Of course you’re wondering about the MGM lion, because who isn’t?
Today, we’re going to take a quick look at that famous ferocious lion, but, before we do, let’s quickly delve into the MGM logo design.
The logo was created around 1916, and the design is often credited to MGM publicist Howard Dietz. Maybe Deitz designed the logo; maybe he didn’t. Some sources say it was created by Paramount art director Lionel S. Reiss, but Dietz comes to mind first because he was a publicist, after all, while Reiss, alas, was not.
Anyhoo, the logo is regal business, festooned with film-as-banners unfurling above a Greek mask, and sporting the oh-so-chic Ars Gratia Artis, (“Art for Art’s Sake”). It’s a logo meant for a king – or, in this case, king of the jungle, namely Leo, the MGM lion.
It appears our publicist pal Dietz did originate the idea of a live-action lion inside the logo. Sources say he chose the lion as a nod to his alma matter, Columbia University, home of the Columbia Lions.
The result is iconic Hollywood branding. As the site 1000 Logos says, “There is hardly a more expressive way to symbolize power, excellence, and beauty than by including a living lion in the MGM logo.”¹
To date, there have been seven Leo the Lions, one of whom was actually named “Leo”.
Slats (1924-1928) was born in Ireland, and came to Hollywood via private zoo in California. Slats didn’t roar in his footage, which made him an anomaly in the MGM Lion Hall of Fame.
Jackie (1928-1931) was born in Sudan. He became a movie star in his own right, and appeared in over 100 films. They say Leo survived two train accidents, an earthquake, and a plane crash which earned him the moniker “Leo the Lucky”.
Colour “Test” Lions: Bill, Telly, and Coffee (1927-1935), were hired for animated and two-strip colour shorts.
Tanner (1934-1956) was employed for all MGM three-strip Technicolor films during this period. (Many black-and-white films of this era, though, still used Jackie’s image.) He did appear in a few films, but didn’t enjoy the extensive film career of his predecessor.
George (1956-1963) has a rather thin bio, but he was known for his thick, heavy mane.
Leo (1957-2021) was born in Ireland, like Slats, and had the longest career of any of the lions to date. He appeared in films, television shows, and even a TV commercial.
CGI Leo (2021-present). Yes, the new Leo is fake, and not even the shiny, updated MGM logo can disguise it.
Of course, such an iconic logo begs to parodied, and who can resist?
What about the roaring of these lions?
Jackie was the first lion to be recorded for sound, via a recording booth built around his cage. It would have been novel, in the early days of Talking Pictures, to hear an actual lion roar.
But MGM has been messing with us for several decades now in regards to Leo’s roar. In 1981, MGM audio designer Mark Mangini started modernizing the outdated Roar audio – with tigers.
“[L]ions, for all their ferocity, don’t make the most terrifying sounds when showing the majestic, teeth bared open mouth seen in the logo,” writes Mangini. “I would discover that, in fact, the sound that one would hear when a lion roars is something more akin to (to my ears) a giant yawn…. So I substituted tiger roars. They just sounded bigger and more majestic.”²
(An example of peak Hollywood, no?)
Regardless, the idea of a real (or fake) lion in the MGM logo is a brilliant concept, and its history is a worthwhile study in Hollywood studio logo design.
Howard Dietz was not only a publicist, but a great songwriter, teaming with composers such as Arthur Schwartz, Jerome Kern, and Vernon Duke to write the lyrics for many Broadway shows and classic songs like ALONE TOGETHER, SOMETHING TO REMEMBER YOU BY, THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT, and DANCING IN THE DARK (also the title of his autobiography, which I own and highly recommend).
That’s true about Howard Dietz. I didn’t include so many details about him because the subject would’ve gotten away from me. Thanks for recommending the autobiography!
I was surprised to how much MGM branding – including spoofs – there is online. It took me hours to choose images, only because there is so much choice.
Never, just as there’s never too many Rock Hudson image searches to find the “perfect” shot… and you have to check them all out.. hard job (but someone has to do it).
This goes to show how naive I am, I thought the same lion was used on the logo from the 1930s-1960s! Great post, Ruth and I’m so glad you covered Leo for the event. It’s nice to see all the logos in one place. I must admit, that 1966 rebranding of the MGM logo always did look striking even though it moved away from the traditional style. This was the one used on most LPs of the era as well.
Very entertaining short history of the MGM logo! My favorite parody is the one used at the start of The Fearless Vampire Killers in which the lion transforms into a vampire and blood from his fangs drip over the scrolling titles.
