Merv Griffin Enterprises

Credits

Descriptions by
Michael Bode, Cameron McCaffrey and Shadeed A. Kelly

Captures by
Shadeed A. Kelly, catermitchel, Mr. Logo and Gilblitz112

Editions by
Shadeed A. Kelly, V of Doom, Chowchillah, MeesterFonnyboy and MariluHennerArtist45

Video captures courtesy of
sailorclose

Background

Merv Griffin Enterprises was first known as "Merv Griffin Productions" and was formed in 1964 by television personality Merv Griffin (formerly "Milbarn Productions" in 1963) with his game show Jeopardy! and following his revived talk show The Merv Griffin Show a year later. Before Jeopardy!, Griffin created and produced a game show called Word for Word, that debuted in 1963. It formed a partnership with King World (now "CBS Media Ventures") in 1982 after ending his partnership with Metromedia.

In 1984, Griffin expanded his company as "Merv Griffin Enterprises". It was sold to Coca-Cola on May 5, 1986 for $250 million, was later merged into Columbia Pictures Entertainment on December 21, 1987, and was sold to Sony Corporation along with CPE's other companies on November 8, 1989. On June 4, 1994, Merv Griffin made a deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment through the Griffin Group that he would remain the executive producer of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune until 2000 and both series would be produced by Columbia TriStar Television (now "Sony Pictures Television") in September. On May 13, 1996, Merv Griffin created "Merv Griffin Entertainment" as his new production company.

Today, the Griffin game show library from 1964-1994 is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and distributed by Sony Pictures Television. Dance Fever and The Merv Griffin Show are owned by Merv Griffin Entertainment.

1st Logo (March 30, 1964-January 3, 1975)

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  Normal

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  Pre-recorded

Visuals: There is a griffin (a Greek mythological creature with the wings and head of an eagle, and the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion) sitting and holding up its left paw on the left side and the text "A Griffin production" in the Old English MT font on the right side.

Variant: On the series finale of the Art Fleming version of Jeopardy!, there was a caption below the logo reading "This program was pre-recorded".

Technique: A still, superimposed graphic.

Audio: The end title of the theme from any show playing.

Availability:

• Many programs on which this appeared were not preserved.
• It appeared on The Merv Griffin Show, Let's Play Post Office, and Jeopardy! hosted by Art Fleming.
• It is also available on The Best of The Merv Griffin Show on DVD.
• It did not appear on Joe Garagiola's Memory Game.

2nd Logo (January 6, 1975-November 25, 1983)

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  Shopper's Bazaar (pilot, 1973)

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  Jeopardy! (1978-1979)

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  Jeopardy! (pilot, 1983)

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  The Merv Griffin Show (white)

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  The Merv Griffin Show (yellow)

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  The Merv Griffin Show (blue)

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  The Merv Griffin Show (red)

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  Wheel of Fortune (1980)

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  Wheel of Fortune (orange, 1983)

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  without Wheel of Fortune text (1983)

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  Dance Fever

Visuals: A detailed outline of an Opinicus griffin sitting and holding up its left paw is seen inside a rounded rectangle. There is also a line separating the griffin with the name "MERV GRIFFIN productions" underneath.

Trivia: While this logo was first used on pilots in 1973 and 1974, it made its broadcast debut on the January 6, 1975 premiere of Wheel of Fortune.

Variants:

• Some mid-'70s episodes of The Merv Griffin Show have the text "A GRIFFIN PRODUCTION" above the logo.
• In the Merv Griffin Show and the 1983 Jeopardy! pilot, the text "A MERV GRIFFIN PRODUCTION" is above the logo.
• Sometimes, the logo appears in a different color on The Merv Griffin Show.
• In early seasons of Wheel of Fortune, a copyright stamp year appears underneath. Starting in 1978, the words "Wheel of Fortune Is Produced by" were inserted above the logo along with a Califon copyright stamp below. Starting in late 1983, it appears in yellow.
  • At least two early nighttime episodes of Wheel lack the extra text. Both known examples are preceded by full credit rolls and have all-caps copyright stamps underneath.
• On Dance Fever, the text says "A MERV GRIFFIN PRODUCTION in association with TWENTIETH CENTURY-FOX TELEVISION" with the in-credit MGP logo and the print 20th Century Fox logo next to each other below the text, and underneath has the copyright stamp to Anthony Productions and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation.
• Starting in 1979, the logo appears in shadow mode.

