Whatever Happened to Arsenio Hall?

Anybody remember Arsenio Hall? Magician, stand-up comic, musician, Eddie Murphy's co-star in the 80s, popular host of a talk show in the 90s, Arsenio Hall pretty much disappeared after his show was canceled. Whatever happened to Arsenio Hall?

Arsenio Hall, born in 1955 to a Baptist minister father and a big fan of Johnny Carson in his teens, burst on the scene in the 1980s when he co-starred in the Eddie Murphy hit, Coming to America.

In the1990's his late night talk show, The Arsenio Hall Show, became extremely popular. The young audience even spawned a cultural pop trend by barking and pumping their fists in the air in lieu of applause, which was parodied in many movies. At the height of Arsenio's popularity, then Presidential candidate Bill Clinton popped in and played his saxophone on the show.

From this high, Arsenio quickly crashed and burned when he devoted his entire hour long show to Louis Farrakhan. Suddenly he went from challenging Jay Leno to appearing on his show regularly. Bumping around from this to that, he was briefly considered to host "Let's Make a Deal," but lost out to Howie Mandel. So what ever happened to Arsenio Hall?

Arsenio Hall has finally been discovered. He's not starring in a movie, or hosting a talk show. He's not even on television. But he is on the Internet. Here is what happened to Arsenio Hall.

As of July 2010, Arsenio Hall is now the Spokesperson for MyMoneyPartner, "where payday is just a day away." This website "matches potential consumers to lenders in the short term lending space." The website prominently displays Arsenio Hall's familiar face with its piercing, but sardonic look, and the quote, "I trust the MyMoneyPartner.com Cash Advance Program to deliver you the cash you need when you need it. In my opinion, no other website can get you so much cash, so fast! Use MyMoneyPartner .com to get you the cash you need, now!" -Arsenio Hall, Talk Show Host. Many other phrases on the site mention "the payday loan program endorsed by Arsenio Hall."

As one who was fond of Arsenio and his respectful way of interviewing his guests, I am kind of sorry to see him reduced to this role. A man's gotta earn a living, I know, but Arsenio Hall is far too likable and talented a man to be blacklisted forever. Hopefully some new blood at the networks will "re-discover" Arsenio Hall and we'll find out what things are making Arsenio Hall go "hmmmmm" these days!

Sources:

My Money Partner, Arsenio Hall, Spokesman, Cash Advance Payday Loans

Arsenio Hall, Wikipedia Profile

NNDB Profile, Arsenio Hall, Tracking the Entire World