In spite of their public feuding in the 1990s, Hall considers Leno a “big brother” after he took him under his wing when he came to Hollywood.

Arsenio Hall recalls saving an elderly couple from a house fire with Jay Leno

In spite of their public feuding in the 1990s, Hall considers Leno a "big brother" after he took him under his wing when he came to Hollywood.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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April 7, 2026 7:35 p.m. ET

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Arsenio Hall; Jay Leno. Credit:

Jerod Harris/Getty; David Becker/Getty

- Arsenio Hall recalled one incident where he and Jay Leno rescued an elderly couple from a house fire.

- In spite of their public feuding in the 1990s, Hall considers Leno a "big brother" after he took him under his wing when he came to Hollywood.

- *Arsenio: A Memoir* is available for purchase wherever books are sold.

Not all heroes wear capes. Just ask Arsenio Hall.

During an April 6 appearance on NPR's *Fresh Air*, the *Coming to America *actor reflected on an incident when he and fellow talk show host Jay Leno rescued an elderly couple from a house fire. The anecdote, among many others, appears in his book *Arsenio: A Memoir*. Hall teed up the story, calling it one of the "most interesting" in his book.

“There was a night when I'm at Jay Leno's house after we come from working at the Comedy Store," Hall began, referring to the Los Angeles club. "And we're standing in his yard and he's showing me stuff about his yard. He had a new house and a pool."

Hall continues, "And we see down the street there's smoke coming from a house. And Jay says, 'I think that's a fire.' And he says to his wife, Mavis, 'Call the fire department.' We went down the street. It was a fire. An older couple was in the house asleep. We kicked in the door and pulled this couple out."**

Arsenio Hall on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' on Feb. 9, 1999.

Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

NPR host Tanya Mosley added that Hall mentioned in his book that he decided Leno should do the honors of waking the sleeping couple. "But then, in that split second, you looked at Jay and said, 'But you should wake them up,'" Mosley said as Hall laughed, "Because I don't want them to see a Black man in the middle of their room waking them up."

"I understand America. I understand society. If you're a white couple - I don't know who lives in this house," Hall said, "And if you're a white couple and you look up and it's me, you might have a different reaction to Jay saying, [imitating Leno] 'Hey, it's Jay Leno, wake up.' You know? I think that was necessary."

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Hall and Leno's friendship spans back decades, with Hall calling Leno "a big brother figure" to him when he came to Hollywood, per NPR. They also had publicly feuded in the past.

Hall told * *in 1992 that he would “kick [Jay] Leno’s ass." He later clarified the remark, saying that his comment was "taken out of context and isolated from the rest of my conversation," and "took on a very different meaning than what I had intended."

Their sparring in the press didn't affect their relationship. The former late-night hosts have since toured together for their act, *Kings of Late Night*.

‘Coming to America’ almost didn’t happen, reveals Arsenio Hall: 'Paramount said no'

Arsenio Hall is 'relieved' to still be Conan O'Brien's friend after hanging out with Jay Leno

Elsewhere in his interview, the actor also spoke about the writing process and unearthing memories from deep in his mind.

"I had to go through pictures and find pictures for the book," he shared. "I had to talk to my mom more than I want to because, you know, my mom's in her 90s. But she has an incredible memory. And I was able to go through a lot of things with my mom to explain in the book who I am, you know?"

*Arsenio: A Memoir *is available for purchase wherever books are sold.

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