20th Century Fox Television (1958-1989)

Main Logo Variations

Credits

Descriptions by
Jess Williams, James Stanley Barr, Nicholas Aczel, Eric S., and Logophile

Captures by
Bob Fish, V of Doom, Eric S., mr3urious, Mr. Logo Lord, WizardDuck, EnormousRat, Logoboy95, phasicblu, James Stanley Barr, Shadeed A. Kelly, Logophile, Stephen Cezar, Sagan Blob, Pygmalion X, originalsboy11, TrickyMario7654, ClosingLogosHD, TheEriccorpinc, and bdalbor

Editions by
V of Doom, mr3urious, Mr. Logo Lord, Logophile, Shadeed A. Kelly, Donny Pearson, KirbyGuy2001, DaBigLogoCollector, KramdenII, CNViewer2006, Unnepad, Mario9000seven, Michael Kenchington, CrazySpruiker2001, and MJ2003

Video captures courtesy of
Broken Saw, ClosingLogosHD, mcydodge919, Mike Stidham, BenIsRandom, and Eric S.

Background

In 1958, TCF Television Productions itself was renamed to 20th Century Fox Television to better reflect the name of the parent studio, instead of using its initials. The company signed its first client, Martin Manulis as head of television. The company briefly stopped TV production in 1963, but returned a year later, with its big success being Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, as well as Batman. After Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation acquired TCF on March 6, 1986, TCF/News Corp acquired the television holdings of Metromedia (including its TV stations and television production company). This acquisition helped News Corp launch the Fox Broadcasting Company, and TCFTV became the production arm of FBC. As a result, like the movie studio, the hyphen itself was dropped. On July 12, 1989, as part of the restructuring of the film and television units, it was renamed to 20th Television.

1st Logo (October 7, 1958-August 20, 1959)

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Visuals: The logo consists of a still image of the first 20th Century Fox logo. Over the footage is the following white text:

IRVING ASHER
Executive Producer

Technique: Printed image filmed by a cameraman.

Audio: The ending theme of the show.

Availability:

• Seen on the second season of How to Marry a Millionaire and Man Without a Gun.
• This logo is also preserved on the DVD release of the former.

2nd Logo (September 29, 1959-July 5, 1960)

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Visuals: The camera fades in on an image of a star field with what appear to be clouds. The words

20TH
CENTURY-
FOX

fade in, with a visible trail that stretches into the distance.

Variant: On Adventures in Paradise, this appeared as an opening logo with a fanfare, followed by the Martin Manulis Productions logo.

Technique: Traditional ink-and-paint. The text and background are separate elements composited together.

Audio: The opening or closing theme of the show.

Availability:

• Recently seen on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis on MeTV and the Shout! Factory DVD set.
• It can also be seen on Adventures in Paradise, which is currently available for viewing on the Museum of Broadcast Communications Archives website, as well as the NBC show Five Fingers.

3rd Logo (September 29, 1959-1966)

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  Brighter variant

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  Sepia variant

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  Pink variant

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  Darker variant

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Visuals: The 1935 theatrical logo appears, albeit very-close up. The view pulls back to reveal the rest of the logo, and "TELEVISION", in bold slanted at an angle (to match up with the Fox logo) appears and zooms out to rapidly, obscuring the word "CENTURY” when it settles, making the stack read “20th TELEVISION FOX”.

Variants:

• The logo also appears in sepia-tone.
• Sometimes, the camera would back away slowly.
• Sometimes, a sped-up variant of the logo exists.
• The movie logo of the time opened the pilot to The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, "Caper at the Bijou", with the Martin Manulis Productions logo (the fanfare plays over the Martin Manulis logo).
• On some variants, when the word "Television" zooms out, the searchlights abruptly jump back to where they began when the logo began.

Technique: The monument was created as a painting on several layers of glass, and the searchlights were traditionally animated frame-by-frame. Motion-controlled animation is employed for the "TELEVISION" text.

Audio:

• 1959-1964: A rearrangement of the Alfred Newman fanfare used on the movie variation.
• 1961-1966: A short tune played on muted trumpets and strings, that sounds similar to the Fox theme.
• 1963-1964: A shortened variant of the 1959 theme.
• 1965-1966: A sped-up/shortened version of the 1961 theme.

