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Arsenio Hall

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Arsenio Hall
Hall at the 1989 Emmy Awards
Born (1956-02-12) February 12, 1956 (age 68)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian, television host
Years active1982–present
ChildrenCheron
WebsiteOfficial website

Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956)[1] is an American actor, comedian, and former talk show host. He is best known for his talk show The Arsenio Hall Show, which ran between 1989 and 1994, and his roles in the films Coming to America and Harlem Nights.[2]

Hall is also known for his appearance as Alan Thicke's sidekick on the talk show Thicke of the Night.

Early years

Hall was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Fred and Anne Hall, his father a Baptist minister.[3] Hall performed as a magician when he was a child. He attended Warrensville Heights High School in Warrensville Heights, Ohio. After he graduated, he attended Ohio University, where he was on the speech team with Nancy Cartwright and Leon Harris.[citation needed] He then transferred to and graduated from Kent State University.

Career

He later moved to Chicago, and then Los Angeles, to pursue a career in comedy, making a couple of appearances on Soul Train. Hall was the original voice of Winston Zeddemore in the cartoon The Real Ghostbusters from 1986–1987. In 1988, he co-starred in the comedy film Coming to America with Eddie Murphy. In 1984, he was also the announcer/sidekick for Alan Thicke during the short-lived talk show Thicke of the Night (a role for which he has on occasion noted his confusion with Monty Hall).

Talk shows

In 1986, the Fox network introduced The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, created to directly challenge The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. After a moderate start, ratings for the show sagged. Behind-the-scenes relations between Rivers and network executives at Fox quickly eroded,[citation needed] and Rivers left in 1987. Renamed The Late Show, it featured several hosts including Ross Shafer, Suzanne Somers, Richard Belzer, and Robert Townsend before it was cancelled in 1988. Hall was chosen to host the show in the fall of 1987, and proved to be immensely popular.[4]

From January 2, 1989, until May 27, 1994, he hosted a syndicated late-night talk show, The Arsenio Hall Show. The show became known for its audience's distinctive alternative to applause: chanting "Woo, Woo, Woo!" while pumping/cranking their fists. The practice soon became such a ritual that by 1991 had become a "pop-culture stamp of approval"—one that Hall said had become "so popular it's getting on people's nerves."[5] The gesture made it into films of the time: the title character played by Julia Roberts did it in a polo scene in Pretty Woman (1990), and characters played by Penny Marshall and Michael J. Fox did it in The Hard Way.[5] In Disney's Aladdin (1992), the Genie character voiced by Robin Williams performs the gesture while mimicking the physical appearance of Hall. This popular gesture can also be found in the 1993 Mel Brooks' comedy Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

He also had a rivalry with Jay Leno after the latter was named host of The Tonight Show, during which Hall said that he would "kick Jay's ass" in the ratings game.[6]

Perhaps one of the show's most noted guest stars was then-Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Bill Clinton, who performed a rendition of Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel on the saxophone during his appearance in June 1992.

However, the ratings for Hall's program began to struggle and he also butted heads with Paramount, his distributor. The tension arose from Hall's invitation to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in February 1994. Hall gave the entire hour to Farrakhan and did not do anything else besides conduct an interview. The program was canceled in May 1994.

Hall used his fame during this period to help fight worldwide prejudice against HIV and AIDS, after Magic Johnson contracted the disease; Hall and Johnson filmed a PSA about the disease that aired in the early 1990s.[7]

Recent radio and television work

Since The Arsenio Hall Show ended, Hall has made many appearances on television (including a short-lived 1997 sitcom called Arsenio) starring in Martial Law with Sammo Hung from 1999–2000 and hosting the revival of Star Search in 2003-2004. On the latter program, he tried to popularize the catch phrase "Hit me with the digits!". Hall appeared as himself in Chappelle's Show in March 2004, when Chappelle was imagining "what Arsenio is doing right now" in a dinner scene.[citation needed] Hall is a guest co-host on Wednesday evenings on The Tim Conway Jr. Show on KLSX 97.1 FM radio.[8] Hall also hosted MyNetworkTV's comedic clip show The World's Funniest Moments and TV One's 100 Greatest Black Power Moves.[9] Hall also appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher in May 2012 in a discussion commemorating the 1992 Los Angeles Riots[10]. Hall was considered to be the host of the syndicated version of Deal or No Deal and filmed a pilot (there were six taped).[citation needed] However, by the time the syndicated series began on September 8, 2008, Howie Mandel was the host.

