Lorimar Television Productions and History

Lorimar Television was a pioneering production company in the television industry, founded in 1977 by Glenn Larson and Lee Rich.

It was known for producing high-quality television shows that captivated audiences worldwide.

Lorimar Television produced numerous iconic television series, including "Battlestar Galactica" and "Dallas", which became cultural phenomenons in their time.

These shows not only entertained but also reflected the societal issues of their era.

The company's success can be attributed to the creative vision of its founders, who brought together talented writers, directors, and actors to create engaging storylines and memorable characters.

Their innovative approach to storytelling helped shape the television landscape of the 1970s and 1980s.

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In 1987, Lorimar-Telepictures's production arm became Lorimar Television and the L-T distribution business was rebranded as Lorimar Syndication.

The company's name change was part of a strategy to use the Lorimar name for all business units.

A TV series based on TV Guide magazine was planned but never came to fruition, with TV Guide finally making its way to television in 1999 as the Prevue Channel was rebranded as the TV Guide Channel.

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Lorimar continued to grow and evolve, with a major change happening in 1988 when the company was purchased by Warner Communications.

This marked the beginning of a significant period of consolidation and change for Lorimar Television.

Warner Communications merged with Time Inc. in 1990 to form Time Warner, further solidifying Lorimar's position within the company.

The former MGM studio lot was sold to Sony in 1989 and renamed Columbia Studios, which is now known as Sony Pictures Studios.

David Salzman left Lorimar in 1990 to start Millennium Productions, an independent production company allied with Warner Bros.

Gary Nardino joined Lorimar in 1991, bringing with him some Orion-produced shows and talent deals.

Lorimar's TV productions were quite impressive, with a wide range of shows that aired from the 1970s to the 1990s. They produced over 30 TV shows, including dramas, comedies, and animated series.

One of their earliest productions was The Good Life, which aired from 1971 to 1972. They also produced the popular family drama The Waltons, which ran for nine seasons from 1972 to 1981.

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Some notable TV films produced by Lorimar include Sybil (1976), Helter Skelter (1976), and Island City (1994).

Here are some of the notable TV shows produced by Lorimar:

Home video was a significant part of Lorimar's expansion, with the company purchasing Karl Video Corporation in 1984.

Karl Video Corporation was the company behind the popular Jane Fonda's Workout exercise video series.

Lorimar continued to license library product to CBS/Fox Video, as well as sub-labels Key Video and Playhouse Video, for some time.

A new broadcast-style home video branding, "KLV-TV", was introduced in late 1986, advertised as being "Your Personal Network".

KLV-TV was a major push to expand Lorimar's home video presence, but it ultimately didn't last.

The company distributed various titles, including the Shades of Love direct-to-video romance series and Jazzvisions, featuring jazz concerts.

Jazzvisions featured performances by notable jazz musicians such as Herbie Hancock and Etta James.

In 1989, Lorimar Home Video closed following the Warner merger and was folded into Warner Home Video.

Roadshow Lorimar Home Video, a joint venture with Village Roadshow, distributed movie titles by Lorimar Motion Pictures in Australia.

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Lorimar's TV productions spanned a wide range of genres and formats, from drama to comedy to animation. They produced some incredibly popular shows that are still remembered today.

One of their earliest productions was "The Good Life" in 1971-1972, a show that set the tone for their future collaborations. They also worked on "The Waltons" from 1972-1981, a beloved family drama that ran for nine seasons.

Another notable production was "Dallas" from 1978-1991, a prime-time soap opera that became a cultural phenomenon. Lorimar also produced "Knots Landing" from 1979-1993, a spin-off of "Dallas" that followed a different set of characters.

In the 1980s, Lorimar began to produce more animated shows, including "ThunderCats" from 1985-1989 and "SilverHawks" in 1986. They also co-produced "Gulag" in 1985 with HBO and "Act of Vengeance" in 1986.

Here are some of Lorimar's notable TV productions from the 1980s:

Lorimar's TV productions also included several TV movies and miniseries, such as "Helter Skelter" in 1976 and "Christopher Columbus" in 1985. They also produced "Stephen King's It" in 1990, a TV miniseries based on the bestselling novel.

The Lorimar Television logo underwent several changes over the years, and let's take a look at the timeline.

