Arsenio Hall

Arsenio Hall Headshot

Host • Actor • Comedian • Writer • Producer

Birth Date: February 12, 1955

Age: 69 years old

Birth Place: Cleveland, Ohio

With his infectious laughter, cool vibe and willingness to book unexpected guests, Arsenio Hall redefined everyone's idea of late night television. Starting his career as a stand-up comedian, Hall made a name for himself as Eddie Murphy's snobbish personal aide in the blockbuster comedy "Coming to America" (1988). He then amped up his star factor as a frequent guest host on the fledgling "The Late Show" (Fox, 1986-88) after its star, Joan Rivers, was fired from the program. In 1989, Hall took the late night show landscape and infused it with attitude as host of "The Arsenio Hall Show" (syndicated, 1989-1994). Unlike other play-it-safe late night talk shows, Hall's show was geared towards a younger, more urban audience. Thanks to his dynamic musical guests, unapologetic interviews, and his signature "Whoop, whoop, whoop!" fist pumping chant, Hall's show quickly rose to the top of the ratings game. Hall maintained a lower profile after his talk show went off the air in 1994 due to declining ratings. However, nearly 20 years after it first left the airwaves, "The Arsenio Hall Show" returned to late night in September 2013, proving the multi-talented funnyman was just getting started.

Arsenio Hall was born on Feb. 12, 1956 in Cleveland, Ohio. The son of a Baptist minister, Hall often tried to escape his depressed inner-city neighborhood by imagining that he was a talk show host like his idol, Johnny Carson. In junior high school, he became an amateur magician, leading to performing tricks in front of an audience. After graduating from Warrensville Heights High School in Warrensville, OH, Hall attended Ohio University in Athens to study law, but switched his major to communications. He later transferred to Kent State University, where he began performing at local comedy clubs to support himself through college. After graduating, Hall took his comedy act on the road before moving to Los Angeles. He had minor roles on a number of television shows and also voiced Winston Zeddemore, the smartest character on the animated series "The Real Ghost Busters" (ABC, 1986-1991). In 1988, Hall's career took off after he co-starred in the comedy "Coming to America" opposite Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem, an African prince who goes to Queens, NY to pretend to live like a working man and find a wife who loves him for who he is.

Playing the role of Murphy's sidekick in the film proved to be one of the biggest career boosts for Hall. The two became friends shortly after Murphy relocated to Los Angeles. Hall took on a variety of roles in "Coming to America," most notably Semmi, the prince's personal aide who struggles to give up their life of luxury while in New York. The versatile comic also played Reverend Brown, a flamboyant minister that Hall seemingly modeled after his own father. Along with the success and newfound fame that he enjoyed after the release of "Coming to America," Hall also made headlines for dating pop sensation Paula Abdul, who featured Hall in her music video for "Straight Up" (1988). The couple reportedly met on the set of "Coming to America" and began dating a short time later. Years later in 2009, rumors swirled that the couple might have rekindled their romance. Hall reportedly contacted Abdul, who at the time had just quit her job as one of the judges on "American Idol" (Fox, 2002- ). Both neither denied nor confirmed such rumors.

In the early 1990s, Hall had become one of the most popular rotating guest hosts on Fox's "The Late Show" after host Joan Rivers was fired. His easygoing, playful, and edgy banter was a hit with audiences. Hall's frequent appearances and soaring popularity on "The Late Show" led to Hall's own late night talk show "The Arsenio Hall Show." He easily soared to the top of the ratings, thanks to his boundless energy, infectious laughter, and penchant for inviting musical guests who were popular with African-American audiences but might not have crossed over to the mainstream, particularly rap and alternative artists. Many considered Hall's talk show groundbreaking as it was the first time that a black host challenged and succeeded in drawing a significant portion of mostly young, often white viewers away from the late-night staple "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (NBC, 1962-1992). One of Hall's most notable guests was then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton, who made a surprise appearance on the show in 1992 and played "Heartbreak Hotel" (1956) on his tenor saxophone. Clinton's unexpected appearance on "Arsenio" was considered by many to have been a calculated move on Clinton's part to appeal to mostly twenty-something voters from just about every ethnic group. Coincidentally, Clinton's historic appearance on Hall's show marked a turning point in the popularity polls for the Democrat, whose approval ratings shot up in the wake of his charming visit.