Technique: A still, superimposed graphic.

Audio: Just the end-title theme from the show playing. Normally an announcer spiel for the program is also heard:

• The All-New Jeopardy! (John Harlan): "(This is) John Harlan speaking, Jeopardy! is a Merv Griffin Production!"
• Wheel of Fortune (Charlie O'Donnell 1975-1980, Jack Clark 1980-1983): "Wheel of Fortune is a Merv Griffin Production. (Distributed by King World Productions, Inc.)" The King World notice is exclusive to episodes of the syndicated version.
• The Merv Griffin Show (Arthur Treacher/Merv Griffin/Carol Bilger):
  • "The Merv Show is a Merv Griffin Production, in association with Metromedia Producers Corporation. This program is pre-recorded." (1975-1980)
  • "This has been a Merv Griffin Production in association with Metromedia Producers Corporation. This program is pre-recorded." (1980-1983)
  • "This has been a Merv Griffin Production in association with King World Productions, Inc." (1983)
• Jeopardy! (Jay Stewart): "This has been a Merv Griffin Production! Distributed by King World, Incorporated." (September 1983 pilot episode)
• No announcer is heard on Dance Fever, the 1973 Shopper's Bazaar pilot, the first 1974 Wheel of Fortune pilot, or some broadcast Wheel episodes, such as Chuck Woolery's last episode (December 25, 1981).

Availability:

• This appeared on Wheel of Fortune, The All-New Jeopardy!, Dance Fever, and The Merv Griffin Show.
• It first appeared on the unaired Shopper's Bazaar pilot, taped in the fall of 1973.
• It was also seen on the first pilot episode of Jeopardy! in September 1983.
• It was last seen on Get TV airings of The Merv Griffin Show and Game Show Network airings of the first syndicated season of Wheel of Fortune.
• It appears on "The Best of The Merv Griffin Show" on DVD.
• It is currently available on a selection of season 1 episodes of the syndicated Wheel on PlutoTV.

3rd Logo (November 28, 1983-March 31, 1993)

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  Early

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  Main (Until Nov. 1986)

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  Coca-Cola byline only

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  The Coca-Cola Company byline

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  Coca-Cola Television byline

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  Columbia Pictures Entertainment byline

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  Sony Pictures Entertainment byline

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  Secrets Women Never Share

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  Ruckus

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  Early Califon byline

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  Califon byline

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  Borderless

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  Small text

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  Coca-Cola byline

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  Coca-Cola byline + All Rights Reserved

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  Coca-Cola byline + Yellow background

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  Columbia Pictures Entertainment byline

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  Sony Pictures Entertainment byline

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  With "20th Century Fox Television” below

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  Main with “In Association With”

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  Coca-Cola byline with “In Association With”

Visuals: Against a black background, inside a box with a sky blue border, there is a detailed drawing of the Opinicus griffin from the previous logo, in front of what looks like a chain-link fence. Below that, the text "MERV GRIFFIN PRODUCTIONS" in white is seen with a light blue "chrome" color effect moving inside it. The griffin later blinks its eye (though it doesn't on some 1984 episodes of Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune episodes from February 1984-September 1991, and the pilot and the 2nd episode of Headline Chasers).

Trivia:

• The blinking eye of this logo was once the basis of a Jeopardy! question. ("The only part of the Merv Griffin Productions emblem that moved").
• The November 2, 1987 episode of Jeopardy! used the accompanying announcement in a clue. "Jeopardy! is a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises, and is distributed by this company."

