RKO Pictures Logo History

RKO Radio Pictures was originally founded by RCA to promote their RCA Photophone sound system. The initials in the company name stand for "Radio Keith Orpheum", reflecting the joint venture of RCA, the Keith Orpheum theater circuit, and the Film Booking Office of Joseph P. Kennedy, the father of the 35th U.S. President, John F. Kennedy. It was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age (the other were MGM, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures and 20th Century Fox). Howard Hughes would purchase the studio in 1948 and sell off the studio to the General Tire and Rubber Company in 1955. In 1981, RKO would reenter film production through a new subsidiary, RKO Pictures. The rights to the majority of the in-house RKO Radio Pictures films are owned by the current RKO Pictures with distribution rights owned and/or licensed to Warner Bros. Pictures via Turner Entertainment Co., while Walt Disney Pictures owns the rights to their own productions and films produced by Selznick International Pictures (the latter via ABC Motion Pictures, except Gone with the Wind), the Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. family trust owns the rights to Samuel Goldwyn Productions films, Paramount Pictures owns It's a Wonderful Life via Republic Pictures, and Universal Studios owns films produced by Hughes.

[@lp-xl9ld]

Me, about age 7, seeing the 1933 KING KONG (an RKO production): "But, Dad, didn't you tell me that back then, radio didn't HAVE pictures?"

[@dcstudiosiphone3029]

This is an outstanding compilation. Thank you so much!

[@ManF3]

FANTASTIC LOGO HISTORY! RKO's logo is yet another one of the iconic film studio logos. The concept is pretty creative for a logo, plus the 1929 logo (opening, 6:24), like many other logos of the 1920s-1960s, has great use of live-action modeling and special effects since CGI wasn't a thing back then ('till the 1970s I guess?), and the 1996 logo (16:23) is a fantastic CGI reboot of the logo.

[@1991sth]

It's good to see this logo history again

[@RoadTripTelevisionNJ]

I remember when RKO (RKO General, Inc.), was owned by Akron, Ohio-based General Tire and Rubber Company, Inc. (later renamed GenCorp, Inc.) It owned WOR-TV, Channel 9, WOR - 710 am and WXLO - 98.7 fm in New York City. RKO Radio and Television are no longer in business, due to General Tire's business shenanigans the 1970's and 1980's. 👌

[@WolfGamer2000YT]

Shame RKO is no longer a big movoe studio

[@missbleach8767]

Robloxian 🐺

[@munkiandtrunktvofficialchannel]

18:32 : WARNING!!!!! If you've epilepsy!!!!

[@missbleach8767]

📺

[@DFVN_YT]

Great Logo History: 7/10

[@missbleach8767]

KZbin