Whatever Happened To Your Favorite Talk Show Hosts From The '90s?

By Michael Avery in Entertainment On 11th September 2017

The 90s was an amazing time for daytime talk television — especially if you were one of the savvy media icons who carved out a niche in the genre and put your name on it. But unless that name was "Oprah," the most famous hosts ever to present human-interest stories to a live studio audience are awfully hard to find 20 years later. Whatever happened to folks like Arsenio, Sally Jessy Raphael, and Jerry (JERRY! JERRY!) Springer? Here's where they've been hiding.

Sally Jessy Raphael

Second, only to Oprah in terms of longevity, Sally Jessy Raphael and her signature oversized red spectacles were a staple of daytime talk TV from 1983 until 2002. Although the show started out on a solidly journalistic ground, befitting its host's roots as a reporter — covering human interest stories and bringing then-controversial and underexplored topics like abortion, domestic violence, and homosexuality to a mainstream audience — the producers eventually pushed Raphael to pivot into more sensationalistic territory a la competitor Jerry Springer. Although nobody ever threw a chair on the Sally Jessy Raphael show, the change in timbre spelled out the beginning of the end, not least because Raphael absolutely loathed it. "The last years of doing those Maury Povich/Jerry Springer shows? I hated them," she told People magazine. "I was betrayed by some of the producers into doing that. Come to think of it, I should have fought harder for what I knew was right — what I knew that I didn't want to do."

After the cancellation of her namesake show in 2002, Raphael hosted a radio talk show that aired in select markets (including on Sirius XM) from 2003 – 2008. But since then, she's struggled to find meaningful work. In 2015, she sarcastically explained to a reporter from Vulture that she'd been hired to contribute one-off opinions to a show called Crazy Talk for a shamefully low rate. "I just did wild lines," she said. "They paid me for a day's work, $1,000. I wound up with $582 after the taxes. So since 2003, I've earned $582. I'm thrilled." Meanwhile, though Raphael was clearly irked at having her career cut short, she admitted in the same interview that spending time with her family had become more important to her in recent years and that she was still finding ways to feel productive and useful. "So I'm kind of glad that I have all of this available time, and I live on a semi-farm," she said. "Raising tomatoes is pretty rewarding. It really is."

Ricki Lake

Even before she became a staple of 90s daytime TV, Ricki Lake had quite the silver screen pedigree as a working actress, most notably as the star of John Waters' cult classic film, Hairspray. But since she stopped hosting Ricki Lake in 2004, she's become a true jack of all trades: an actress, dancer, documentarian, author, and — most recently and most often — a passionate advocate for women's reproductive health. And yes, she's on Twitter. Unlike many of her fellow former talk show hosts, Ricki Lake continued working in Hollywood with roles in films like Mrs. Winterbourne and on television series like The King of Queens. More recently, she was seen in a cameo appearance in the 2016 live TV revival of Hairspray, returning to her roots (although thankfully, not to the peroxide dye job which she says permanently destroyed her hair), and as a 'dream ghost' on the award-winning Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. And like just about anyone with a recognizable name and a reasonable amount of rhythm, she had a turn on Dancing with the Stars in its 13th season.

But for Lake, the main event in her post-talk-show career has been bringing awareness to women's health issues, specifically childbirth. After giving birth on camera for the acclaimed documentary, The Business of Being Born, Lake was inspired to continue in that vein with more film work — including Sweetening the Pill, a documentary with director Abby Epstein about the dangers of hormonal birth control — and a book, Your Best Birth, published in 2010. Speaking with the LA Times, Lake described her work as an advocate as the accomplishment she was most proud of, saying, "I don't pretend to be an expert in all things pertaining to women's health, but I've made it my duty to empower women with both the answers and questions they need. I am very proud of that." Meanwhile, although Ricki Lake isn't often seen on TV, she's still residually famous enough to be chased by the paparazzi whenever she wears a bathing suit in public.

