Arsenio Hall biography, married, wife, cheryl bonacci, net worth

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Arsenio Hall was born February 12, 1956 in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Warrensville Heights High School in Warrensville Heights, Ohio and also attended John F. Kennedy High School for a short time. He graduated from Kent State University. He later moved to Chicago, Illinois and then Los Angeles, California persuing a comedy career.

He had a few appearances on Soul Train and was briefly a sidekick to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Thicke">Alan Thicke</a> 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Murphy">Eddie Murphy</a> in Coming to America.

Off to the Races

His big break occurred, however, when <a href="/biography/joan-rivers">Joan Rivers</a> 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Shafer">Ross Shafer</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanne_Somers">Suzanne Somers</a>, <a href="/biography/richard-belzer">Richard Belzer</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Townsend_(actor)">Robert Townsend</a>. 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 <a href="/biography/paula-abdul">Paula Abdul</a>, En Vogue, <a href="/biography/bill-clinton">Bill Clinton</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Ross">Diana Ross</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Farrakhan">Louis Farrakhan</a>. 
 
The Arsenio Hall Show competed with <a href="/biography/jay-leno">Jay Leno</a>'s The Tonight Show in a friendly rivalry which helped boost both shows' ratings, but also fueled a competition with <a href="/biography/david-letterman">David Letterman</a>. 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 <a href="/biography/dave-chappelle">Dave Chappelle</a>'s Chappelle's Show in 2004 and continually appeared on The Jay Leno Show with his former rival. <a href="/biography/george-lopez">George Lopez</a> 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.

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Hall attributes his fierce dedication to fatherhood on the more distant relationship he experienced with his father.

"My father was a no-nonsense, dedicated, and focused minister", Hall mentions in his biography, "and there was usually a sermon he needed to prepare for or a Scripture he needed to study, and that always came first."

"I knew going in that being a single parent would be one of the toughest jobs I'd ever have", he states. "I'd been a talk-show host, actor, comic, and on and on, but this gig was going to be my defining moment."

Hall returned to his career only for brief stand-in positions and voiceovers (predominitely in cartoons and family movies that his son would enjoy), until 2012 when Arsenio Hall Jr. encouraged his father to participate in The Celebrity Apprentice.

"I know I did the right thing by taking time off to raise my son", he tells Newsweek, "But it also came at a price. I turned down many opportunities over the years because I didn't want to leave him for long periods of time. And in Hollywood, as in any business, the calls stop coming when you don't answer."

Son Knows Best

After being convinced to participate by his son, Hall won the fifth season of The Celebrity Apprentice in 2012, representing the Magic Johnson Foundation. The Foundation seeks to raise HIV/AIDs awareness, treatment, and prevention while simultaneously engaging minorities in their communities and promoting both academic and innovative achivements. He won a grand prize of $250,000 for his cause.

Other Accolades

Hall also recieved the 1988 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his work in Coming to America and in 1989 won the American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for the same film. 
Controversy didn't elude him, however. In 2016 Hall filed a defamation lawsuit against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinéad_O'Connor">actress</a> and musician <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinéad_O'Connor">Sinead O'Connor</a> for the total of $5 million dollars. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinéad_O'Connor">Sinead</a> had claimed that Hall fueled <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)">Prince</a>'s drug habit, resulting in his untimely death, but later retracted her allegation and apologized. Hall then dropped the lawsuit.

Biographical Recognition

He has been featured biographically on E! True Hollywood Story, Pioneers of Television, and American Masters and is widely regarded as one of the "greats" in Late Night Television and the first <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans">African-American</a> late-night success. His net worth is estimated to be approximately $5 million.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenio_Hall 
https://www.newsweek.com/arsenio-hall-choosing-fatherhood-over-fame-65141https://www.biography.com/people/arsenio-hall-9542195

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