Samuel Goldwyn Television

Background : Samuel Goldwyn Television was the television production/distribution arm of The Samuel Goldwyn Company established in 1979. It was sold to Metromedia in 1996 and merged with Orion Pictures Corporation and by MGM in 1997. It was folded into MGM Television the same year.

1st Logo (1982-1996)

Nickname : "The Signature"

Logo : On a blue background, we see the signature of Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. (the son of a co-founder of MGM who later became a successful independent producer) signing onto the middle of the screen. As the signature completes itself, a line with "SAMUEL GOLDWYN TELEVISION" under it zooms out (a la Telepictures' first logo) from the bottom of the screen, increasing in size until it centers itself under the signature.

Variants :
 * On the early episodes of American Gladiators S1, it has the American Gladiators logo on top and below it says "HAS BEEN PRESENTED BY" with Samuel Goldwyn Jr.'s signature and line and below and below it says "THE SAMUEL GOLDWYN COMPANY".
 * On Gladiators 2000 and the 1993-1996 seasons of American Gladiators, there is a variant that has the phrase "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" above the logo.

FX/SFX : The signature animation and the line curling into place. For the American Gladiators variant, none.

Music/Sounds : None or the end of the show's closing theme music.

Availability : Uncommon. This notably appeared on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of Escape from the Bronx (Escape 2000) when they enter the theater. Also appeared on 1980s syndication prints of the original Flipper (plastered over the MGM Television logo) and The Mothers-In-Law. The animated version appeared on Gladiators 2000 in syndication. The still version only appears on early S1 and 1993-1996 episodes of American Gladiators occasionally on ESPN Classic. It also showed up on a Laserdisc release of the 1941 movie Ball of Fire, which might have been an editing error. But on Me-TV reruns ofThe Mothers-In-Law, it's no longer seen on there.

Scare Factor : Low for the original, none for the still shot.

2nd Logo (September 15, 1989-May 18, 1997)

Nicknames : "The Signature II", "CGI Signature"

Logo : On a gray background, we see the text "SAMUEL GOLDWYN TELEVISION" zooms out from the bottom. Appearing from above has a clear glass with the royal blue "Samuel Goldwyn" signature writing itself with a line underneath that looks like the movie logo. The name "SAMUEL GOLDWYN TELEVISION" places itself underneath the glass with Samuel Goldwyn's signature.

Variants :
 * Some shows would have the text "DISTRIBUTED BY" above the signature for syndication.
 * This would appear in a little sped-up animation starting in 1993.
 * On The New Adventures of Flipper S1 episode "Treasure Hunt", the logo is shown in a blue tone.

FX/SFX : Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.'s name written out. Very nice '80s CGI.

Music/Sounds : The end title theme from any show.

Availability : Extremely rare. Seen on the original version of American Gladiators, which is still reran occasionally on ESPN Classic and Gladiators 2000 last seen in syndication. The logo without "DISTRIBUTED BY" above was seen on the 1995 series The New Adventures of Flipper only on the first two seasons.

Scare Factor : None.