The "Filmways Globe" logo, used from 1961 to 1978.

Filmways Inc. was a television and film production company founded by American film executive Martin Ransohoff in 1960. It is probably best-known as the production company of CBS's "rural comedies" of the 1960s, including The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres. Ransohoff left the company in 1972. Filmways acquired famous companies throughout the years, such as Heatter-Quigley Productions in 1966 for (Hollywood Squares), syndicator Rhodes Productions in 1975 (Rhodes broke apart from the company in 1980 by becoming independent), animation studio Ruby-Spears Productions in 1978, book publisher Grosset & Dunlap, and American International Pictures in 1979. In 1982 Filmways was acquired in a merger with Orion Pictures Corporation. Today, most of the Filmways library is owned by MGM (successor-in-interest to Orion). Image File history File links Filmways1. ... Image File history File links Filmways1. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed. ... Martin Ransohoff (born 1927 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a cinema and television producer. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... CBS (formerly an acronym for Columbia Broadcasting System, the former legal name of the network) is one of the largest television networks, and formerly one of the largest radio networks, in the United States. ... Rural area in Dalarna, Sweden Qichun, a rural town in Hubei province, China Rural areas are sparsely settled places away from the influence of large cities and towns. ... Comedy is the use of humor in the form of theater, where it simply referred to a play with a happy ending, in contrast to a tragedy. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... The Beverly Hillbillies was a TV sitcom about a hillbilly family living in Southern California in the 1960s. ... Petticoat Junction was an American situation comedy that was produced by Filmways, Inc. ... Aerial photo featured in the opening sequence of Green Acres There is also the US town of Green Acres, Washington. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Heatter-Quigley Productions is an American television production company that was launched in 1960 by two former television writers, Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... The Hollywood Squares title screen The Hollywood Squares is an American television comedy and game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win money and prizes. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Ruby-Spears Productions (also known as Ruby-Spears Enterprises) is a California-based entertainment production company that specializes in animation. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Grosset & Dunlap is a United States book publisher founded in 1898. ... The early AIP logo. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The phrase mergers and acquisitions or M&A refers to the aspect of corporate finance strategy and management dealing with the merging and acquiring of different companies as well as assets. ... Orion Pictures Logo Orion Pictures Corporation was a United States movie production company, formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. ... MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ...

The logos that were used

The "Filmways Globe" logo was used in 1961–1978. On a starry blue background, a small horizontally stretched out globe is seen. It has latitude and longitude lines on it, and the equator extends beyond the globe, with small Richter scale-like lines on part of it. From behind the globe, "A FILMWAYS" in a 3D font and curved to match the globe's position, zoom northwards. "TELEVISION PRESENTATION" fades in below the globe. The Richter magnitude test scale (or more correctly local magnitude ML scale) assigns a single number to quantify the size of an earthquake. ...

There is a voiceover saying " This has been a Filmways presentation". Those who said the phrase are listed below:

• Petticoat Junction: Betty Jo Bradley (Linda Kaye Henning)
• Green Acres: Lisa Douglas (Eva Gabor), she says it with "Dahling".
• The Beverly Hillbillies: Ellie May Clampett (Donna Douglas)
• Mister Ed: Roger Addison (Larry Keating)
• The Addams Family: The logo was silent, but in some episodes the phrase was said in a deep baritone voice by Ted Cassidy, but he did not say it in his usual "Lurch" voice.

The "Filmways Trail" logo was used in 1978–1981. On a black screen, many differently colored "FILMWAYS" zoom up from the bottom of the screen towards a white "FILMWAYS". All the multicolored "FILMWAYS" merge into the white "FILMWAYS". It had a synthesized orchestrated tune edited with xylophone scales. Linda Kaye Henning (born September 16, 1944 in Los Angeles) is an American singer and actor. ... Éva Gábor Eva Gabor (February 11, 1919–July 4, 1995) was a Hungarian born actress. ... Donna Douglas (born September 26, 1933) is an American actress. ... Mister Ed was a popular US television comedy show that aired on CBS from 1961 to 1966. ... The Addams Family is the creation of American cartoonist Charles Addams. ... Theodore Crawford Ted Cassidy (born July 31, 1932 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - January 16, 1979 in Los Angeles, California) was an American actor who played Lurch (in which role he was able to demonstrate his genuine skill on the harpsichord) and Thing on The Addams Family. ...

The most short-lived logo was used in 1981–1983. On a black background, a round orange glow of light appears, and in it a light blue light forms a logo. Underneath the words "FILMWAYS TELEVISION" fly back with a whitish blue light effect. Both the logo and the words turn solid as the lights fade, with the logo turning blue and the words white. The logo is a rounded box/maze with a stylized "F" joined with a shape that may be an upside down and/or backwards "F". It had some orchestrated tune or the end of the show's theme. It was used until Filmways' takeover by Orion.

Ownership of Television Properties

A huge majority of Filmways Television's backlog through the 1980s, such as Green Acres, The Addams Family, Cagney & Lacey, Hollywood Squares, and Mister Ed, was passed to Orion when it merged with Filmways, and is currently owned by Sony Pictures Television by way of MGM which purchased Orion in 1998, with a few exceptions. CBS holds ownership rights to The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction. Viacom (the parent of CBS from 1999-2005, actually started as CBS' syndication arm) syndicated Filmways' output through the 1970s. Aerial photo featured in the opening sequence of Green Acres There is also the US town of Green Acres, Washington. ... The Addams Family is the creation of American cartoonist Charles Addams. ... Cagney & Lacey was an American television series, which aired on CBS for six seasons from 1982 to 1988. ... The Hollywood Squares title screen The Hollywood Squares is an American television comedy and game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win money and prizes. ... Mister Ed was a popular US television comedy show that aired on CBS from 1961 to 1966. ... SPT logo Sony Pictures Television, Inc. ... MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ... CBS (formerly an acronym for Columbia Broadcasting System, the former legal name of the network) is one of the largest television networks, and formerly one of the largest radio networks, in the United States. ... The Beverly Hillbillies was a TV sitcom about a hillbilly family living in Southern California in the 1960s. ... Petticoat Junction was an American situation comedy that was produced by Filmways, Inc. ... Viacom began life as CBS Films, the television syndication division of CBS. In 1971, the division was renamed VIACOM (Video & Audio Communications), and in 1973 it was spun off, amid new FCC rules forbidding television networks from owning syndication companies (the rules were later repealed). ...