Act III Productions
Shadeed A. Kelly and Logophile
Captures by
V of Doom and Logophile
Editions by
Eric S., Shadeed A. Kelly, and V of Doom
Video captures courtesy of
Eric S., Matthew Mayfield, and Broken Saw
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 Lear's death on December 5, 2023, it is unclear, if not unlikely, if Act III Productions would ever continue its active future without him in presence.
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| 1st Logo (February 16-July 7, 1991) | 2nd Logo (March 7, 1992-May 9, 1994) | 3rd Logo (October 25, 1997-February 20, 1998) | 4th Logo (September 30, 2016-) |
1st Logo (February 16-July 7, 1991)
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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 blue background.
Technique: Chyron effects, or a still, digital 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)
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Visuals: On a dark gray background, a slightly different ACT III logo fades in in chrome lettering with "ACT III" 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 "III" in between the words "ACT" 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 20, 1998)
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Visuals: On a nighttime sky background, there is the ACT III logo (as seen in the 1st logo) in blue, while sharing the screen with the Enchanté George logo placed underneath.
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-)
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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 blue.
Variants:
- A still version exists.
- On the animated Good Times reboot, the logo is next to the Unanimous logo.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: The end-title theme or none.
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, Live in Front of a Studio Audience, and the animated reboot for Good Times.
