Desilu Productions

*Logo descriptions by
 Day91821*

*Logo captures by
Travis, Johnny1Wikia, Alphays240, Snelfu, ClosingLogosHD*

*Editions by
 Day91821*

## Background

Desilu Productions was a production company founded in 1950 by then-husband-and-wife comedy duo, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball (hence the name of the company), producing very successful TV shows and films between the 1950s and 1960s. In 1960, Desi Arnaz sold the pre-1960 shows to CBS since Ball and Arnaz couldn't work with each other anymore. They later divorced the same year. In 1962, Arnaz sold his holdings of Desilu to Ball. In 1967, she sold Desilu to Gulf+Western Industries, which merged Desilu with Paramount Pictures. Desilu became the television arm of Paramount in July, renaming it to "Paramount Television" (now "CBS Studios") months later, while Lucille Ball formed her then-new company "Lucille Ball Productions, Inc." and Desi Arnaz formed his own company named "Desi Arnaz Productions". Currently, all of the Desilu Productions television library is owned by Paramount Global through CBS Media Ventures.

## 1st Logo (September 15, 1952-March 11, 1968)

1952 variant1957 variant1957 in-credit variant1959 variant

**Nicknames:** "Desilu Script", "'50s Desilu Script"

**Visuals:** Superimposed on the show's credits, we see "FILMED IN HOLLYWOOD BY" ("Filmed in Hollywood and Mexico by" on *The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour*) with "***Desilu***" in a cursive font. Most of the time, copyright information is seen below. The top line text was shortened to "FILMED BY" in 1957.

**Variants:**

* A still version exists on shows filmed on location.
* Another version has the script between "A" and "PRODUCTION".
* At the beginning of some programs, the word "Presents" appears below the script.
* For Desilu Sales, the text "***Distributed by Desilu Sales, Inc.***" is seen on a gray background.

**Technique:** Traditional animation.

**Audio:** The closing theme of the show.

**Availability:** Seen intact on any shows that originally had it.

* The original 1952 variant can be seen on shows, such as *I Love Lucy*.
* The 1957 variant can be seen on shows, such as *December Bride*.
* The 1957 in-credit variant can be seen on shows, such as *Our Miss Brooks*.
* The 1959 variant can be seen on shows, such as *The Lucy Show*.

**Legacy:** The animation in this logo is primitive, but it's well-remembered by fans of *I Love Lucy* and *Star Trek*.

**Final Note:** This logo was used on the final two seasons of *The Lucy Show*, which used the 1966 Desilu logo and the 1968 Paramount Television logo at the end.

## 2nd Logo (September 8, 1966-December 1967)

Original versionVersion with copyright stamp

**Nicknames:** "Merging Circles", "Multi-Colored Circles", "Color Desilu Logo", "Desilu Script II", "'60s Desilu Script"

**Visuals:** On a black background, we see circles of many colors zoom out while the word "***DesIlu***" in yellow writes in. The circles then form a blue dot on the "***I***". After the circle forms on the "***I***", it turns white.

**Variants:**

* When Desilu merged with Paramount Pictures in 1966, a copyright stamp was added below the logo.
* On 1978 reruns of *Star Trek*, a chyroned in 1978 copyright stamp appeared underneath. It then cuts to the 5th Paramount Television logo or the 2006 CBS Paramount Television logo. It was seen on the 1980 Paramount Home Video release of *Star Trek: Television Classics, Volumes 1-5*.
* On *Mission: Impossible*, the script is red.
* There is another version of the copyright stamp variant where the year is written in numbers instead of in Roman numerals.
* A version of the aforementioned variant exists where the copyright stamp is partially on the script.
* A B&W version exists on 16mm prints of shows.
* On some recent prints of the fifth and sixth seasons of *The Lucy Show*, a Desilu copyright stamp plasters most, if not all Paramount copyright stamps.

**Technique:** Traditional animation.

**Audio:** A 5-note horn fanfare that starts off with a light note, composed by the late Wilbur Hatch. A faster version of the fanfare was sometimes used. These themes would later be used for the next logo.

**Audio Variants:**

* On some episodes of *Mission: Impossible* during the era, a different 4-note fanfare (called "bump") is heard.
* On a TV Land airing of *Star Trek*, the 1968 Paramount Television fanfare is heard.

**Availability:** Uncommon. It can be seen on shows, such as *Star Trek*.

**Legacy:** The animation is still primitive here (and the battling loud version of the fanfare may startle some viewers), but again, this is a well-loved and memorable logo by many.

Paramount Pictures | Famous Players Film Company

**Home Entertainment:**
Paramount Home Entertainment | Paramount DVD | Paramount High Definition

**Television:**
Paramount Television Studios | Paramount Television | **Desilu Productions**