Bylines: The following bylines have been used for the logo:

• December 22, 1986-1987: The logo and name are smaller and are shifted up to make room for the byline "A unit of The Coca-Cola Company" (with "Coca-Cola" in its signature font, and "The" and "Company" in Loki Cola) underneath the name.
• June 1987-February 5, 1988: "A unit of Coca-Cola TELEVISION" (with "Coca-Cola" in its signature font).
• February 8, 1988-1992: "A Unit of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc." (in the Souvenir font generally used for Columbia Pictures from 1975-1993 in yellow or orange).
• September 7, 1992-March 31, 1993: "a Sony Pictures Entertainment company".

Variants:

• On September 10, 1984, the name was changed to "MERV GRIFFIN ENTERPRISES" after Griffin expanded his company.
• On the November 12, 1986 episode of Jeopardy! during the 1986 Tournament of Champions, the company name is missing, and the byline "A unit of The Coca-Cola Company" is shifted further up. Plus, the byline is a bit smaller.
• On Ruckus, the logo is completely centered.
• On the 1988 TV special Secrets Women Never Share, a copyright stamp is seen under the logo without the CPE byline.
• Long Version Variant: On post-October 1992 rerun episodes of Jeopardy! on GSN, the standard 1992 MGE logo with the SPE byline had been extended due to Johnny's closing voice-overs. This would plaster over both the J! copyright cards and part of the 1990 King World logo when Gilbert said "Distributed by" and then bring forth the 1997 CTT logo with Charlie O'Donnell announcing "Columbia TriStar Television" over the logo.

Wheel of Fortune Variants: Wheel of Fortune used different custom variations of this logo:

• Late 1983/early-February 1984: Standard logo. It uses the Califon copyright stamp below the MGP name.
• February 27, 1984-1987: A still version of this logo placed onto an art card. The border of the box is silver instead of sky blue and the sides are pretty close to the griffin. The company's name and a Califon Productions, Inc. copyright stamp below it are in a silver Peignot font (as seen on the 1971 Viacom logo and the MTM logo).
  • Some 1985 episodes of the 1984-1985 season have this logo borderless.
  • Several 1984-1985 episodes have the copyright stamp say "CAliFON PRODUCTiON, INC."
  • Starting in the 1985-1986 season, the company name and the copyright stamp are pacific blue instead of silver.
  • On December 22, 1986, the Coca-Cola byline is placed under the MGE name in the same byline setup as the 1986-1987 Embassy Communications logo, with "Coca-Cola" in its signature font and "The" and "Company" in Loki Cola. The name and logo are smaller and shifted up to place the byline under.
  • A few December 1986 and January 1987 episodes show a close up of the text with the 1986-1987 Coca-Cola byline that zooms back to reveal the picture of the griffin.
  • Later 1987 episodes revert to the still image.
• Spring 1987?: The text "ALL RIGHTS RESERVED" was added below the copyright stamp.
• November 10, 1987-September 20, 1991: The background is yellow or yellow-orange instead of black. The MGE and Califon copyright stamp (with a copyright "©" symbol) are in a dark blue Peignot font and the Coca-Cola Television (later CPE in February 1988) byline is in red, with the phrase "ALL RIGHTS RESERVED" placed at the bottom of the logo. The border on the box remained silver until the end of the 1988-1989 season, when the color of the font and the border were changed to the original blue.
• On September 7, 1992-March 1993 episodes, the logo has the byline "a Sony Pictures Entertainment company" in a school bus yellow Arial font that's shifted a little lower from the company name.
• Some 1984-1993 Wheel of Fortune episodes show the logo appearing via en effect:
  • 1984-1990 (Nighttime): In some episodes, the MGE logo appears via a wipe effect from the bottom.
  • January 29, 1990-1991 (Nighttime): The MGE logo flips down and flips back up like a fan to bring forth the King World in-credit logo.
  • December 25, 1990: The logo appears with a trilon effect on the Christmas Day 1990 daytime episode.
  • January 11, 1991 (Daytime): Many times, the end-title scene zooms back onto a gradient background and flips over to reveal the MGE logo.
  • January 14, 1991-1993: A page flipping effect that starts from the upper-left hand corner showing a gold background page behind and brings itself downward to the lower-right hand corner to reveal the logos. Some 1992 episodes didn't feature the full gold background page. This effect was edited out from September-early October episodes and was replaced with the standard 1992 MGE logo with the SPE byline when reran on GSN.
  • November 1992: When Wheel of Fortune was taped in Philadelphia, PA during "Philadelphia Week", the logo appeared with a straight fade effect.

