Arsenio Hall laughs about what a changed man he's become since making son Arsenio, 9, his priority in life. "Twenty years ago, you would never have heard the name 'Scooby Doo' coming from my lips," acknowledges the comic, actor and former talk show host.

"But my son loves 'Scooby Doo,' so when I heard the other day that there was a new 'Scooby Doo' movie in the works at Warner Bros., I called over there and said, 'Hey, is there anything for me in the new "Scooby"?' Twenty years ago, I would have been trying to be the black guy in the next Tom Cruise movie."

Notes Hall, who lent his voice to the recently released animated "Igor" feature, "I'm interested when projects come down the pike that are family-oriented — things my son can appreciate and enjoy."

And he's interested in enriching projects like TV One's "The Blacklist: 100 Greatest Power Moves" series that debuts Nov. 9. He hosts the five-part documentary that focuses on key moments in African-American history. "I was able to find Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech to show my son on YouTube, but there are so many things in this documentary that I haven't seen in a long time. It's so important. How many young people know that Shirley Chisholm ran for president?"

Hall has a full plate of current activities — including his "World's Funniest Moments" MyNetwork TV show and his Wednesday night co-hosting gig on the Tim Conway Jr. KLSX L.A. radio show. Still, he finds his old talk show is still frequently referenced, some 14 years after it departed the airwaves. That's especially true during election season.

"Me and my staff changed the landscape of how to run for president," notes Hall, whose 1992 visit by a saxophone-playing Bill Clinton turned out to be a watershed TV — and campaign — moment. "Now you see Obama in all kinds of places. If 'Soul Train' was still on, he'd be on that, except he doesn't dance so good. I hear that McCain knows how to do the Cabbage Patch really good."

ON THE PERSONAL SIDE: Jeff Foxworthy is proud of his closeness with his daughters but admits there have been times when their pride in him has been qualified — at best.

He relates, "I was hosting 'The Country Music Awards' a few years back, and for the opening of the show they had me dancing with Lisa Rinna, with me all done up in this outlandish outfit with a shirt slit to the waist. I am a terrible dancer, and I looked awful ... When I got to my car, I checked my cell phone, and there was this message from the girls informing me, 'Dad, we have to go to school tomorrow, so quit doing things like that. We were mortified!'"

He adds he's sure there were other phone calls, "From people phoning the show to pledge money for whatever must have been wrong with me."

FAMILY FARE: George Lopez and wife Ann have their producers' hats on for Lopez' next television vehicle — his forthcoming Nickelodeon movie, "Operation Troop Master." He tells us that the telepic has him as a harried attorney whose relationship with his 12-year-old daughter is suffering from lack of togetherness time. "She gets into an accident. He goes to the hospital to pick her up, and she runs into the arms of her nanny," George tells us. "That's when he realizes, he's got big trouble. And he takes some time away from work." Eventually, his character goes so far as to become his tween daughter's "Team Mom" at a camp retreat. The girls on the team "try to break him down, but he hangs in there, and in the end they find themselves," he says. Jane Lynch is also in the movie, reports George, who juggled filming in Canada in between his comedy concert dates.

WORTH SHARING: "Californication" star Evan Handler, who rose to fame as Charlotte's hubby on "Sex and the City," recently wrote a second book about his experience of surviving leukemia because he feels it's important to use his celebrity for good. "I'm not good at inspiring people one on one, but I feel now that I've gained some visibility it's good to let people know where I've been," he says of writing "It's Only Temporary: The Good News and Bad News of Being Alive." "It's valuable because they can see an example of someone having success in an arena where there is a lot of discouragement."

CAMPAIGN GAIN: Sure, we're in the final stretch of the presidential campaign season, but there's still time to capitalize on it, apparently. Casting sources tell us that the Internet entertainment site break.com has been interviewing McCain and Obama lookalikes for spoof webisodes that will be coming out very soon. One of those actors might just have a regular gig.

With reports by Emily Feimster.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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