Colex Enterprises

Defunct joint venture between Columbia Pictures Television and LBS Communications

Colex Enterprises was a joint venture between Columbia Pictures Television and LBS Communications, Inc., active from January 30, 1984 to December 31, 1987. The name of the joint venture is a portmanteau of the two companies' names (Columbia and Lexington, the latter coming from LBS' original name of Lexington Broadcast Services).[1] It came after Columbia and LBS agreed to distribute the TV show Family, which LBS distributed under license from Columbia Pictures Television.[2][3] Family was then added to Colex's roster when the company formed, and the first new show added to Colex's roster was the show Gidget. It was designed to handle syndication of barter series on an advertised-supported basis, mostly of obscure TV shows that never made it into syndication before.[4]

Colex was split into five branches in November 1985, which were Colex First-Run, which distributed new material, such as The New Gidget, The Hollywood Reporter and The New Monkees, Colex Premiere Movies, which distributed several movies and telemovies, The Colex Collection, which handled distribution of newer off-network product, The Colex 3-Pack, which consisted of mini-series and The Colex Classics, which would continue distribution of several shows.[5]

The company was responsible for distributing the Screen Gems television output, with the exception of pre-1967 Hanna-Barbera produced programs, as well as many of the post-1947 Bob Hope theatrical output.

History

  • January 30, 1984 - The company was created.
  • December 31, 1987 - Colex was closed out and was succeeded by Columbia Pictures Television Distribution, although LBS continued its partnership with Columbia Pictures Television until late 1989.

Programming distributed by Colex Enterprises

Television programs

  • Father Knows Best (1954-1960)
  • The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950-1958)
  • Route 66 (1960-1964)
  • Gidget (1965-1966)
  • The Flying Nun (1967-1970)
  • Ghost Story/Circle of Fear (1972-1973)
  • Family (1976-1980)
  • Father Murphy (1981-1983)

Movies

  • 1941 (1979) (distribution only)
  • The Amazing Mr. X (aka The Spiritualist) (1948) (distribution only)
  • An American Christmas Carol (1979) (distribution only)
  • The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982) (distribution only)
  • Brute Force (1947) (distribution only)
  • The Care Bears Movie (1985) (distribution only)
  • The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986) (distribution only)
  • The Corsican Brothers (1941) (distribution only)
  • Count Three and Pray (1955)
  • The Electric Horseman (1979) (distribution only)
  • Force 10 from Navarone (1978) (distribution only)
  • Gunman's Walk (1958)
  • He Walked by Night (1948) (distribution only)
  • Heathcliff: The Movie (1986) (distribution only)
  • Impact (1949) (distribution only)
  • The Killers (1946) (distribution only)
  • The Killers (1964) (distribution only)
  • Lonely Are the Brave (1962) (distribution only)
  • M (1951)
  • The Naked City (1948) (distribution only)
  • Patterns (1956) (distribution only)
  • Phantom Lady (1944) (distribution only)
  • 3:10 to Yuma (1957)
  • The Prowler (1951) (distribution only)
  • Quicksand (1950) (distribution only)
  • Raw Deal (1948) (distribution only)
  • Tomahawk (1951) (distribution only)
  • Trapped (1949) (distribution only)
  • Tulsa (1949) (distribution only)
  • The Virginian (1946) (distribution only)
  • Whistle Stop (1946) (distribution only)
  • Wings of the Hawk (1953) (distribution only)

Telemovies

References

  1. ^ "Sale in the works for 'Eden' mini-series". Broadcasting: 45. 1984-01-30.
  2. ^ "Family" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1982-12-20. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  3. ^ "Monitor" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1983-02-14. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  4. ^ "The World of TV Programming: Syndication". Broadcasting. 1984-10-22.
  5. ^ "Syndication Marketplace" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1985-11-11. Retrieved 2021-11-16.