Dance Fever Variants:

• 1983-1984: "A MERV GRIFFIN PRODUCTION in association with 20th CENTURY - FOX TELEVISION" in Arial.
• 1984-December 1986: "MERV GRIFFIN ENTERPRISES" with the phrase "In Association With" fading in below. The 1981 20th Century Fox Television logo follows.
• January-September 1987: MERV GRIFFIN ENTERPRISES with "A unit of The Coca-Cola Company" underneath and the phrase "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" fading in below. Again, the 1981 20th Century Fox Television logo follows.

The Merv Griffin Show Variant: Some episodes have the griffin blinking twice.

Technique: Motion-controlled animation for the Griffin's eye.

Audio: The closing theme of the show. This logo and the King World logo following it were accompanied by the following announcements:

• Jeopardy!:
  • Johnny Gilbert, Pilot episode on January 9, 1984: "This has been a Merv Griffin Production! (on the King World text screen) Distributed by King World Productions".
  • September 10, 1984-1985: "Jeopardy! is a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises, distributed by King World."
  • 1985-1986: "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking, Jeopardy! is a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises and distributed by King World."
  • November 1986: "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking, Jeopardy! is produced by Merv Griffin Enterprises and is distributed by King World."
  • 1987-1992: "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking, Jeopardy! is a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises and is distributed by King World."
  • October 1992-1993: "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking. Jeopardy! is a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises. (copyright screen appears/drum roll is heard) (on the 1990 King World logo with its music) Distributed by King World."
• Wheel of Fortune:
  • Jack Clark, November 1983-Fall 1984: "Wheel of Fortune is a Merv Griffin Production. (Distributed by King World Productions, Inc.)"
  • Fall 1984-1992, Jack Clark (1984-1988)/M.G. Kelly (1988-1989)/Don Pardo (Two weeks at Radio City in 1988)/Charlie O'Donnell (March 1989-1992): "(This is Charlie O'Donnell speaking) Wheel of Fortune is produced by Merv Griffin Enterprises (Distributed by King World)". (Note: O'Donnell used his name on the final NBC episode of WOF in 1989.)
  • October 1991 at Disney-MGM Studios with O'Donnell: "Wheel of Fortune is taped at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida and is a Merv Griffin Enterprises Production. Distributed by King World."
  • October 1992-1993 episodes with O'Donnell: "Merv Griffin Enterprises produces... (copyright screen appears/drum roll starts) Wheeeeel of Fortune! (on the 1990 King World logo with its music) Distributed by King World."
• Headline Chasers (Johnny Gilbert): "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking. Headline Chasers is a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises, in association with Wink Martindale, Inc. and distributed by King World."
  • Headline Chasers Pilot (Charlie O'Donnell): "This has been a Merv Griffin Production, in association with Wink Martindale, Inc."
• The Merv Griffin Show (Carol Bilger): "This has been a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises. Distributed by King World and Camelot Entertainment Sales. This program has been recorded."
• The logos were not accompanied by announcer spiels on Super Jeopardy!, Monopoly, Ruckus (a 1991 game show hosted by "The Amazing Jonathan" that only aired on WNBC), and some 1986 episodes of The Merv Griffin Show.

