MGM Television

Note: This is NOT the real logo.

1st Logo

(1924)

Nickname: "The Marque"

Logo: Same as the movie logo of the era, but the marque reads "Metro Goldwyn Mayer Television".

Variant: There is one more version.

Music/Sounds: None.
 * Sometimes it reads "MGM-TV".

FX/SFX: None.

Availability: Seen at the end of He Who Gets Slapped.

Scare Factor: None.

2nd Logo

(1924-1943)

Nicknames: "Sunburst Letters", "Sun Ray Letters", "Lion Sun"

Logo: We see a picture of a lion inside a circle border that reads "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-Television" (a la the "Lion Wallpaper" logo). Like sun rays, the sun rays read "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-Television". The sky is blue.

Variants: This logo would appear in B&W from 1924-1935. Appears in color from 1935-1943. There are different color variants.


 * 1935-1943: Blue sky background.
 * 1935-1937: Red sky background.
 * 1937-1940: Yellow sky background.
 * 1939-1942: Sunset sky background.
 * 1940-1943: Pink sky background.Music/Sounds: Closing theme with a single roar.

FX/SFX: The sun rays moving.

Availability: Ultra rare; seen on a few prints such as The Only Thing, Rose Marie, Boys Town, It's a Wonderful World, and Nazi Agent.

Scare Factor: Same as before.

3rd Logo

(1943-1956)

Nicknames: "Jackie the Lion", "The Rainbow"

Logo: We see a rainbow form and a circle fades in with Jackie in it. "Metro Goldwyn Mayer Television" fades in with the circle in a yellow font. Jackie roars twice.

Variants: First are the different versions of the logo.


 * 1944: Emerald Anniversay: The logo forms as usual. But the words "MGM Television's Emerald Anniversary" fade in with a shiny green font. The circle is also shiny green.
 * 1948-1951: The network division is now identified as "MGM Television Pictures".
 * 1949-1954: The syndication arm is ID'ed as "MGM Productions".
 * 1950-1956: The network arm is now referred to as "MGM Television Corporation".Music/Sounds: Jackie roaring.

FX/SFX: The rainbow forming and the fading in and Jackie roaring.

Availability: Depending on the variant. The original variant is very rare and only on Girl Crazy. The Emerald Anniversary variant is also very rare, it's seen on Mrs. Parkington, and Gaslight. Scarce for the 1948 variant as it's on A Date with Judy, Summer Stock, and Show Boat among others. The 1949 variant is rare. It appears on On the Town, The Red Badge of Courage, and The Band Wagon among others. The 1950 variant is uncommon. It's on Three Little Words, Qou Vadis, Singin' in the Rain, Kiss Me Kate, Athen, and High Society.

Scare Factor: Low to Medium.

4th Logo

(1957-1969)

Nickname: "The Stylized Lion"

Logo: We see the "Stylized Lion". "MGM Television" is below.

Variants: There are two more versions of the logo.


 * 1960-1965: One version simply reads "MGM-TV".
 * 1966-1969: Another reads "Metro Goldwyn Mayer Television".Music/Sounds: None.

FX/SFX: None.

Availability: Extremely rare; only seen on Pogo's Special Birthday Special, The Thin Man, and Northwest Passage.

Scare Factor: None.

5th Logo

(1969-1994)

Nicknames: "Leo the Lion", "White Ribboning"

Logo: A new lion appears in this logo named Leo. It's the standard movie logo which has it's origins started in 1953. "TELEVISION" is below. Leo roars once.

Bylines: There were bylines throughout the years. The bylines appear in MGM's font.


 * 1977-1981: "An MGM Communications Company".
 * 1981-1994: "An MGM/UA Television Company".Variants: Here are the differences of the logo.