At the height of his success, Hall was unstoppable. Night after night, he drew a young, hip audience whose often boisterous reaction to Hall's monologue was the host's infamous "Whoop, whoop, whoop!" chant, complete with fist-pumping. "The Arsenio Hall Show" peaked in popularity around 1991, then steadily lost steam. To stir things up, Hall initiated a rivalry between himself and Jay Leno after the latter was named host of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (NBC, 1992-2014) by boasting to Entertainment Weekly that he would "kick Leno's ass" in the ratings game. Ironically, sagging ratings led to Hall's show being canceled in 1994, shortly after his headline-making boast. Aside from Leno, Hall also made enemies out of other celebrities including Roseanne Barr, whose unflattering paparazzi pictures were on full display on Hall's show. He also traded verbal blows with Madonna, who teased Hall on his show in 1990 about his failed relationship with Abdul. The pop icon also called Hall's hairstyle "tired" and suggested that he and Eddie Murphy were lovers. Hall retorted by insulting Madonna's jewelry and making suggestions that she was involved with lesbian comedian Sandra Bernhard.

Save a few television appearances, Hall all but disappeared from public view after his show ended in 1994. He reemerged to star on the short-lived sitcom "Arsenio" (ABC, 1997), where he played a sports cable show host and a newly married man with an opinionated wife (Vivica A. Fox). In 1998, Hall starred on the comedy-action series "Martial Law" (CBS, 1998-2000), about a Chinese police officer and martial arts expert named Sammo Law (Sammo Hung Kam-Bo) who worked for the Los Angeles Police Department. Hall played a wisecracking LAPD press liaison who started helping Sammo fight crime. In the 2000s, Hall's projects were mostly relegated to voiceover work in animated films like "The Proud Family Movie" (Disney Channel, 2005), "Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy!" (2006) and "Igor" (2008). He also briefly hosted the new "Star Search" (CBS, 2003-04), where he tried to popularize the catch phrase "Hit me with the digits!" In 2012, Hall appeared as one of the contestants on Donald Trump's reality competition series "Celebrity Apprentice" (NBC, 2004- ), where he was pitted against Lou Ferrigno, '80s pop singer Deborah Gibson, and comedian Adam Carolla, among others. After clashing several times with O'Day and making friends with singer Clay Aiken during the season, Hall ended up one of the two finalists, going head-to-head with his buddy Aiken for the win. In 2013 it was announced that Hall would be returning to late night as the host of a new late night talk show. A new syndicated version of "The Arsenio Hall Show" premiered on September 9, 2013, nearly 20 years after it first left the air.