Geraldo Rivera

After eleven years as a talk show host, Geraldo Rivera (better known by his first name than his last) went on to become a respected TV journalist — first as the host of the news show Rivera Live, and later as a war correspondent for the Fox News network. Sadly, his reporting has earned less attention than a pair of high-profile and embarrassing gaffes, starting in 2012 when he publicly blamed a hoodie for the tragic death of teen Trayvon Martin. "I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly not to let their children go out wearing hoodies. I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin's death as much as George Zimmerman was," Rivera said. He later apologized for those remarks.

And in 2013, Rivera broke the internet when he tweeted a near-naked selfie of his 70-year-old body, covered by naught but a scandalously low-slung towel. When asked to explain his decision, he blamed everyone's favorite liquid scapegoat. "I never do tequila when I'm alone, but I had this new bottle that someone had given me for my birthday," he said. "By the second one, my fate was sealed." Of course, it hasn't been all bad for Geraldo. Despite the occasional bout of poor Twitter judgment, as of 2016, he was continuing to receive opportunities to be onscreen. In addition to a 2015 appearance on Celebrity Apprentice, Rivera also scored a coveted place in the 2016 season of Dancing with the Stars (although he and his partner were sadly the first eliminated).

Montel Williams

Though he doesn't host a talk show anymore, Montel Williams is still very much in the public eye. The former namesake of The Montel Williams Show is now a sought-after commentator on cable news, most recently appearing on TV to discuss the legacy of President Obama. Advocacy has also become a big focus for Williams, as he regularly makes appearances or contributes his name in support of various causes. At a brunch held during the Republican National Convention in 2016, attended by GOP members who support LGBT equality, he reportedly railed against discriminatory measures like the so-called "bathroom bills" that dictate which restrooms transgender individuals are permitted to use, saying, "Too often we hear religious liberty used as a justification for legislative ideas that marginalize the LGBT community."

"We are all equal in the eyes of the Lord. He doesn't see man or woman. That means he doesn't see trans," Williams said. "So how dare anybody who thinks or claims or stands up to say 'I believe in Jesus Christ' — you're lying if you say trans people do not deserve the same rights as you." Williams is also a strong proponent of the legalization of medical marijuana, which he's used himself since 1999 to control his pain from multiple sclerosis. In 2016, he announced he was launching his own line of cannabis specifically for those who use it for pain management, called LenitivLabs.

Maury Povich

After making his name in televised paternity reveals ("You are the father!"), Maury Povich's next big move was a family affair in its own right. Povich joined his wife Connie Chung for a media couple's power hour, Weekends with Maury and Connie, a light-hearted redux of the week's news. Sadly, the show lasted for only a few months before being canceled in 2006. Ratings suggest that the co-hosts were the only ones enjoying the show, although they clearly enjoyed it quite a bit. Ten years later, Povich resurfaced as an occasional commentator during the 2016 presidential election, where he criticized the mainstream media for being too willing to conduct phone interviews with then-nominee Donald Trump.

He also made an appearance on The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne Tha God (among other personalities), where he was schooled in the origins of the term "Becky" during a discussion of Beyonce's recently-released album Lemonade, and gamely (if obliquely) answered questions about the current working condition of his penis. (Because we know you're wondering: Povich indirectly but strongly suggested that he's still highly capable of doing the deed, and also that he is doing it, basically all the time.) However, if you want to see Maury Povich in action, you'll probably have a better shot of seeing him behind a bar than on TV. Along with fellow media bro Tony Kornheiser, Povich rang in the new year by becoming the proud co-owner of a bar in Washington, D.C., which has been a long-time haunt of media folks in the nation's capital city.

