Arsenio Hall is releasing a self-titled memoir about his time in Hollywood and his ultimate decision to walk away. In it, he wrote about some of the most memorable experiences from his time hosting his iconic talk show, The Arsenio Hall Show, which ran from 1989 until 1994 (with a short revival from 2013 until 2014).
One of the more shocking details, according to USA Today, is about action star, Steven Seagal. Hall revealed that Seagal took a helicopter to see him, even though “everyone else took limos or nice cars.” Hall also states that before their televised interview, he greeted Seagal with a hug and felt a gun underneath his clothes.
"I dapped him up, and I thought, 'This motherfucker is packing,’” he said. “I never got it. What's up with bringing your gun on the air?"
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Julianna Margulies also revealed a “horrific” meeting with Seagal and his gun. When speaking about visiting him in his hotel room, she said, “I walked in and I sat down and I jumped right back up because there was something very uncomfortable and hard in the couch. He laughed and said, ‘Oh, sorry, that must have been my gun.’ He lifted up the cushion and he took out his gun. And I had never seen a gun in my life, not up close. And I said, ‘Oh, my god.’ I started getting very sweaty and he said, ‘Oh, it’s just for all the crazies that are out there. I have to protect myself.’”
Too uncomfortable to stay, Margulies decided to leave with cab money she borrowed from him. “I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I thought if I just survived Steven Seagal and a gun in a hotel room by myself, I can handle a subway back to Brooklyn.”
In Arsenio: A Memoir, Hall also discusses more lighthearted experiences with other household names, like Eddie Murphy. Hall admitted that when they were filming Coming to America, Murphy got into a huge fight with the director, John Landis, which reportedly caused tension on set. That night, Hall gave Murphy marijuana and smoked with him for the first time.
"I taught him how to inhale; that was the first time he ever smoked," Hall said. "We never discussed what happened with him and John Landis. I think two days later, they talked and worked it out. And we finished Coming to America. But that was a crazy day."
Hall’s memoir is coming out on March 31.
