Act III Productions

Background
Act III Communications is Norman Lear's current company formed on October 21, 1985, following Lear and Jerry Perenchio's sale of Embassy Communications, Inc. (Tandem, Embassy Television, etc.) to Coca-Cola. Operations began on January 1, 1986. His first film under the Act III name was Stand By Me which was released by Columbia Pictures. Act III was also the name of a broadcaster Lear was involved in, which owned several Fox and independent stations during the early 1990s (most of its stations are now owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group). On February 2, 1989, Act III Communications formed a joint-venture with Columbia Pictures Television called "Act III Television" (later "Act III Productions") to produce television and not managing. This was marked as Norman Lear's return to television after exiting television production in 1978 to focus on feature films and in 1984 from executive producing the sitcom a.k.a. Pablo. In 2006, Act III purchased 50% of Village Roadshow Pictures and merged his music industry Concord Music Group. Act III did not have a logo until 1991.

Following founder Norman Lear's death on December 5, 2023, it is unlikely if Act III Productions would ever continue its active future without him in presence.

1st Logo (February 16-July 7, 1991)
Visuals: There is "ACT III" in white with a shadow effect and with "III" in Roman numerals. There is also a white line that's stretched out underneath the name with the word "T E L E V I S I O N" below, also in white.

Variant: On Sunday Dinner, the logo is placed on a background.

Technique: Chyron effects, or a still graphic.

Audio: The end of the show's theme.

Availability: Seen at the end credits of All in the Family: 20th Anniversary Special; which can be found on the videocassette release of said title. The variant was only used on Sunday Dinner.

2nd Logo (March 7, 1992-May 9, 1994)
Visuals: On a dark gray background, a slightly different ACT III logo fades in in chrome lettering with "Times New Roman" in a Roman font and the word "T E L E V I S I O N" in a stretched font. There are three black lines from the bottom of the Roman numeral "Times New Roman" in between the words "Times New Roman" and "T E L E V I S I O N".

Technique: Fading effects.

Audio: The end-title theme from any show.

Availability: It was seen on The Powers That Be and 704 Hauser; it's intact on the the latter's pilot, however, which can be found on the All in the Family complete series DVD boxset by Shout! Factory and The Best of Norman Lear.

3rd Logo (October 25, 1997-February 21, 1998)
Visuals: On a nighttime sky background is the ACT III logo (as seen in the 1st and 2nd logos) in, and underneath the logo is the Enchanté George logo.

Technique: A still image.

Audio: The end-title theme.

Availability: It was only seen on Channel Umptee-3 on The WB's Saturday morning programming block, Kids' WB.

4th Logo (September 30, 2016-)
Visuals: On a white background, pieces of the Roman numeral "III" from the 1st, 2nd, and 4th logos rise up from the white field with a shadow effect as we pan above the logo. "ACT" then rises up letter-by-letter as the view focuses onto the logo. "PRODUCTIONS" pops up below the logo and the logo becomes 2D as the logo becomes.

Variant: A still version exists.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: The end-title theme.

Availability: The animated version is seen on the miniseries America Divided, while the still version is seen on the 2017 revival of One Day at a Time and Live in Front of a Studio Audience on ABC.