 * 1969-1977: A short version of the movie logo.
 * 1974-1975: Golden Anniversary: In this logo there is "Metro Goldwyn Mayer" at the top in gold. Instead of "TRADE" and "MARK", there is "GOLDEN" on the left in gold. Then "ANNIVERSARY" on the right again in gold. "TELEVISION" is below also in gold. The color of the ribboning is unchanged.
 * 1977-1981: Starting in 1977, there would be an MGM byline below the logo.
 * 1977-1982: "TELEVISION" appears in this era.
 * 1981-1994: An MGM/UA byline now appears below the logo following MGM's acquisition of United Artists.
 * 1982-1994: The company is ID'ed as "MGM/UA Television Distribution".
 * 1990-1994: This time "TELEVISION" has been removed from the bottom and turned into "Metro Goldwyn Mayer Television" at the top, but without the MGM/UA byline.Music/Sounds: The last roar from 1957-1982.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover Variant: On the 80s reruns of Kids Incorporated, an announcer says "From MGM/UA Television Distribution".

FX/SFX: Leo roaring.

Availability: Uncommon for the original variant as it's on Horton Hears a Who!, and early episodes of CHiPs. Extremely rare for the Golden Anniversary variant as it's only on Hawkins. The 1977 variant would appear on later episodes of CHiPs, the 1st season of Fame, and Logan's Run. Common for the 1982 variant as it appears on most episodes of Kids Incorporated, and all episodes of Fame. Rare for the 1990 variant as it's intact on the last episodes of Kids Incorporated.

Scare Factor: Minimal, one of the best known logos.

5th Logo

(1979-2009)

Nicknames: "Leo the Lion", "Gold Ribboning"

Logo: Same as before, but the logo is gold.

Bylines: Again there were different bylines, but now only for the early years. They are in MGM's font again.


 * 1979-1981: "An MGM Communications Company".
 * 1982-1985: "An MGM/UA Television Comnpany".
 * 1985-1994: "An MGM/UA Productions Company".Variants: Here are many versions of this logo along with the dates they were used.

Music/Sounds: Leo roaring, as usual.
 * 1979-1981: "MGM Television" is at the top with the MGM byline below.
 * 1981-1982: There exists a variant that looks similar to the then-current MGM/UA Entertainment Co. logo. It's known as "MGM/UA Television Productions Distribution". Almost similar to the 1982 MGM/UA Home Video logo.
 * 1982-1983: The network arm is known as "MGM/UA Productions TV".
 * 1983-1985: The syndication division is known as "MGM/UA TV Group".
 * 1984-1985: This time we have the 1957 movie logo but in gold. "TRADE" and "MARK is missing and there is an extra ribbon below the mask. "DIAMOND JUBILEE" is in an arc above the logo. Instead of "ARS GRATIA ARTIS", the circle reads "METRO GOLDWYN MAYER UNITED ARTISTS TELEVISION". The extra ribbon has the word, "ENTERTAINMENT". Below the logo we have the phrase, "SIXTY YEARS OF FABULOUS ENTERTAINMENT". Below that is "TELEVISION".
 * 1985-1991: Global arm referred to as "MGM/UA International Television Distribution".
 * 1986: There exists having a variant having the
 * 1987-1994: Syndication division ID'ed as "MGM/UA Communications Group".
 * 1992-2009: A short version of the movie logo. Appears in B&W or color in 1997.
 * 1993: One version reads "MGM/UA Television" without any bylines.
 * 1994-1998: The company is reverted back to "Metro Goldwyn Mayer". The network division is referred to as "MGM Domestic TV".
 * 1995-1999: The synication arm is known as "MGM Worldwide Television".
 * 1999-2009: The syndication arm is known as "MGM Television Distribution".
 * 2003-2009: Another short version of the movie logo with the website URL, "www.mgm.com"
 * 2005-2009: The global arm is ID'ed as "MGM International Television".
 * 2007-2009: There is a warp speed version of the 2005 logo.

Music/Sounds Variants: There are different sound bytes for Leo's roar.


 * 1981-1982: The 1981 logo would have the closing theme of the show followed by the last roar from 1957, or the 1982 United Artists Television theme followed by the 1957 roar.
 * 1979-1993: The last roar from 1957-1982.
 * 1993-2003: The last roar from 1982-1995.
 * 2003-2009: The first roar from 1995.
 * They used half of Leo's first roar for the warp speed variant.FX/SFX: Leo roaring.

Availability: Common for MGM Domestic, International, and Worldwide Television logos as they are seen on many television shows