King Features Entertainment

King Features Entertainment was originally formed in 1980 as Novacom, Inc. by Bruce Paisner and PBS station WGBH Boston to distribute television movies for syndication. The company itself was sold to The Hearst Corporation in 1981 and was renamed to King Features Entertainment. In 1983, it absorbed the assets of PolyGram Television. It later formed a relationship with Phoenix Entertainment Group, distributing telemovies internationally, only to acquire it outright eventually in 1989. In 1990, it was renamed to Hearst Entertainment. Hearst Communications sold its live-action Hearst Entertainment library to Lionsgate in 2015, and integrated Hearst's animated content library into King Features Syndicate.

1st Logo (1981-1985, October 9, 1988)

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Visuals: On a cerulean blue background, the company name (stacked word-by-word) slowly zooms out. When the words get to a suitable distance, a "trail" of stylized outlined crowns come from the left and right side above the logo, consolidating into one stylized outlined crown. The words "Produced by" or "Distributed by" appear in an arc above it.

Variant: Sometimes, a chroma-keyed copyright stamp appears below.

Technique: Motion-controlled cel animation.

Audio: A somewhat dramatic synthesizer theme, which is the last eight seconds of "Corona Connection" by Karl Jenkins and Mike Ratledge from the De Wolfe music library.

Availability

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Media Title	Date(s) of Release	Additional Note(s)
The People vs. Jean Harris	1984	Originally aired in two parts between May 7-8, 1981. Seen on the Spanish VHS release by Roller S.A. Video Producionnes. On said release, this logo basically plastered over the 1980 PolyGram Television logo, but still has that logo's music; the logo itself originally plastered over the PKO Television logo. On at least one other VHS release, the PKO Television logo, itself still featuring the program's closing theme, preceded this logo.
An American Werewolf in London	August 21, 1981
The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper	November 13, 1981
Skokie	November 17, 1981
A Small Killing	November 24, 1981	Seen on a VHS release by U.S.A. Home Video.
Between Two Brothers	March 9, 1982	Seen on the Spanish VHS release from 1984 by Roller S.A. Video Producionnes.
Mae West	May 2, 1982	Seen on a VHS release by Karl-Lorimar Home Video.
Hotline	October 16, 1982	Released on VHS in Spanish.
Something So Right	November 30, 1982
The Kid with the 200 I.Q.	February 6, 1983
Dixie: Changing Habits	February 16, 1983
High School U.S.A.	October 16, 1983
The Cartier Affair	November 4, 1984
The Toughest Man in the World	November 7, 1984
The Romance of Betty Boop	March 20, 1985
Happy Endings	1985	Originally broadcast on March 1, 1983. Released on VHS in French.
Rehearsal for Murder	1985	Originally broadcast on May 26, 1982.
Going to the Chapel	October 9, 1988	Final appearance.

2nd Logo (1982)

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Visuals: On a blue background, the King Features crown is above a long white stripe spanning the entire screen, with "King Features Entertainment" on it. Below it is a copyright for King Features Syndicate. The crown zooms in and takes up the entire screen, with the inside of it fading to the intro itself as the stripe and copyright disappear. At the end, the crown appears over King Features' line-up of characters and zooms in, takes up the entire screen again, and goes back to the logo, thus ending the intro.

Technique: Motion-controlled cel animation.

Audio: The sailors' hornpipe, as heard in the intro to the classic Popeye cartoons.

Availability

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Media Title	Date(s) of Release	Additional Note(s)
All New Popeye and Friends	1982	Debut and only appearance.

3rd Logo (1985-1990)

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Visuals: On a black background, a steel blue 3D crown spins onto the screen. It moves towards the top as the black background begins to become lavender (the color moves up from the bottom). The crown, when it gets near the top and comfortably small, flashes and becomes a 2D stylized crown, similar to the previous logo but completely colored in. Below it the company name appears in the same font as the previous logo, this time written in two lines. The words "A Subsidiary of The Hearst Corporation" appear below it.

Variants:

• Most of the time, "Distributed By" also appears above the crown, and the logo is shifted lower than usual.
• Sometimes, the logo is still.
• A warp speed variant exists.
• A slightly longer version also exists, where the words slowly fade in.
• On the 1989 Beetle Bailey special, the finished logo zooms in to fill the screen. Copyright stamps for King Features Entertainment and King Features Syndicate can be seen.
• On the 1987 Blondie & Dagwood special, the variant above is plastered onto a black/blue gradient background with a very noticable black outline.
• On the test pilot of the cartoon Defenders of the Earth, the text reads "AND King Features Entertainment, Inc." with a small version of the crown placed to the left of the company name.
• At the end of a May 1989 episode of Fight Back! with David Horowitz, after the credits roll, the CGI crown flies in from off-screen and places itself on top of the middle man's head, before zooming in and resuming its animation after the background fades to black.

Technique: CGI for the crown, 2D computer animation for the rest.

Audio: It begins with several synth taps, followed by a whirring sound getting louder and with more reverb. Four synth notes then play in series of two. A drum plays when the text starts to fade in, with the byline appearing with a twinkle. All of this was played on a Yamaha DX-7.

Audio Variants:

• In some cases, the drum sound is delayed slightly.
• It may also have the show/movie's ending theme playing over it.
• The closing themes of the animated Blondie and Beetle Bailey specials, as well as Ask Dr. Ruth, are heard over the logo.
• The still variant has the last few seconds of the logo's theme playing.
• The warp speed variant has the logo's theme doubled in speed.
• High tone and low tone variants of the logo's theme both exist.

Availability

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Media Title	Date(s) of Release	Additional Note(s)
G-Force: Guardians of Space	1986	Sped-up variant.
Defenders of the Earth	September 8–December 5, 1986
Blondie and Dagwood	May 15, 1987	Black/blue gradient variant.
Popeye and Son	September 19–December 12, 1987
God Bless the Child	March 21, 1988
Ask Dr. Ruth	1989-1990
Get Smart, Again!	February 26, 1989
The Women of Brewster Place	March 19–March 20, 1989	Warp speed variant.
Fight Back with David Horowitz	May 1989?-1990
Hägar the Horrible	November 1, 1989
Daughter of Darkness	January 26, 1990	Copyright year 1989.
Beetle Bailey	July 31, 1990	Zoom-in still variant.
Flash Gordon: Blue Magic	1990	Without the "Distributed by" text and long version.

King Features Syndicate PolyGram Television

King Features Entertainment

Hearst Entertainment