FOUNDED: 1919
TWO-SENTENCE HISTORY: A minor studio in its first few years, Columbia Pictures emerged a major player by the early 1940s—among the stars under contract then were Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, and the Three Stooges. The studio was purchased by Coca-Cola in 1982—seven years later, it was sold to Sony (for a then-staggering sum of $3.4 billion).
MEMORABLE FILMS INCLUDE: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), From Here to Eternity (1953), A Man for All Seasons (1966), Stand by Me (1986) and Moneyball (2011)
THE LOGO: At various times, the young lady that is the centerpiece to the Columbia logo was: attired a Roman soldier (1924), given a ceremonial headdress (1928-1936), and draped in an American flag (1936-1876). The most recent major redesign was in 1992, when illustrator Michael Deas—using a Louisiana homemaker as his model—created the Torch Lady we know today.
VERSIONS: Here’s the logo from 1939 and the vaguely creepy one used during the ’80s.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YKX377g9ZE]