Various musicians and entertainers acted as weekly guest hosts during the first two seasons. Stand-up comedian
Rick Aviles was the first host of Amateur Night, serving in that role until midway through the second season. From 1989 to 1991,
Sinbad served as the permanent host. The series reverted to having guest hosts during the fifth and sixth seasons, with comics
Mark Curry and
Steve Harvey alternating as hosts of Amateur Night. In 1993, Harvey began a seven-year stint as the permanent host. At the start of the 1998–99 season, Harvey and
Kiki Shepard hosted a series of
"Best of..." episodes until late October because production was delayed due to a labor dispute. After Harvey left in 2000, he was replaced by
Rudy Rush. Rush was joined by new comedic dancer C.P. Lacey, who replaced
Howard "Sandman" Sims, who had retired. Harvey returned to host the Fox revival of
Showtime at the Apollo, beginning on March 1, 2018.
Change of production The original show was created by veteran television producer Bob Banner in conjunction with Percy Sutton and was produced and directed by BBA senior producer Don Weiner. After a dispute with the Apollo Theater Foundation in 2002, the original producers minus Bob Banner, who was no longer with the show after 1996 left to start a rival show called
Showtime in Harlem later known simply as
Showtime.
Showtime in Harlem was produced at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music. The show was later moved to California and renamed
Live in Hollywood, lasting one season in 2003 with Shepard as host. ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' was subsequently produced by
de Passe Entertainment. It was for a time, hosted once again by Sinbad, who briefly returned to the show in 2006 while
Mo'Nique was on maternity leave.
Whoopi Goldberg became the new host for the 2006–2007 season. At times, comedian and actor
Anthony Anderson hosted during the 2006–2007 season. ==BET revival==