Audio Variants:

• On the TV series Hong Kong, there are three different arrangements of the 1959 theme.
• In some cases, it used only the closing theme of the show, or none. This is the case for The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

Availability:

• This logo can be seen on season 1 reruns of Daniel Boone on World Harvest Television (also available on the Liberation/Goldhil DVD release), and on reruns of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and 12 O'Clock High on MeTV, as well as the Season 1 Blu-ray of Lost In Space.
• Fox updated this with a newer logo (most likely 20th Television) on most prints and DVD releases of shows from this era, but can still be seen on older prints.
• It was also seen on the Rod Serling western The Loner, and before the Martin Manulis logo on later episodes of Adventures in Paradise.

4th Logo (September 16, 1965-1984)

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  Original version

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  Widescreen variant

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  Black and white variant

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  1966 version

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  1976 version

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  /w copyright notice

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  Green variant

Visuals: Similar to the previous logo, but the 1953 theatrical logo appears. The word "TELEVISION" zooms out to cover the word "CENTURY" just like before.

Variants:

• A "gray scaled" variant exists, which is seen on B&W prints of classic color shows from the era, such as Batman.
• The word "TELEVISION" would sometimes appear in either gold, orange, or yellow.
• In 1966, the logo is shifted over to the left and the word "TELEVISION" zooms out rapidly onto the structure. A tip of the letter "C" in "CENTURY" is seen.
• In 1976, the registered trademark "®" symbol was added to the 1965 logo. Plus, the logo is shifted to the left a little more from the 1966 version, but "TELEVISION" remains centered and zooms out again slowly, consequently revealing the "C" in "CENTURY".
• A still version of the 1965 variant with the text "DISTRIBUTED BY" on the top left corner of the logo exists, which was seen at the close of the 1976-78 version of Liars' Club.
• On the TV series The Starlost, a shortened version of the 1953 movie logo is used.
• A green-tinted variant also exists.
• On Paul McCartney: The Man, His Music, His Films, a copyright notice appears below the logo.

Technique: The monument was created as a painting on several layers of glass, and the searchlights were traditionally animated frame-by-frame. Motion-controlled animation is employed for the "TELEVISION" text.

Audio:

• 1965-1969: The 1961 theme from the previous logo.
• 1966-1984: The 1965 theme from the previous logo.

Audio Variants:

• Same as before, it used only the closing theme of the show or none.
• Post-1986 prints of the 1974 television movie Hurricane use the Metromedia Producers Corporation jingle instead of the standard jingle.
• On the DVD and Blu-ray print of the S1 Batman episode "Hi Diddle Riddle", it uses the 1989 theme from the next logo, due to the HD master on this episode using a different source for the audio (in this case, the 1990s video masters). The Brazilian Portuguese track from this episode, however, uses the 1994 theme from the 1995 20th Century Fox Television instead.
• Hulu prints of M*A*S*H from the first two seasons have this logo with the 1989 TCFTV jingle, due to a reverse plaster error.
• A version of the TCFTV fanfare is incorporated into and appears at the end of, the theme for the 1976-1982 syndicated documentary series That's Hollywood, which TCFTV produced and distributed. At the end of that show's closing credits, the TCFTV logo is timed to appear as the That's Hollywood theme segues into the logo fanfare as the song ends.

Availability:

• The 1965 version is retained on the 2nd through the final season of Daniel Boone last aired on Retro TV and World Harvest Television, as well as the DVD sets of these seasons from Liberation/Goldhill and streaming and DVD/Blu-ray releases of the 1960s Batman series from Warner Home Video.
• The 1976 version is available on the first two episodes of The Fall Guy on the season 1 DVD set, while the next logo is intact on the remainder of the season.
• The Magnetic Video print of The Making of Star Wars from 1979 also has this logo (however, it is omitted from its 1981 reissue as a double feature with SPFX: The Empire Strikes Back, and replaced by the 1992 20th Television logo on the 1995 reissue and bonus disc 3 of the Star Wars saga Blu-ray set).
• It was also seen on the Star Wars Holiday Special from 1978. Copies of the special have been circulating for decades.
• It is also preserved on the VHS release of Tomorrow's Child.
• It's Good to Be Alive (1974), which aired on Atlanta's WATC 57, June 27, 2009, also preserved the 1976 version at the beginning.
• It is also seen on the Season 2 Blu-ray release of Lost in Space.
• After the next logo's introduction, it was seen at the end of the TV special The Facts in 1982; the short-lived series AfterMASH and a print of the Canadian TV movie Pygmalion in 1983; W*A*L*T*E*R, the TV movie When She Says No and the special Paul McCartney: The Man, His Music, His Movies in 1984.
• Beginning in 2017, this logo has been restored on Hulu prints of the first two seasons of M*A*S*H, marking the first time since 1992 that this logo has been restored to that series.
  • It was also spotted on FOX Classics’ broadcasts of the episodes "The Price of Tomato Juice", "In Love and War", "Hepatitis", "C*A*V*E", "Tell It to the Marines", "Bottle Fatigue" and "Bless You, Hawkeye" in Australia, as well as GREAT! TV's print of "Fade Out, Fade In (Part 2)" in the UK.
• It has also recently began appearing on Season 3 episodes of Lost in Space on MeTV, replacing previous prints of those episodes which had the 1994 20th Television logo with the News Corporation byline.
• This logo was also surprisingly seen on Lost in Space: The Epilogue, a table read that serves as a bonus feature on the 2015 Blu-ray release of Lost in Space.