Audio Variant: On GSN reruns in 1997, the King World logo was replaced by the 1994 and 1997 Columbia TriStar Television logo with a Charlie O'Donnell voice-over, resulting in an awkward transition between the two voices. This also happened on Jeopardy!, 1984-1988 and 1983-1988 & 1992-1993 episodes of Wheel of Fortune with Jack Clark and Charlie O'Donnell, and Headline Chasers.

Availability:

• It was last seen on Get TV airings of The Merv Griffin Show.
• When GSN aired older episodes of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune in the past, the logo was retained.
  • However, if GSN were to begin airing these episodes again, the logo would probably not be seen due to GSN's current practice of running ads during credits and cutting them off early.
• The Best of Merv Griffin Marathon had the WOF logo variants in 2007 to pay tribute to Merv Griffin on GSN.
• The logo can be found on the Jeopardy! An Inside Look At America's Favorite Quiz Show DVD, at the end of the first Trebek syndicated episode.
• This was also seen on classic Jeopardy! episodes on Sony Pictures Entertainment's online service Sony Crackle, and currently seen on Paramount owned Pluto TV.

Legacy: This is regarded as a classic logo that was seen on two of the most popular game shows of all time.

4th Logo (February 8, 1993-July 22, 1994)

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Visuals: Against the same cloud background as the then-current Columbia Pictures Television logo, a gold statue of the Opinicus griffin from the previous logo is seen on a pedestal. Underneath the griffin, in the same Bank Gothic MD BT font used on the CPT and TriStar Television logos of the time, is the text "MERV GRIFFIN ENTERPRISES", and under that, the byline "a SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT company". This logo was always followed by a graphic with the show's title card and copyright stamp.

Trivia:

• This logo was done by Michael J. Deas, who also painted the 1993 Columbia Pictures logo. It was painted in 1992 and debuted in 1993.
• A textless version, alongside the Columbia Pictures Television and TriStar Television logos, was shown as a Video Daily Double clue under the "Horses" category for $500 in the December 22, 1993 episode of Jeopardy, as shown here: "This is the Merv Griffin logo, this is the Columbia logo, & the following is this company's". Dave Dixon, who found that Daily Double, wagered $700 of his $1,300 and gave the correct response, "What is TriStar?", brining his score to $2,000 and taking the lead. Dixon was eventually beaten by fellow contestant Jean Grewe, who became a three-day champion with $29,901 on hand, adding $4,000 to his $25,901 that he won in the previous two days.

Variants:

• On most episodes of Wheel of Fortune, this logo would appear as a turning page effect.
• On several season 9 episodes and one season 10 episode of Jeopardy! from 1993 and 1994, the logo appears on the big board after Johnny Gilbert's voice-over before cutting to the title logo with the copyright stamp and King World logo.

Technique: A still image of a painting.

Audio: The closing theme for the show (Jeopardy! or Wheel of Fortune) fades out as this logo appears and the show's announcer (Johnny Gilbert on the former, Charlie O'Donnell on the latter) identifies the company. A drum roll plays while the title card/copyright info graphic is shown, followed by the (then-current) 1990 King World logo with its music and the announcement "Distributed by King World." Here are the announcements used:

• Jeopardy! (Johnny Gilbert): "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking. Jeopardy! is a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises.".
• Wheel of Fortune (Charlie O'Donnell): "Merv Griffin Enterprises produces... (copyright screen appears/drum roll starts) Wheeeeel of Fortune!".

Availability: It was only used for less than two years.

• It was last seen regularly when GSN aired reruns of 1993-1994 Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune episodes since last decade, followed by the 1997 CTT logo.
• It also showed up at the end of a Late Night with David Letterman episode.
• This was also seen on classic Jeopardy! episodes on Crackle and currently seen on Pluto TV.

Merv Griffin Enterprises

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