Dean Hargrove Productions

Background

Dean Hargrove Productions was a producer of TV dramas (mainly mysteries and courtroom dramas) named after its founder, producer Dean Hargrove. Most of its movies and TV series were co-produced with The Fred Silverman Company. It was originally founded as "Strathmore Productions", but the name was changed in 1988 to avoid confusion with the paper company Strathmore.

Strathmore Productions

1st Logo (December 1, 1985-March 3, 1986)

Logo: On a black background, we see a gold "S", with "STRATHMORE" in a typewriter font in the middle. Under the gold "S" in white are "PRODUCTIONS" and under it "IN ASSOCIATION WITH".

Variant: On current prints by CBS, "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" is blacked-out.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show.

Availability: Very rare. Can still be seen on the made-for-TV movie Perry Mason Returns (local reruns plaster it with the Dean Hargrove Productions logo) on Decades and the pilot episode of Matlock (plastered by the next logo on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries airings but kept on Me-TV airings), both are retained on their DVD releases.

2nd Logo (September 23, 1986-May 15, 1988)

Logo: On a black background, we see two silver crescents, spinning around, zooming out. Then it stops as "STRATHMORE", in a typewriter font, wipes in, forming an "S", which flashes. As "STRATHMORE" finishes, "PRODUCTIONS" fades in as well as "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" appears under it.

Variant: Same as before, "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" is blacked-out on current DVD print releases and on Encore Suspense airings of Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun, as well as current prints of Return to Mayberry, but is retained on the Perry Mason DVDs.

Technique: The animation in this logo.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show or none at all.

Availability: Rare. Survives on the first two seasons of Matlock on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, DVD, Pluto TV, and Me-TV and on Perry Mason made-for-TV movies of the period on DVD, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Me-TV, and Decades. It was also seen on Return to Mayberry when it aired on Me-TV in 2013, Fatal Confession: A Father Dowling Mysteryon DVD and seen on a recent Decades airing, and DVD prints of season 1 episodes of Jake and the Fatman.

Dean Hargrove Productions

(November 29, 1988-April 26, 2002)

Logo: On a white/grey gradient background, we see a lavender/white gradient circle, with "Dean" writing on top. As "Dean" finishes writing, "HARGROVE" in a gold Triple Condensed Gothic font appears under it as well as a green bar with green lines on the sides under it with "PRODUCTIONS".

Variants:

A shorter version exists, it begins with "The Lavender Circle", "Dean" writing and "HARGROVE" text are already formed.
There is also a still version of this logo.
On the final season of Diagnosis Murder, the logo was compressed horizontally, revealing more of the white/grey background.

Technique: The CGI animation in the logo. None for the still version.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show, or a generic theme on NBC airings of the last 2 Perry Mason films, and CBS airings of Diagnosis Murder starting with season 2.

Music/Sounds Variant: On the Diagnosis Murder season 7 premiere "The Roast", it's silent.

Availability: Can be seen on Matlock episodes from the era starting with season 3 on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Pluto TV, DVD and Me-TV as well as Diagnosis Murder on Pluto TV, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Me-TV and DVD and 1989 to 1995 Perry Mason TV movies on DVD, and on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Me-TV, and Decades. Syndicated local late night airings of Perry Mason Returns in 2004 also used this logo. Also seen on CBS DVD releases of Jake and the Fatman and Father Dowling Mysteries, the latter was also aired on Decades.