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King World Productions/Summary

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[]

(1970(?)-1977)

Logo: On a black background (or superimposed over the first scene of a short), an in-credit text is displayed that says: "CHARLES KING Presents". At the end of shorts, "A KING WORLD PRODUCTION" is seen where the Charles King credit should be.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Silence, or the opening and closing themes of the short.

Availability: Extinct. It was seen on TV prints of The Little Rascals.

[]

(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 "W", 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 text was referred to as "A KING WORLD PRODUCTIONS Release".
  • 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: The joining of the three initials.

Music/Sounds: The end theme of the show.

Availability: Extinct. It was mostly seen on The Little Rascals as part of The Stooges Rascals Hour and other programs from the early '80s. This has been replaced by the 5th logo. Possibly, it appeared at the end of Merle Elli's The Butcher, and maybe at some point also appeared on House Call, a 90-second program, starring Dr. Lendon Smith.

[]

(September 13, 1982-1984)

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 from January 8, 1984, the text appears on a blue background with white lettering.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds/Voice-overs: The end title theme from any show with any announcer announcing "Distributed by King World Productions, Inc.":

  • Jack Clark on Wheel of Fortune (1983-84): "Wheel of Fortune is a Merv Griffin Production, and is distributed by King World Productions, Inc."
  • Chet Gould on 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 1983: "This has been a Merv Griffin Production! Distributed by King World, Inc."
  • Johnny Gilbert from the 2nd Jeopardy! pilot in 1984: "This has been a Merv Griffin Production. Distributed by King World Productions."

Availability: Extinct. This logo debuted on the Barry & Enright production Soapworld, and was also 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.

[]

(1984-1991)

Nickname: "Stars and Stripes"

Logo: Over a violet space background with lots of stars, we see tons of thin light rays in shades of blue and green coming from a source of light in the center. All at the same time, an azure star comes from the source of light and flies up while the words "KING" and "WORLD" (in the same color of the star) in Boost SSi Italic, 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.
  • A version with a red background also exists, likely due to film deterioration.
  • A version with a black background also exists, likely due to film deterioration.
  • On most episodes of 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. The Harpo Productions logo would follow.

Wheel of Fortune Variants: There is an superimposed in-credit logo onto the closing.

  • 1984-1985: White on the spinning wheel.
  • 1985-1986: Baby blue.
  • 1986-1989: Maya blue.
  • November 1988: Dark gray. Used only for two days at Radio City Music Hall, while the other episodes taped there used a yellow in-credit logo.
  • 1989-1990: Pale cerulean.

FX/SFX: Animation produced by Calico.

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 an orchestral warbling. Sometimes, the end title theme from any show plays over.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over Variants: Just like on the closings of Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, 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. On The Merv Griffin Show, Carol Bilger says "Distributed by King World and Camelot Entertainment Sales".

Availability: Quite rare. It was seen on Jeopardy!, Super Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, Headline Chasers, and Monopoly, among others. The animated logo was used on the DVD releases of Branded and The Guns of Will Sonnett, and it appears on reruns of those shows. This was also seen on the first 2 seasons of Inside Edition with David Frost and Bill O'Reilly as well. The "Presents" variant was seen on TCM's prints of Under Capricorn and Night in Paradise.

[]

(1990-1999)

Nicknames: "Stars and Stripes II", "Silver Stars and Stripes", "The Spotlights", "King World 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 and in the same font as before, 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 doorway background animates into place and the spotlights shoot up from the bottom of the screen as the words "KING" and "WORLD" in 2-D fly into the screen Ala the 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! (October 1990-October 1992), Inside Edition, and a short-lived news magazine called Instant Recall from 1990-92.
  • A short variant exists where the logo starts as the silver bars switch sides. This was most commonly seen on Wheel of Fortune.
  • 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 (November 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.
  • Sometimes the logo freezes before the synth fanfare finishes. This was most commonly seen on 1992-1996 episodes of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.
  • The logo fades to black early on some 1991-1992 episodes of Wheel of Fortune and sometimes before the words "DISTRIBUTED BY" fade in.
  • There is a variant tacked onto the end of early Wheel of Fortune Online promos where the star flashes twice in the star space.
  • There is an uncommon "slowed down" variant.
  • A still version of this logo exists. This can be seen on The Oprah Winfrey Show until least 1992.

