On Jan 3, 1989, The Arsenio Hall Show debuted on FOX affiliate television stations. It received rave reviews, and the cultural impact is still felt today, some 35+ years later.
Arsenio Hall was born February 12, 1956, in Cleveland, Ohio, to a minister father (Coming to America anyone?). Initially, he wanted to be a magician growing up. After attending Ohio State University and later Kent State, he tried his luck at becoming a stand-up comic. His stage show was unique as he merged his father’s preaching and his magician skills.
By 1983, he was a sidekick on the syndicated talk show ‘Thicke in The Night’ with Alan Thicke. He also was co-host of ‘Dick Clark’s The Half Hour Comedy Hour’ on ABC.
In 1986, the FOX network was born, and their marque show was ‘The Late Show starring Joan Rivers.’ After a few months she was out, and FOX went looking for a replacement. Now called ‘The Late Show’, several people including Suzanne Somers and Robert Townsend guest hosted until they found a fit. That fit would be Arsenio Hall. ‘The Late Show’ became Arsenio’s guinea pig audition for his own talk show, but after a 13-week successful run, FOX canceled ‘The Late Show’ in 1987. But that would not be the end of this story, as 12 months later, The Arsenio Hall Show premiered to rave reviews.
There had been many black guest hosts on late night TV over the decades. The likes of Bill Cosby and Harry Belafonte just to name a few. Arsenio was the first with his name in the spotlight.
Arsenio brought something that other late-night shows (Johnny Carson, David Letterman, and Jay Leno just to name a few) did not. He gave viewers a wider variety of entertainment including Rhythm & Blues and Rock acts, more stand up-comedians that the others wouldn’t take a look at, professional athletes like wrestlers, and of course, the fledgling Hip-Hop artform. Big names like Michael Jackson and Prince appeared on his show. In 1992, then president-elect Bill Clinton famously played his saxophone, and in 1994, Minister Louis Farrakhan may have famously ended the series when Arsenio had him on as a guest. This is something his competition was not providing.
Arsenio Hall’s impact was felt immediately. He was now an in-demand comedian and host. He hosted the MTV Video Music Awards show four straight years. He also executive produced ‘The Party Machine with Nia Peeples,’ which basically was the afterparty of the Arsenio Hall Show.
‘The Byron Allen Show’, led by comic Byron Allen made its debut in September of 1989 and just as it was ending in 1992, Whoopi Goldberg made her attempt at a late-night talk show with ‘The Whoopi Goldberg Show.’ Both were off the air and Arsenio was still going strong, or so he thought. Johnny Carson retired from his 30-year gig in 1992, leaving the door open for Arsenio, David Letterman, and Jay Leno to get the coveted Tonight Show slot on NBC. The spot went to Jay Leno. As a syndicated show, Arsenio lost a lot of his markets in his finals seasons due to David Letterman switching stations from NBC to CBS. A lot of Arsenio’s syndicated networks were CBS affiliated and now with Letterman there, CBS markets went with Letterman.
The Arsenio Hall Show was not renewed for a 6th season and ended in 1994. Soon after, Black Late Night talk shows were popping up left and right. On premium cable TV, HBO’s ‘The Chris Rock Show’ was the first. His good friend Keenen Ivory Wayans (who spoofed Arsenio many times on his sketch series ‘In Living Color’) and the Quincy Jones created Vibe hosted by Chris Spencer (and later replaced by Sinbad) were the first on network television. The Magic Hour debuted in 1998 with NBA legend Magic Johnson on Fox replacing the canceled Keenen Ivory Wayans Show. ‘BET Live’ began in 1999 with host comic Michael Colyar and was later replaced by NBA player John Salley. By 2001, all of these attempts to replace Aresenio were off the air.
After being out the limelight for years, Arsenio made a comeback to late night television in 2013, but it was short-lived. His show returned again for some very special episodes during the ‘NetFlix is a Joke Festival,’ in 2022. A year after his first stand-up special debuted on Netflix titled ‘Smart & Classy.’
Even today, Arsenio’s impact is still felt. It’s nothing to see a Hip-Hop artist, rapper, or a wrestler on late night TV. 30+ years ago, that was a rare sight. NBC’s ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Falon’ has a Hip-Hop group, The Roots, as the house band. That could not happen without the success of the Arsenio Hall Show.
Arsenio can still be seen guest hosting Late Night talk shows from time to time, but will he make another show of his own show? Time will tell.
