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                                                                       Exhibit 5
          (Letterhead of Reboul, MacMurray, Hewitt, Maynard & Kristol)



                                 September 3, 1996



King World Productions, Inc.
830 Morris Turnpike
Short Hills, New Jersey 07078

                          King World Productions, Inc.
                       Registration Statement on Form S-3

Dear Sirs:

                  We have acted as counsel to King World Productions, Inc., a
Delaware corporation (the "Company"), in connection with the preparation of its
Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the "Registration Statement"), filed under
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"), relating to the offering of
an aggregate 3,000,000 shares of its Common Stock, $.01 par value (the
"Shares"), pursuant to the Registrant's 1995 Amended and Restated Stock Option
and Restricted Stock Purchase Plan (the "Plan").

                  In that connection, we have examined originals, or copies
certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of such documents,
corporate records and other instruments as we have deemed necessary or
appropriate for purposes of this opinion, including the Agreements and the
Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws of the Company.

                  Based upon such examination, we are of opinion that:

                  1. The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing
as a corporation under the laws of the State of Delaware.

                  2. When issued and sold upon the exercise of options granted
or pursuant to awards made in accordance with the terms of the Plan, the Shares
will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

                  We hereby consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to
the Registration Statement and to the reference to our firm under "Legal
Matters" in the Prospectus comprising a part of the Registration Statement.

                                Very truly yours,

                                /s/ Reboul, MacMurray, Hewitt, Maynard & Kristol