FX/SFX: The spotlights and the formation of the door background in the longer variant.

Music/Sounds: A 6-note synth fanfare, silent, 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/Voice-over Variants: Just like on the closing of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, the logo has been accompanied by a voice-over saying "(and is) distributed by King World" announced by Johnny Gilbert and Charlie O'Donnell until November 1996.

Availability: Very rare. It was seen on several Jeopardy! reruns on GSN, but due to the network cutting off the closing credits of much of their reruns, this logo has not been seen since. This was also seen on season one of Hollywood Squares, Wheel of Fortune, Inside Edition, and PM Magazine, among others with "Distributed By" or "Produced & Distributed by" above. The variant without "Distributed By" was seen on Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa. The version with "Produced & Distributed by" also appeared on Inside Edition and Instant Recall, as well as Rolanda. The long version can be seen on at least one episode of The Guns of Will Sonnett on Me-TV. In black and white form, it was also seen on AMC and syndicated airings of The Little Rascals shorts at one point in time.

Final Note: While the logo officially ended in 1998, the "Distributed By" variant was kept until 1999 on Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, and The Oprah Winfrey Show and the "Produced & Distributed by" variant was kept on the first season of Hollywood Squares.

[]

(1998-December 2006)

Nicknames: "The Star-Shooter", "King World Star-Shooter"

Logo: A modified rendition of the 4th and 5th logos. Over a golden sunset backdrop of clouds, the "KINGWORLD" name, which is in a different font this time, scans through the sky. As it pans backward, a shooting star glides by the logo, revealing a paint streak 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 the logo.

Trivia: The logo was designed and animated by Pittard Sullivan, who also did the 1995 Buena Vista Television logo, and the 1998 CTV logo. The logo was animated in 1999 by SIMEX (in association with Pittard Sullivan) on Alias|Wavefront PowerAnimator (read the press release here).

Variants:

  • The more common short version that cuts out the close-up panning of the logo.
  • On post-1999 episodes of Hollywood Squares, the copyright stamp "Copyright [YEAR] King World Studios West, Inc." is seen below the logo.

FX/SFX: CGI.

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
  • 1999-2006: Starts with the thunderclap sound only for game shows.

Availability: Common. It appeared on Jeopardy! (it used the "Distributed By" variant until 2006 and began using the non-"Distributed By" variants), 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, and America's Next Top Model on TBS, Paramount Network, A&E, Oxygen, and MTV 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. It was also seen on a 2010 ABC Family (now Freeform) airing of The Lorax TV special, and this might apply to others as well. GSN doesn't rerun Jeopardy! or Wheel of Fortune at the moment, but past episodes from this era (and episodes as early as 1984) can be seen on Crackle. The distribution variant was seen on a Movies! airing of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939).

[]

(December 2006-September 2007)

Nicknames: "The Star-Shooter II", "King World Star-Shooter II"

Logo: Over a blue sky, above the clouds, we see "KINGWORLD" text in the same font as 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 the same blue paint streak with a star-shaped gap in it from the previous logo. Same applies on the last logo with "DISTRIBUTED BY" or "PRODUCED & DISTRIBUTED BY", or nothing at all, but this time, they're smaller.

Variant: The text "PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED BY KINGWORLD" is seen below the logo.

FX/SFX: CGI.

Music/Sounds: An ominous wind sound followed by a "glittery" sound.

Music/Sounds Variant: On Everybody Loves Raymond on TV Land.com and seasons 23 & early 24 of Jeopardy!, it uses the 1998 logo themes.

Availability: Extremely rare, bordering on extinct, as it only lasted one year. It debuted on Christmas Day in December of 2006 and was last seen on local Saturday reruns of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Was also used on Inside Edition. Surprisingly seen at least one episode of on Everybody Loves Raymond on TV Land, followed by the CBS Television Distribution logo.

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