By Candy Cuenco

Credits

The Show Before the Show

Self
Show
2023

The Show After the Show

Self
Show
2023

C More dokumentär

Actor
Show
2021

Coming 2 AmericaStream

Actor
Semmi/Morris/Reverend Brown/Baba
Movie
2021
49%

I Can See Your VoiceStream

Guest
Game Show
2020

Arsenio Hall: Smart & Classy

Actor
Show
2019

The Kelly Clarkson ShowStream

Guest
Talk
2019

Tamron Hall

Guest
Talk
2019

The MayorStream

Guest Star
Reverend Okoye
Series
2017
81%

STEVE on Watch

Guest
Talk
2017

The NinetiesStream

Host
Docuseries
2017

The NinetiesStream

Self
Docuseries
2017

Live with Kelly and Ryan

Guest
Talk
2017

Sandy WexlerStream

Self
Movie
2017
27%

Greatest Hits

Host
Series
2016

To Tell the TruthStream

Guest
Game Show
2016

Believeland

Self
Show
2016

Kareem: Minority of One

Self
Show
2015

The Daily Show with Trevor NoahStream

Guest
Talk
2015

The Late Show With Stephen ColbertStream

Guest
Talk
2015

The Nightly Show With Larry WilmoreStream

Guest
Talk
2015
100%

Hollywood Today Live

Guest
Show
2014

Hollywood Today Live

Host
Show
2014

Good Morning Britain

Guest
Show
2014

Mending Kids International - All Star Concert for Children Worldwide

Actor
Show
2014

Young Hollywood's Greatest

Actor
Show
2014

The Arsenio Hall Show

Host
Show
2013

Peeples: Extras

Actor
Show
2013

Deal With It

Guest Star
Show
2013

Hollywood Game Night

Guest
Game Show
2013

All-Star Celebrity Apprentice

Guest Star
Show
2013

omg! Insider

Guest
Show
2013

Live! With Kelly and Michael

Guest
Talk
2012

Larry King NowStream

Guest
Talk
2012

CBS This Morning

Guest
Show
2012

Oprah's Next Chapter

Guest
Show
2012

The Chew

Guest
Talk
2011

The Talk

Guest
Talk
2010

Access Hollywood Live

Guest
Show
2010

Access Hollywood Live

Host
Show
2010

The World's Funniest Moments

Host
Show
2010

TV's Greatest Surprises: A Paley Center for Media Special

Guest
Show
2010

Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals

Actor
Show
2010

Lopez Tonight

Guest
Show
2009

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Guest
Talk
2009

Black DynamiteStream

Actor
Tasty Freeze
Movie
2009
83%

World's Funniest Moments

Host
Show
2008

The Wendy Williams Show

Guest
Talk
2008

The Celebrity Apprentice

Contestant
Reality
2008

IgorStream

Voice
Carl Crystal
Movie
2008
40%

Chelsea Lately

Guest
Talk
2007

Rachael Ray ShowStream

Host
Talk
2006

etalk

Guest
Show
2006

Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy!

Voice
Captain Crothers
Movie
2006

The Naked Brothers Band

Actor
Himself
Show
2005

The Naked Brothers Band

Self
Movie
2005

The Proud Family

Voice
Dr. Carver/Bobby Proud
Movie
2005

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Host
Talk
2003

17th Annual Soul Train Music Awards

Host
Show
2003

Jimmy Kimmel Live!Stream

Guest
Talk
2003

Jimmy Kimmel Live!Stream

Host
Talk
2003

Star Search

Host
Show
2003

An Evening at the Improv

Guest
Show
2000

Martial Law

Actor
Terrell Parker
Series
1998

Kickin' It: With Byron Allen

Guest
Show
1998

The View

Guest
Talk
1997

Arsenio

Actor
Show
1997

Arsenio

Executive Producer
Show
1997

Access Hollywood

Guest
News
1996

Muppets Tonight

Guest
Series
1996

The Chris Rock ShowStream

Guest
Talk
1996

Entertainers: With Byron Allen

Guest
Show
1994

Extra

Guest
News
1994

Late Show With David Letterman

Guest
Talk
1993

Bopha!

Executive Producer
Movie
1993

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno

Guest
Talk
1992

The Arsenio Hall Show

Host
Talk
1989

Harlem NightsStream

Actor
Crying Man
Movie
1989
26%

Coming to AmericaStream

Actor
Semmi/Extremely Ugly Girl/Morris/Reverend Brown
Movie
1988
73%

Vamos a América

Actor
Movie
1988

Amazon Women on the Moon

Actor
Apartment Victim
Movie
1987

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Actor
Show
1985

CBS News Sunday Morning

Guest
News
1979

The Comedy ShopStream

Guest
Series
1978

Good Morning America

Guest
News
1975

News aboutArsenio Hall