Leo the Lion certainly has had as interesting a life as MGM Studios itself, and is just as, if not more, famous. The few early Silents I’ve seen with Leo at the beginning he’s actually facing sideways and not to the camera like he normally would for his career. I wish George had lasted longer, for some reason I just felt like he had the best look of any of the Leo incarnates.
Well I never knew that the Lions Roar was actually a Tigers Roar! And reading your comments, I did think Lassie was played by a female dog too. Those Hollywood tricksters!
Tigers! Crazy, right? But I think they made the best decision, because that growl is very demanding. It’s like he’s saying, “Pay attention to this Movie, and No Talking in the back.”
Great subject for a blog post for the MGM Blogathon Ruth – with lots of interesting information. In addition to what you have informed us about, Goldwyn Pictures had the same logo of Leo the lion with the motto Ars Gratia Artis (art for arts sake. This got appropriated in the merger of Goldwyn in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1924, although Goldwyn was actually squeezed out of the company and the lot in Culver City. Anyway, the old lions were the best.
Such a rich history. I love lions and I love movies, so I’ve always loved the MGM logo. Did you know the first silent MGM logo was used for the 1925 version of Ben-Hur?
What a fascinating post! I had read a bit about the first lions, but here you offer a more complete bio of those majestic beasts. And, indedd, nothing is more Hollywood-like than the lions’ roar being fake!
Cheers!
Lol what. That first MGM lion looks more like a hungry cat than the roaring lion I’m used to. Another informational post, one that I didn’t know I needed. And Leo is such a creative (ha) name for a lion. I’d be surprised if they weren’t born around the month of July too. Anyway, thanks for this post!
Great piece, Ruth. I’ve aways been interested in the history of the logo and the different lions used over the years. Love the crazy publicity photo of Greta Garbo with Jackie the second lion. LOL.
It’s Maddy here by the way. You may remember I stopped blogging a couple of years ago because I was so poorly. I’ve just set up a new blog and am slowly getting back into it. Still poorly but feel like I want to try and write a bit whenever I feel up to it. Looking forward to catching up with your blog. Hope all good with you.
Silver Screenings 
Of course, the MGM lion also inspired this series of endings. 🙂
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Ha! Yes, that’s true!
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Howard Dietz was not only a publicist, but a great songwriter, teaming with composers such as Arthur Schwartz, Jerome Kern, and Vernon Duke to write the lyrics for many Broadway shows and classic songs like ALONE TOGETHER, SOMETHING TO REMEMBER YOU BY, THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT, and DANCING IN THE DARK (also the title of his autobiography, which I own and highly recommend).
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That’s true about Howard Dietz. I didn’t include so many details about him because the subject would’ve gotten away from me. Thanks for recommending the autobiography!
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It’s good that this logo lives on. In its way, it’s been a significant part of movie history.
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Yup, you said it. It would be difficult to find a person who doesn’t know what that logo is.
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Lovely tribute Ruth, and love those logo pics..
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I was surprised to how much MGM branding – including spoofs – there is online. It took me hours to choose images, only because there is so much choice.
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I do love a post like that, especially if I’m searching for a dreamy actor… bring on another Rock Hudson review…
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There’s no such thing as too many Rock Hudson reviews, is fhere?
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Never, just as there’s never too many Rock Hudson image searches to find the “perfect” shot… and you have to check them all out.. hard job (but someone has to do it).
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Bahaha! You know it!
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Fascinating and fun look at the MGM Lion!
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It’s truly interesting. I went into it thinking there were 3 MGM lions. I had no idea there were so many!
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I’m not surprised about the roaring–I still remember being shocked when I found out that Lassie was played by a boy dog!
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Haha! That was a bit of a shock, wasn’t it?
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This goes to show how naive I am, I thought the same lion was used on the logo from the 1930s-1960s! Great post, Ruth and I’m so glad you covered Leo for the event. It’s nice to see all the logos in one place. I must admit, that 1966 rebranding of the MGM logo always did look striking even though it moved away from the traditional style. This was the one used on most LPs of the era as well.
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I really like the 1966 version, too. It’s clever & simple and very effective. I didn’t realize it was also used on LPs at the time.
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Very entertaining short history of the MGM logo! My favorite parody is the one used at the start of The Fearless Vampire Killers in which the lion transforms into a vampire and blood from his fangs drip over the scrolling titles.
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Oh man, I have never seen that one!
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Hello, new follower here. 🙂 I had no idea that so many lions were used for this iconic logo. It was interesting to find out more!
