Arsenio Hall became a household name with the success of his Emmy Award-winning late-night talk show “The Arsenio Hall Show”. The versatile actor, comedian and producer first became involved in the arts at “The Cleveland Playhouse” and continued to hone his craft through his Kent State University years.   

  In 1979, Hall moved from Ohio to Chicago, Illinois where he tried his hand at stand-up comedy and was discovered by Jazz singer Nancy Wilson. In the following few years Arsenio toured, opening for twenty major headliners including Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner and Stevie Wonder. Hall attempted to diversify his career by making numerous appearances on television shows such as “Solid Gold” and “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and doing his first film cameo in “Amazon Women on the Moon,”. In 1987, Hall was asked to replace Joan Rivers on the Fox Network series “The Late Show.” On the strength of his work as interim host, he was signed to a film and television deal with Paramount Pictures, which subsequently led to the opportunity to co-write and co-star in the hit comedy “Coming to America.”    

On January 3, 1989, “The Arsenio Hall Show” made its debut. Virtually overnight, Arsenio changed the face of late-night television by captivating young viewers across the country. During his successful five-year run as Executive Producer, Arsenio provided a forum for cutting edge comedy, politics and the television debut of pop superstars.            

Arsenio was featured as the comical “Carl Cristall” in Exodus Films’ animated feature “Igor,” and was featured in the HBO Sports Documentary “Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals." In 2013, Hall returned to late-night television as executive producer and host of the CBS Television Distribution/Tribune Broadcasting nationally syndicated "The Arsenio Hall Show," which aired on stations around the country during the 2013 - 2014 season. He also appeared in a cameo role in Adam Sandler’s ‘90s set Netflix comedy film “Sandy Wexler.” In 2017, Arsenio was featured Monday mornings as co-host of the popular nationally syndicated radio program “The Tom Joyner Morning Show” and also appeared on the ABC comedy "The Mayor." He recently enjoyed a triumphant return to his first love of stand-up comedy performing at venues across the country and released his current Netflix stand-up special “Smart & Classy” which can be streamed in various countries across the world.

Most recently, Arsenio brought back his talk show for a 4-night run during the Netflix is a Joke festival in Los Angeles.  He can be seen reprising his role as Semmi and other surprise characters in Amazon Prime’s Coming 2 America now streaming.