Early life and education
Hall was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of a Baptist preacher. His parents separated when he was around six years old. He became fascinated with magic at a young age and performed at birthday parties, weddings, and bar mitzvahs as a boy. He attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he studied communications, before transferring to and graduating from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.1
Career
Hall worked his way up through the Chicago stand-up comedy scene, where he was discovered and went on to open for performers including Aretha Franklin. In 1984 he served as announcer and sidekick for Alan Thicke on the short-lived talk show Thicke of the Night.1
His breakthrough came in 1987, when he took over hosting duties on Fox's The Late Show, the program originally launched as The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers to challenge Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. After Rivers departed and a rotation of guest hosts cycled through, Hall's 13-week stint proved enormously popular and led directly to a syndication deal of his own.2
In 1988 Hall co-starred with Eddie Murphy in the comedy Coming to America, playing Semmi, the loyal companion to Murphy's Prince Akeem, along with several additional disguised roles in the film. The performance earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. He reunited with Murphy the following year in Harlem Nights (1989).3
From January 1989 until May 1994, Hall hosted the syndicated The Arsenio Hall Show. The program became a cultural touchstone of its era, famous for its audience replacing applause with a chanted "Woof, woof, woof!" and a pumping-fist gesture borrowed from Cleveland Browns fans. The show was a hub for music and a rising generation of guests, and Hall carried on a well-publicized ratings rivalry with Jay Leno after Leno took over The Tonight Show, a feud the two later put behind them. During this period Hall used his platform to combat stigma against HIV and AIDS after his close friend Magic Johnson disclosed his diagnosis.1
After the show ended in 1994, Hall stepped back from the spotlight, in large part to raise his son. He starred in the short-lived sitcom Arsenio (1997), co-starred with Sammo Hung in the action series Martial Law (1998 to 2000), and hosted the revival of Star Search (2003 to 2004), where he popularized the line "Hit me with the digits!" In 2012 he won the fifth season of NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice, taking the top prize for the Magic Johnson Foundation.3
Hall revived The Arsenio Hall Show for a single season, airing from September 2013 to May 2014, before its cancellation. In 2021 he returned to the screen alongside Eddie Murphy in Coming 2 America, reprising Semmi and his other characters from the original film. Hall has continued to perform stand-up and make appearances, and in 2025 he announced a forthcoming memoir, Arsenio: A Memoir, scheduled for release in April 2026.4
Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters
Hall voiced Winston Zeddemore for the first three seasons of The Real Ghostbusters. He also provided the voice of the Icon Ghost, the animated mascot character featured in the bumper segments shown going into and out of commercial breaks. After the third season the role of Winston passed to Buster Jones.
According to the show's production history, Ernie Hudson, who played Winston in the live-action films Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, also auditioned for the animated role. Casting director Marsha Goodman was directed by the producers to cast Hall, who they felt brought more humor and energy to the part. Writer Richard Mueller is said to have reworked his script for the episode "The Spirit of Aunt Lois" with Hall during a voice recording session after the material drew criticism for lacking humor. Hall has recalled buying his first Jaguar with his earnings from the series.
Hall's likeness has surfaced in the IDW Ghostbusters comics as well: he is referenced in a list of names in Ghostbusters: Get Real Issue #3,5 and a background character in the Ghostbusters Annual 2017 is modeled on the 1980s and 1990s era Arsenio Hall.6
Personal life
Hall has one son, Arsenio Hall Jr., born in the late 1990s, whom he has cited as the reason he stepped away from regular television work for a stretch after his original talk show ended. Outside of acting, Hall has long supported HIV and AIDS awareness efforts and the Magic Johnson Foundation.
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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"Arsenio Hall," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenio_Hall.
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"Arsenio Hall," Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arsenio-Hall.
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"Arsenio Hall," Biography.com, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.biography.com/actors/arsenio-hall. Notes the 1988 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for Coming to America and his 2012 win on The Celebrity Apprentice.
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Simon & Schuster, "Arsenio" by Arsenio Hall (Atria / Black Privilege Publishing, ISBN 9781982191368), accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Arsenio/Arsenio-Hall/9781982191368. Memoir announced in 2025 for an April 7, 2026 release.
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Ghostbusters: Get Real Issue #3 (IDW Publishing, 2015), p. 12, panel 4. Hall's name appears in a list of names to the right of Peter Venkman.
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Ghostbusters Annual 2017 (IDW Publishing, 2017), p. 9, panel 3. Mallory's partner at left is modeled on 1980s and 1990s era Arsenio Hall.