Legacy: The 1966 variant was notable for its sudden appearance and loud fanfare, scaring certain viewers.

5th Logo (October 19, 1981-1993)

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  Filmed variant

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  Telecine variant

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  Rare variant

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  Early variant of the logo

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  Color variant

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  Widescreen version

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  Watermarked version

Visuals: Just like the previous two logos, but the 1981 tower appears instead. The word "TELEVISION" once again zooms out to obscure the word "CENTURY".

Variants:

• Filmed and videotaped/telecine versions of the logo exist. Originally presented on film throughout its whole run, it also appeared in telecine format starting in 1986.
• The word "TELEVISION" would sometimes appear in either gold, yellow, orange, or ivory.
• Starting around 1984, the sky background looks a bit darker.
• On the series Working Girl, the unaired TV pilot of Revenge of the Nerds, and The Simpsons S3 episodes: "Bart the Murderer", "Homer Defined", "Treehouse of Horror II", "Lisa's Pony", "Flaming Moe's", "I Married Marge", "Radio Bart", "Separate Vocations", "Colonel Homer", "Black Widower", and "Bart's Friend Falls in Love", more structure on the logo cane be seen as it appears further out.
• On some old syndie prints of S1 Small Wonder episodes, the logo freezes after "TELEVISION" plasters "CENTURY" before cutting to black.
• A "matted" 1.78:1 widescreen version of the logo also exists.
• On a few episodes of Bobby's World, it has a greenish background.
• On A&E airings of a few season 2 episodes of L.A. Law, the logo animation was in slow motion, but the jingle remained unaffected.
• On a Channel 4 airing of The Simpsons episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment", the logo cuts out before the final note ends.
• A variant with "DISTRIBUTED BY" at the bottom of the logo also exists.
• On The Tracey Ullman Show Backstage, the copyright stamp of the company is seen below next to the IATSE and AMPTP logos.
• On Not Just News, the left searchlight is reinstated. This is the only variant that was not used on any Fox programming.
• On 2017 Hulu prints of M*A*S*H, the logo is remastered in HD with smoother animation. However, a widescreen version of the logo also exists.

Technique: The monument was created as a painting on several layers of glass, and the searchlights were traditionally animated frame-by-frame. Motion-controlled animation is employed for the "TELEVISION" text.

Audio:

• October 19, 1981-August 22, 1991: The same 1965 theme from the previous two logos. Even though it mainly stopped being used in late 1989, some shows have used it into the 1990-1991 season, such as S1 and early S2 episodes of In Living Color, the first two S5 episodes of L.A. Law (pretty odd, considering said show used the next theme on November 1989-May 1990 episodes of the fourth season), the L.A. Law 100th Episode Celebration, a few international prints of S1 Bobby's World episodes, and most of season 1 episodes and the first season 2 episode of True Colors.
• November 1989-1993: A short version of the 1979 Fox jingle, which was later used for the early variant of the standard 20th Television logo from 1992-1994.

Audio Variants:

• Abridged variants of the 1965 theme exist, such as the case for Hooperman that the closing theme ends abruptly with the last note of the 1965 theme, and Charlie & Co., which used the last five notes of the fanfare.
• Two versions of the 1989 theme exist: one where the last note echoes for a bit after fading out and another without the echo. The latter version was seen on In Living Color, the unaired Revenge of the Nerds pilot, and the 1991 M*A*S*H retrospective Memories of M*A*S*H.
• On some episodes of Mr. Belvedere and Sister Kate, the first note is cut-off (via fade transition).
• Some episodes of M*A*S*H from the 2017 reruns use the 1994 20th Television fanfare due to plastering.