Jenny Jones

As a stage comedian before she was a talk show host, Jenny Jones brought a sixth sense for showmanship to her daytime TV gig, becoming the first talk show to feature popular musical acts as part of the programming — Usher, Ludacris, and Nelly all performed on the show during its 12-year run. But after her long career in showbiz, Jones' talk show was her last act in Hollywood. Once Jenny Jones was off the air, Jones devoted herself to philanthropic efforts, including four years of administering grants through a program known as "Jenny's Heroes." The project supplied funds to individuals who were looking to better their communities; according to the Jenny's Heroes site, Jones' original plan was to donate a million dollars over the course of one year, but the 2008 recession inspired her to extend the program through 2012. More recently, Jones contributed $200,000 to a playground project in her hometown of London in Ontario, Canada.

As of this writing, Jones is completely and contentedly absent from the spotlight and channels the majority of her creative energy into Jenny Can Cook, a passion project where she shares recipes with a small but enthusiastic community of fellow home chefs online. Considering how famous she once was, the Jenny Can Cook site is adorable, down to earth and intimate — although unsurprisingly given her prior experience, her video recipe tutorials have much higher production values and get a heck of a lot more views than those of the average YouTube chef.

Arsenio Hall

Back in his glory days, Arsenio Hall could get a room full of people to pump their fists and whoop in unison just by looking at them sideways — but like so many of his peers, it turned out the magic of the 90s couldn't be duplicated after Y2K. Hall has definitely had his ups and downs since the cancellation of his talk show in 1994: a sitcom that flopped, a failed stint on Star Search, and even a misguided attempt to resurrect himself as a talk show host in the twenty-first century (only to find the market wasn't there anymore for his particular brand of daytime TV). Though it hasn't been all bad — Hall was the winning entrant on the fifth season of Celebrity ApprenticeCelebrity Apprentice, where he competed on behalf of the Magic Johnson Foundation.

More recently, Hall was brought on as host for an ABC show called Greatest Hits, which featured blast-from-the-past musical performances and covers of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s hit songs by contemporary stars. And he's doing stand-up again, starting off 2017 with a tour that'll take him through various venues across the nation. Unfortunately, Hall's second wind as a celeb hasn't been entirely free of drama; his most newsworthy act in 2016 was to file a libel suit against Sinead O'Connor, who had publicly accused him of dealing drugs to the recently-deceased pop star Prince as well as of behaving inappropriately to her at a Grammys party in the early 90s.

Jerry Springer

For a brief moment in the mid-90s, Jerry Springer was bigger than Oprah — and much like Oprah, he's stuck to his brand even after the heyday of talk TV has passed. Springer has parlayed his reputation for bringing the drama into plentiful opportunities; among other things, from 2010 to 2015, he hosted a GSN show called Baggage — in which contestants arrived with suitcases containing information about their personality quirks and past histories that might or might not render them undateable. In recent years, Springer has continued to take one-off jobs subbing in for other hosts, including The One Show or The Adam Carolla Show. He also does a mean cover of Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" — something that has become an annual event, according to TMZ. And while most folks don't know that Springer started out as a politician (he was the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, before he became a TV star), not everyone has forgotten about his credentials; a cogent interview with Paper magazine in the wake of the 2016 election results served as a surprise reminder that the host of America's dumbest and most sensational daytime TV talk show is actually an extremely thoughtful and politically intellectual dude.

"There are battles along the way you can lose, and you can lose an election like an individual battle in a war, but in the end, every 10 years or so, the world is more liberal than it was 10 years before," Springer mused. "America — I'm paraphrasing Winston Churchill — winds up doing the right thing after it tries everything else. We'll wind up on the right side of these grand moral issues of the day." However, perhaps most importantly, The Jerry Springer Show is still up and running — as is the show's website, where guests are solicited via a scrolling banner that reads, "Are you a side-chick and want to confront your lover's girlfriend?" "Do you have a ratchet person trying to interfere in your relationship?" "Are you stuck in a relationship with a momma's boy?" You may have to dig through the bowels of your local TV listings to catch it, but all evidence suggests that it's still a chair-hurling good time!