Book Arsenio Hall

He attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, majoring in communications, though he transferred, and graduated from, Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. Though he started out in advertising, in 1979 he moved to Chicago, switched to stand-up comedy, and was ‘discovered’ at a comedy club by singer Nancy Wilson. He got jobs opening for musicians such as Aretha Franklin, Tom Jones, Patti Labelle, Wayne Newton, and Tina Turner.

Throughout the 80s Hall appeared on various comedy and musical shows, including Solid Gold, Motown Revue, and The New Love American Style, and hosted a short-lived show called The Half-Hour Comedy Hour. He made his feature film debut in Amazon Women on the Moon in 1987. Hall also appeared in two films with friend Eddie Murphy: the box-office hit Coming to America, (1988) and Harlem Nights (1989).

Back in 1987, however, Hall had tapped into what would be his most successful professional endeavor. He took over hosting duties from Joan Rivers on The Late Show. His easy-going, playful, and somewhat risque banter, was a hit with audiences. Based on that success, he was approached to host his own syndicated late-night talk show. Two years later, The Arsenio Hall Show was born. Hall’s deal included hosting and executive producing duties on the show, produced by Paramount and his own production company, Arsenio Hall Productions. .

Hall received two NAACP Image awards in 1991, a Key of Life Award for his work as ‘a crusader in the fight of human rights,’ and another for his show. In 1993 he executive-produced the feature film Bopha!, a story about a family during apartheid, starring Danny Glover, Alfre Woodward, Malcolm McDowell, and directed by Morgan Freeman.