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It’s surprising, isn’t it, that so many lions were used. I had no idea MGM employed that many lions – and lion trainers!
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Leo the Lion certainly has had as interesting a life as MGM Studios itself, and is just as, if not more, famous. The few early Silents I’ve seen with Leo at the beginning he’s actually facing sideways and not to the camera like he normally would for his career. I wish George had lasted longer, for some reason I just felt like he had the best look of any of the Leo incarnates.
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George was a handsome fellow, wasn’t he?
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Well I never knew that the Lions Roar was actually a Tigers Roar! And reading your comments, I did think Lassie was played by a female dog too. Those Hollywood tricksters!
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Haha! You never know what shenanigans those Hollywood folks try to pull.
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You’re amazing – just loved this. And I’m sorry, but any lion named Slats goes to the head of the class in my book.
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Oh yeah, Slats is the absolute best name for a lion.
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Tigers!!! Well I never. A very interesting piece as always 🙂 🙂
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Tigers! Crazy, right? But I think they made the best decision, because that growl is very demanding. It’s like he’s saying, “Pay attention to this Movie, and No Talking in the back.”
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Yes I completely agree! That roar definitely snaps one to attention!
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Always been fond of the lion and it never crossed my mind that there were different ones!
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Honestly, I could never tell them apart in a lineup, because they’re all so photogenic!
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I love lions! And every kind of cat.
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Cats truly are beautiful, aren’t they? Especially the large varieties.
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This was really interesting! *weeps over the CGI lion*
Apparently the lion roars in The Lion King were also tiger roars (at least some of them). Kinda funny!
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I’m with you re: weeping a little over the CGI lion…
As for the tiger roars, they do sound like rhey Mean Business, don’t they? That’s interesting they used them in The Lion King.
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Great subject for a blog post for the MGM Blogathon Ruth – with lots of interesting information. In addition to what you have informed us about, Goldwyn Pictures had the same logo of Leo the lion with the motto Ars Gratia Artis (art for arts sake. This got appropriated in the merger of Goldwyn in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1924, although Goldwyn was actually squeezed out of the company and the lot in Culver City. Anyway, the old lions were the best.
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Thanks, Christian, for adding that info – and for stopping by, too.
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Such a rich history. I love lions and I love movies, so I’ve always loved the MGM logo. Did you know the first silent MGM logo was used for the 1925 version of Ben-Hur?
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I did come across that info, but just realized I forgot to include it in my post – doh!
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Jackie had quite a life, didn’t he? Well, they all did, except for the CGI Leo…sigh, Thanks for this–it was fascinating!
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I hope someone will make a movie about Jackie the Lion. Like you said, he had quite the life!
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I love the idea of an Irish lion. He personifies (or lionizes) the whole Hollywood immigrant tradition.
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Ha! Perfectly said, and I agree.
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What a fascinating post! I had read a bit about the first lions, but here you offer a more complete bio of those majestic beasts. And, indedd, nothing is more Hollywood-like than the lions’ roar being fake!
Cheers!
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Haha! You said it! The fake lion’s roar is the ultimate Hollywood move.
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Wow, only Hollywood would have imagined wrangling a real lion in order to get a majestic logo.
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That’s so true, hey? I admire the effort it would have taken to accomplish it.
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Lol what. That first MGM lion looks more like a hungry cat than the roaring lion I’m used to. Another informational post, one that I didn’t know I needed. And Leo is such a creative (ha) name for a lion. I’d be surprised if they weren’t born around the month of July too. Anyway, thanks for this post!
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Yeah, that first MGM lion doesn’t look all that menacing, does he?
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Really enjoyed this, I still remember the lion roaring when I was a kid.
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That lion is a memorable part of the movies, isn’t it?
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This is just fabulous, Ruth. I’ve always loved the MGM lions but had no idea of the rich history behind them. Thanks to you, I have been enlightened 🙂
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The story of the MGM lions could make an interesting film, right?
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Great piece, Ruth. I’ve aways been interested in the history of the logo and the different lions used over the years. Love the crazy publicity photo of Greta Garbo with Jackie the second lion. LOL.
It’s Maddy here by the way. You may remember I stopped blogging a couple of years ago because I was so poorly. I’ve just set up a new blog and am slowly getting back into it. Still poorly but feel like I want to try and write a bit whenever I feel up to it. Looking forward to catching up with your blog. Hope all good with you.
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Maddy!! It’s so great to see you online again! I’ll be dropping by your new site for a visit soon.
I hope the past couple of years haven’t been too terrible?
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