The 5th logo, used from September 22, 1989 to August 6, 1993, featured the yellow-orange "LORIMAR" logo with the word "T E L E V I S I O N" below, and no animation.

This logo appeared on various TV shows, including Family Matters, Full House, Going Places, Getting By, Scorch, Perfect Strangers, and Step by Step. It's still visible on reruns of Family Matters and seasons 4 and 5 of Full House, as well as on Step by Step.

Here's a breakdown of the bylines used during this time period:

Lorimar Productions was founded in the late 1960s with a bank loan of $185,000 from Adelson.

The company's early success came from producing made-for-television movies for the ABC Movie of the Week.

Their first major hit was The Waltons, which premiered in 1972 after a successful pilot, The Homecoming: A Christmas Story.

Throughout the 1970s, Lorimar produced several hit shows, including Eight Is Enough and the extremely popular Dallas.

Lorimar's operations expanded with the addition of a syndication unit and a partnership with United Artists in 1978.

However, the partnership with United Artists didn't lead to any successful television series adaptations.

In 1980, Lorimar purchased the Allied Artists Pictures Corporation library, which provided them with a wealth of new material to work with.

By the 1984-85 season, Lorimar had three of the top 10 shows in the United States: Dallas, Knots Landing, and Falcon Crest.

The company shifted its focus to producing family-friendly sitcoms, including The Hogan Family, Perfect Strangers, and Full House.

In 1985, Lorimar acquired Syndivision, which gave them the rights to syndicate several popular shows, including The Greatest American Hero and It's a Living.

Later that year, Lorimar announced a merger with Telepictures, becoming Lorimar-Telepictures, and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange as "LT".

The merger was completed in February 1986, and Lorimar-Telepictures continued to expand its operations, purchasing the MGM studio lot in Culver City.

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The first logo of Lorimar Productions was a simple yet effective design. It featured the words "A LORIMAR PRODUCTION" in a Goudy font on a red background, with a white line drawing out the letter "L" as the music began to play.

The logo was created by Sandy Dvore, who also designed other notable logos, including the 1982 United Artists "Turning UA" logo and the logo for The Young and the Restless.

The music for the logo was an electric piano-type scale, played on a Fender Rhodes electric piano, and was composed by Jack Elliot and Allyn Ferguson. This catchy tune went up the scale from Low C to High C, leaving an echo at the end.

In some cases, the music was silent, and in others, the last note faded out early, creating a slight variation in the logo's sound.

The 2nd (1978-1986) logo was created in 1977 by Paul Pascarella and made its debut in 1978. It features an orange line drawing itself on a black background, forming the letters "LORIMAR" in a unique and captivating way.

This logo has two distinctive colors, yellow and orange, with yellow-orange and athletic gold variants also existing. The logo comes with or without a Registered trademark "R" symbol on the lower-right hand corner of the letter "R".

The logo was used for a number of Lorimar productions, including TV movies and TV series. It often appeared on screen with the words "P R E S E N T S" in spaced-out letters below, and sometimes with the text "DISTRIBUTED BY" above the logo.

Here are some notable facts about the 2nd (1978-1986) logo:

This logo is notable for its superb animation and timing, as well as its reuse of the same Fender Rhodes theme from the previous logo.

During this period, the Lorimar Television logo underwent a significant change. The 3rd Logo (In-credit) was introduced on September 22, 1989, and remained in use until August 6, 1993.

The logo featured the "LORIMAR" name in various colors, including yellow, yellow-orange, gold, and light blue. It was often centered on the screen, but sometimes shifted down.

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One notable episode, "Fast Eddie Winslow" from Family Matters, showed the logo fading out, leaving only the credits background, and a "in memoriam" card for John Andrew Franklin, Jr. appeared about a second later.

The 3rd Logo was used on several shows, including Family Matters, Full House (seasons 4-6), Going Places, Getting By, Scorch, Perfect Strangers (season 6 and beyond), and Step by Step (first 2 seasons).

Here's a breakdown of the Time Warner byline used during this period:

This logo can still be seen on reruns of Family Matters on BET and TBS, as well as seasons 4 and 5 of Full House on MeTV, Hallmark Channel, and Step by Step on Discovery Family.

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