He also appeared regularly on The Jay Leno Show, and was a guest on Lopez Tonight.[11] George Lopez credits Arsenio for being the reason he had a late night show; Lopez appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show more times than any other comedian. Lopez requested Hall be a co-host on Lopez Tonight (November 25, 2009) since he regarded Hall as his inspiration and the first "late night party show host".[12][13][14][15][16] Hall has filled-in as guest host for NBC's Access Hollywood Live (2011) and CNN's evening talk/interview program Piers Morgan Tonight in 2012.

The Celebrity Apprentice (2012)

In 2012, Hall was a castmember ofThe Celebrity Apprentice 5, which began airing February 19, 2012.[17] Through April, Hall has won more than $50,000 for his charity, the Magic Johnson Foundation. As noted by Hall on the program, the foundation is dedicated to advancing economic and social equality by engaging minorities in every aspect of their communities; increasing academic and innovative achievement; and raising HIV/AIDS awareness, treatment, and prevention.

While on The Celebrity Apprentice, Hall came into conflict with one of his cast mates, Aubrey O'Day. O'Day's behavior on the program, which has been widely criticized as offensive, led to Hall lashing out at her in the show's boardroom segment, berating her with the support of his entire team, particularly Clay Aiken. This left O'Day in tears and contemplating to quit the show. O'Day ultimately decided to remain on the program. She also accepted an apology from Hall, although later in the same episode and throughout the remainder of the series, expressed her dislike of Hall behind his back in multiple confessionals, labeling him and Aiken as "bullies". He is good friends with Clay Aiken.[18][19][20][21]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ "Arsenio Hall: Information from". Answers.com. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  2. ^ Svetkey, Benjamin (December 28, 1990). "Arsenio Hall: One of 1990's great entertainers". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
  3. ^ "Arsenio Hall Biography". filmreference.com. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
  4. ^ "Arsenio Hall". NotedGuys.com. Retrieved 2010-01-26.[failed verification]
  5. ^ a b Diana E. Lundin (April 3, 1991). "Crank It Up!". Los Angeles Daily News. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  6. ^ "Celebrity Quotes". Entertainment Weekly. 24 February 1995. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  7. ^ "Magic Johnson, Arsenio Team Up For Aids Video". Orlando Sentinel. April 19, 1992. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  8. ^ "Tim Conway and Friends". KLSX 97.1. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  9. ^ Arsenio Hall Is Back with Two New Shows. November 9, 2008. Retrieved on November 12, 2008.
  10. ^ "Episode 247 of Real Time with Bill Maher".
  11. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  12. ^ "tbs.com – TV Shows – Television Shows – very funny". Lopeztonight.com. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  13. ^ Joshua Alston (October 28, 2009). "Wanda Sykes and Late Night TV's New Color Barrier – The Daily Beast". Newsweek. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  14. ^ "Topic Galleries – South Florida". Sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  15. ^ TBS (November 9, 2009). "'Lopez Tonight' aims for 'Arsenio' vibe". NOLA.com. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  16. ^ "Turner Newsroom: Press Kits:". News.turner.com. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  17. ^ "'Celebrity Apprentice' cast includes Arsenio Hall, Clay Aiken". OTRC.
  18. ^ http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2012/04/celebrity_apprentice_recap_3.html
  19. ^ http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/aubrey-oday-arsenio-hall-called-me-a-whore-201244
  20. ^ http://www.eonline.com/news/watch_with_kristin/shes_baaack_celebrity_apprentices_evil/306074
  21. ^ http://www.hollywoodlife.com/2012/04/02/aubrey-oday-quitting-celebrity-apprentice-rumors/?v02

Further reading

  • Arsenio Hall by Norman King. William Morrow & Co., 1993. ISBN 0-517-14598-7
Preceded by MTV Video Music Awards host
1988–1991 		Succeeded by

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