He had a few appearances on Soul Train and was briefly a sidekick to Alan Thicke on the show Thicke of the Night in 1984. He voiced Winston Zeddemore in The Real Ghostbusters cartoon between 1986 and 1987, and the next year co-starred with Eddie Murphy in Coming to America.

Off to the Races

His big break occurred, however, when Joan Rivers left The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers in 1987, only a year after the show's creation in 1986. The show was then renamed The Late Show and became home to a series of hosts including Ross Shafer, Suzanne Somers, Richard Belzer, and Robert Townsend. Hall hosted the show in the fall of 1987 which earned him a cult following and eventually led to his own sindicated show.

The Famous Arsenio Hall Show

The Arsenio Hall Show began on January 2, 1989 and continued until May 27, 1994. The show was widely successful with the younger demographic and was made famous by the fist-pumping motion and chant which appeared in many pop-culture references during that time, including in the movies Pretty Woman and The Hard Way. Guests on the show included Paula Abdul, En Vogue, Bill Clinton, Diana Ross, and Louis Farrakhan.

The Arsenio Hall Show competed with Jay Leno's The Tonight Show in a friendly rivalry which helped boost both shows' ratings, but also fueled a competition with David Letterman. Hall used this notoriety to fight worldwide prejudice against HIV/AIDS, and produced a PSA that aired in the early 1990s. Ultimately, however, the predominent young viewers began to shift away from Hall's audience and in 1994 Hall decided to end the show. The final episode aired May 27, 1994.

Other Notable Appearances

In addition to The Arsenio Hall Show, Hall also hosted the MTV Music Awards for several years between 1988 and 1991. He also appeared in a short self-titled sitcom Arsenio in 1997 and Star Search. He was featured on Dave Chappelle's Chappelle's Show in 2004 and continually appeared on The Jay Leno Show with his former rival. George Lopez appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show more than any other comedian and returned the favor by selecting Hall to be a co-host on Lopez Tonight. He has also filled in for Access Hollywood Live and Piers Morgan Tonight in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Family Life

Hall dated Cheryl Bonacci for 15 years, from 1987 to 2002, although they never married. Cheryl gave birth to Hall's only son, Arsenio Cheron Hall Jr. in September 1999. Hall's doctor had previously stated that Hall may never physically be able to become a father, and Hall was overjoyed to be given a surprise son. Hall subsequently stepped away from the spotlight in order to focus on fatherhood, willingly becoming a single father.