Gongman

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The Gongman (also known as the "man-with-the-gong") is a company trademark for the J. Arthur Rank Organisation. It was used as the introduction to all Rank films, many of which were shot at their Pinewood Studios, and included those Rank distributed. The Gongman logo first appeared on films distributed by General Film Distributors, which was established in 1935 by the British producer C. M. Woolf and J. Arthur Rank; it was C.M. Woolf's secretary who thought of the man-with-a-gong trademark.^[1] When the Rank Organisation was established in 1937, with General Film Distributors as one of its cornerstones, the logo was adopted for the whole organisation.

The Gongman film logo sequence depicts a man striking a huge gong with a deep resonant sound. The gongs used in the sequence were props made of plaster or papier-mâché. The sound came from James Blades striking a real gong—specifically a Chinese instrument called a tam tam that was much smaller than the prop. During the sequence, the text "General Film Distributors", " J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors", "J. Arthur Rank presents" or "'The Rank Organisation" appeared over the gong.

The first "Gongman" was Carl Dane, a circus strong man who was paid a one-time fee by General Film Distributors. Athletes who played the Gongman in the film sequence over the years included boxer Bombardier Billy Wells, the second "Gongman", who was actually the first contracted by J.A. Rank – a subtle but important difference. In later years this position was filled by wrestler Ken Richmond. Also, George Francis Moss Snr played the Gongman. In 2012, to celebrate the Gongman's 75th anniversary, The Rank Group, the gambling company that in 1996 acquired the remaining business interests of the Rank Organisation as well as the rights to its logo and name, announced a nationwide competition to find a new Gongman for the 21st century, Chris Rowley from Stoke-on-Trent won the competition and is the new official Rank Gongman.