John J. Graham

Who was John J. Graham?

John J. Graham was an American graphic artist who designed and created both the NBC peacock logo and the NBC "snake" logo.

Graham was born in New York City, where he attended the School of Industrial Art and later, studied under Artist Jack Levine. He joined NBC after World War II, where he was responsible for designing the television division's various logos, title cards, print materials, advertising, and promotions. In the early 1950s, Graham, as NBC Art Director, hired a young Andy Warhol to do some of his first commercial works.

In 1966, NBC President Julian Goodman appointed Graham Director of Design for the entire network.

Graham retired from NBC in 1977 and continued his association with NBC as a consultant. The rest of Graham's time was spent painting, illustrating and designing layouts for books. He died in 1994, aged 70. He was survived by his three children; Bruce Graham, Maggie Zackheim and Ben Zackheim.