Availability:

• The Simpsons episodes "There's No Disgrace Like Home", "Krusty Gets Busted", "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington", "Treehouse of Horror II", "Saturdays of Thunder", "Colonel Homer", and "Black Widower" preserve this logo on their respective season DVD releases.
• It has also been spotted on Comedy Central's prints of Office Space and French Kiss, but has been plastered over with the 20th Television logo in recent airings due to split screen credits.
  • A similar situation also happened on a few episodes of The Pretender when reran on TNT, but has now been plastered by the 2013 20th Television logo on H&I (Heroes and Icons).
• On VHS, it can be seen on The Simpsons Christmas special, L.A. Law, and, in the UK, on The Simpsons episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment".
  • It was also spotted at the end of a Simpsons short titled "Family Therapy" which is included on the UK rental VHS release of The War of the Roses.
  • The Australian rental VHS release thereof also includes this short, though the TCFTV logo is absent from this release.
• More recently, the logo has been sighted on several 1970s-'80s TV movies on Fox Movie Channel.
• It can also be seen on some early season one and most season two and three episodes of In Living Color on DVD.
• The 1981-1991 and 1989-1993 variants can be found on the Alien Nation series DVD set, along with original airings of Capitol Critters on ABC.
• The 1981-1991 version of this logo can be seen on Fox Movie Channel's prints of The Hurricane.
• The 1980s variants are also seen on the Shout! Factory DVD releases of Mr. Belvedere, although FamNET reruns thereof plaster it with the 2008 20th Television logo on almost all episodes, and the 1995 20th Television logo on several episodes while Antenna TV reruns plaster it with the bylineless 2013 20th Television logo on all episodes.
• The 1981 version was also seen on the 1985-1988 syndicated run of The $100,000 Pyramid and was preserved on USA reruns. However, since the 1997 reruns, the logo is plastered by the 1997 Columbia TriStar Television logo.
• This can also be found on the unaired TV pilot of Revenge of the Nerds, which can be found on the "Panty Raid Edition" DVD release of Revenge of the Nerds (the movie).
• On Netflix, it can be found on several episodes of the first two seasons of Bobby's World (while others have either the 1992 20th Television or 1996 Saban International logos).
• Made an appearance on the 10th episode of S4 of In Living Color (that episode being produced during season 3 (1991-92), but not airing until the fourth season).
• The 1989 version can also be seen on a handful of early Simpsons episodes on FXNOW, FX's streaming service, in 4:3 mode only.
• The 1989 version is also preserved on the Channel 4 airings of The Simpsons episode "Call of the Simpsons".
• The 1981 version was also seen on the first few episodes of the Fox TV series The Adventures of Beans Baxter, before Fox Square Productions took over (which never used a proper logo; just a copyright notice).
• Despite general use stopping around 1992, the news series Not Just News (co-produced with Fox Television Stations) used this into 1993.
• The widescreen logo is available on M*A*S*H reruns on Hulu starting in 2017, with the 1989 jingle.
  • Additionally, the 1981 version was also seen plastering the previous logo on FOX Classics' prints of “Carry On, Hawkeye", "The Late Cpt. Pierce", "The Bus" and "Dear Ma", and True Entertainment's print of "Fade Out, Fade In (Part 1)".
  • However, the previous logo is restored on Disney+ prints of these episodes.
• The 1981 version also turned up on MeTV's print of the M*A*S*H series finale "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen".
• The 1981 version also makes a surprise appearance on Sony Movie Channel's prints of the TV movies Hijack! (1973) and The Death Squad (1974) (all before the 2002 SPT logo), both being Spelling-Goldberg Productions.
• The 1981 version was also seen at the end of a 1990 Central Television UK airing of an unknown episode of Here Come the Double Deckers (plastering the previous logo), which fades into the 1989 Central for ITV endcap.
• Even though the company was renamed to 20th Television in 1989, it continued to be used until a proper logo was introduced in 1992.

6th Logo (1983-1984)

Visuals: On a black background, there is the 1982 TCF print logo. Under it is the word "TELEVISION" and a copyright stamp.

Technique: Chyron was employed.

Audio: The theme song of Dance Fever.

Availability: Only seen on season 5 episodes of Dance Fever on local syndication.

Copyright Stamps

Here is some information about the copyright stamps on TCFTV series:

• 1960-1985: Copyright © [YEAR] Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
• 1985-1989: Copyright © [YEAR] Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

◄ TCF Television Productions

20th Century Fox Television (1958-1989)

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