GSN aired older episodes of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! in the past, the logo was retained. But if GSN were to begin airing these episodes again, the logo would probably not be seen due to GSN's current practice of running ads during credits and cutting them off early. The Best of Merv Griffin Marathon had the WOF logo variants last year to pay tribute to the late Merv Griffin on GSN. However, the logo can be found on the Jeopardy! An Inside Look At America's Favorite Quiz Show DVD, at the end of the first Trebek syndicated episode. The other variants are extinct.
Scare Factor: Depends on the logo:
- None for the still white text version.
- Low for the still white text version with the griffin blinking its eye.
- Low to medium for the version with the "chrome text", because the design may scare some people, especially when viewed in a dark area.
2nd Logo
(April 1, 1993-July 22, 1994)
Nicknames: "Cloud BG Griffin", "Sony Griffin", "'90s Griffin", "Golden Griffin"
Logo: Against the same cloud background as the then-current Columbia Pictures Television logo, we see a gold-colored griffin on a pedestal (appears to be a statue). Underneath the griffin, in the same font used in the CPT and TriStar Television logos of the time, is the phrase "MERV GRIFFIN ENTERPRISES," and under that, the byline "a SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT company." This logo was always followed by a graphic with the show's title card and copyright information.
Variant: On Wheel of Fortune, this logo would appear as a turning page effect.
FX: None, this is a still logo.
Music/Sounds: The closing theme for the show (Jeopardy! or Wheel of Fortune) would fade out as this logo appeared and the show's announcer (Johnny Gilbert on the former, Charlie O'Donnell on the latter) identified the company. A drumroll would play while the title card/copyright info graphic was shown, followed by the (then-current) 1989 King World logo with its music AND the announcement "Distributed by King World." Here are the announcements used:
- Jeopardy! (Johnny Gilbert): "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking. Jeopardy! is a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises.'"
- Wheel of Fortune (Charlie O'Donnell): "Merv Griffin Enterprises produces... (copyright screen appears/drumroll starts) Wheeeeel of Fortune!"
Availability: Near extinction; was last seen regularly when GSN aired reruns of 1993-1994 Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune episodes earlier this decade. More recently, it showed up at the end of a Late Night with David Letterman episode with Merv Griffin as a guest.
Scare Factor: None.
Final Note: Columbia TriStar Television (now Sony Pictures Television) later took over the shows by Merv Griffin Enterprises in 1994.
_______________________________________________________________
Merv Griffin Entertainment
1st Logo
(1997-1999/2003)
Nickname: "The Silver Griffin"
Logo: On a blue BG, we see a silver griffin that looks like the 1974 and 1984 Merv Griffin Enterprises logos. We see the text "MERV GRIFFIN ENTERTAINMENT" zooming out from screen bottom and placing itself underneath the griffin.
Variants:
- This silver griffin was placed on a rounded blue rectangle all on a lavender background, but underneath the griffin says "MERV GRIFFIN PRODUCTIONS".
- Also, there is a longer version that starts at the griffin zooming out from the bottom-left corner.
FX: The zooming-out of the name.
Music/Sounds: A two-note jingle that resembles "tada" but holding the second note. On Click, however, the closing theme was heard.
Availability: Extinct on TV; last seen surprisingly on the 2003 pilot episode of Dance Fever on ABC Family. Also, the Merv Griffin Productions variant was seen on the 1997 game show Click.
Scare Factor: None.
2nd Logo
(1999-2006)
Nicknames: "Silver Griffin in Space", "Sparkling Silver Griffin", "Silver Griffin II"
Logo: On a space background filled with stars and mixtures of colors of yellow, green, blue, light blue, and magenta, we see two planets; one on the lower left hand corner and one on the upper right hand corner flying out. We later see another planet flying from left fast and a star from the right side flying to the middle, where other stars from each direction join the star in the middle to form a light with a laser whoosh-like sound effect. The light later forms a sparkling silver griffin, where we later see the name "MERV GRIFFIN ENTERTAINMENT" zoom out from screen bottom in Times New Roman font placing itself underneath the griffin.
Opening Variant: There is an opening variant of this logo seen on theatrical movies by this company, but it's a still image centered on top of a black background.
FX: The flying of the planets, the stars gathering, the griffin sparkling. Except for the opening variant, which is a still logo that fades in and fades out.
Music/Sounds: A 7-note jingle adding 5 notes in the beginning of the first Merv Griffin Entertainment theme. A synthesized whoosh can also be heard.
Availability: A hard call; was last seen in 2003 on Dance Fever. Also spotted on African-British chef Ainsley Harriott's failed talk show in 1999. The opening variant is seen on the Griffin film Rain on TVOne.
Scare Factor: None; an excellent logo.
3rd Logo
(2006- )
Nicknames: "The CGI Blinking Silver Griffin", "Silver Griffin III"
Logo: In a blue BG, a remodified griffin from the second logo of Merv Griffin Productions and first logos of Merv Griffin Enterprises and Merv Griffin Entertainment, comes from the bottom of the screen and places itself to the middle with "Merv Griffin Entertainment" (in the same font as the Yani-Brune logo) following it. The text places itself below the griffin. The griffin later blinks his eye once (an obvious nod to the '80s logo) and we see light sparkles on the letters "T", "E", "I", "E", and "T".
FX: The unfolding griffin, the name spelling, the griffin blinking its eye.
Music/Sounds: A soothing 7-note synthesizer theme that almost sounds like the Lorimar-Telepictures chimes and NBC jingle as the light sparkles three times. Composed by Merv Griffin himself.
Availability: Common; currently seen on Lisa Williams: Life Among the Dead on Lifetime and Lifetime Real Women and Merv Griffin's Crosswords in syndication. Was also seen on a week-long special of Lisa Williams: Voices from the Other Side from October 27-31, 2008 on Lifetime.
Scare Factor: Minimal; the blinking griffin may get some. Other than that, it's a neat logo and the theme is rather soothing.
