Arsenio Hall lifts the lid on wild late-night era: TV host’s strip club trips with Prince, his showdown with OJ Simpson, and how he got Bill Clinton to play his sax on air

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He rose to fame as the host of a groundbreaking late-night show that transformed television and introduced many Americans to Black culture.

But behind the scenes, Arsenio Hall’s world was far more outrageous than his most X-rated guests.

Arsenio Hall’s new memoir, Arsenio, reveals a behind-the-scenes world of extravagant parties and unbelievable experiences. He shares stories of taking Prince to strip clubs, getting Eddie Murphy to try marijuana despite his sobriety, and a frightening encounter with O.J. Simpson.

The comedian, recently celebrating his 70th birthday, shares that the fun really started after the cameras stopped filming The Arsenio Hall Show.

One of the most surprising stories he tells is about going to underground clubs with Prince. He claims Prince would watch dancers there late at night, trying to learn their techniques.

He remembers going to places like Miss Mary’s in Los Angeles, often entering through back doors watched over by pit bulls. Inside, the singer, always dressed perfectly in white, would sit quietly and take in the scene.

Hall once engaged in wild behavior with the late comedian Richard Pryor, even sending two strippers to his place to lift his spirits – but he then neglected to pay them.

He recounts a difficult meeting with OJ Simpson, who came to the Paramount studio in Los Angeles to angrily confront Hall for not having him as a guest on his show, even though Simpson’s fellow actors from The Naked Gun had been invited.

Looking back, Hall jokes that if he’d known O.J. Simpson would be accused of murder, he would have scheduled him for his show right away.

The new book describes a wild time in television history, when the glamorous world on screen often mixed with messy personal lives behind the scenes.

The Arsenio Hall Show aired from 1989 to 1994 and was known for welcoming a wide range of celebrity guests. Hall envisioned the show as a lively, informal gathering—like a house party—broadcast on television each night.

Hall’s show became a central platform for hip-hop, launching the careers of artists like Snoop Dogg, Tupac, and Ice Cube. It also featured performances by legendary musicians such as James Brown, Whitney Houston, and Luther Vandross.

The show earned Hall two Emmy Awards and helped launch his film career, leading to a starring role with Eddie Murphy in the popular 1988 comedy, Coming to America.

Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, as the son of a single mother, he accomplished something truly remarkable. From a young age, he was captivated by Johnny Carson and started performing magic shows at just five years old in his building’s basement, launching a lifelong career in entertainment.

After transitioning to comedy and relocating to Los Angeles, Hall got the opportunity to guest host The Late Show on Fox when the original host, Joan Rivers, didn’t succeed in the role.

Paramount executives were so impressed with Hall that they gave him his own show, making him the first African American to host a late-night program in national syndication.

The Arsenio Hall Show premiered in May 1990 and quickly became popular, particularly with young people. A key part of the show’s energy came from the enthusiastic audience, nicknamed the ‘Dog Pound,’ who famously barked whenever Hall appeared on stage.

The show quickly became the most popular among viewers aged 18 to 35, and the phrase ‘woof, woof, woof’ became known and repeated across the country.

Madonna was one of the guests who significantly boosted viewership, notably with provocative jokes about S&M and a playful on-stage interaction involving Hall where she alluded to spanking.

Hall experienced some unsettling moments, including one where he went to hug Steven Seagal and unexpectedly felt a hard object – which turned out to be a gun – in his jacket.

The show featured powerful and moving scenes. Notably, Sammy Davis Jr. gave one of his final television performances, sharing with a captivated crowd the discrimination he faced even while performing alongside Frank Sinatra, before his passing in 1990.

A particularly unforgettable moment happened when boxing legends Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Muhammad Ali all shared the stage at the same time.

A particularly memorable booking was Bill Clinton, who appeared on the show while running for president. His saxophone performance with the house band became a widely discussed event of the time.

Let me tell you a fascinating story from behind the scenes! In his memoir, Harry Hall shared how he booked Bill Clinton for his show. Apparently, he played a little political strategy! He told Clinton that George H.W. Bush, his opponent in the presidential race, had declined the invitation. It was a clever way to get Clinton on board – a little friendly competition can be a powerful motivator, right?

President Bush’s staff communicated to Arsenio Hall that the president didn’t enjoy the show and couldn’t explain why it was popular.

The former president would ‘never do a show like ours’, Hall was informed.

After the show, the studio’s green room became a lively, extended celebration. Celebrities would often stop by to join the fun, even if they weren’t scheduled to be on the program.

Hall had short relationships with both Pamela Anderson and Paula Abdul, who was a well-known choreographer at the time. He jokes that they were the ‘it’ couple of their day, but their busy schedules ultimately kept them from making it work.

He hooked up basketball legend Charles Barkley with Madonna.

Hall doesn’t say exactly what happened after that, but he points out that Charles performed better in the playoffs than he did during the regular season that year.

His  success brought him close to many of the stars who appeared on his show.

Basketball icon Magic Johnson and comedian Joan Rivers shared a close friendship, and he famously appeared on her show the day he publicly revealed his HIV diagnosis.

Michael Jackson was deeply impressed by Hall and made a point of meeting his mother backstage in his trailer after performing on the show.

He quickly befriended Richard Pryor after meeting him early in his career, shortly after moving to Los Angeles.

While Richard Pryor was fighting the multiple sclerosis that would eventually take his life, his friend, Bill Cosby, helped him by doing things doctors had specifically warned him not to do.

One was a cigar which Pryor smoked with his ‘eyes closed with pleasure’, Hall writes.

Another time it was two strippers who Pryor enthusiastically agreed to.

After Hall and his partner finished a private dance for Pryor, covering his bedroom in glitter, he suddenly remembered he’d left his wallet behind.

Eddie Murphy and Hall were disappointed to learn that their hit 1988 film, Coming to America, had been temporarily pulled from distribution, and they spent an evening discussing the news.

Hall went to Murphy’s house where he handed his co-star a joint and an orange and vodka.

When Murphy protested he didn’t drink or smoke, Hall said: ‘Except for tonight’.

Hall writes that Murphy was so clueless he had to ‘explain the inhaling process’ to him.

After a performance one Friday night, Hall fell asleep and woke up around 2am to find Prince waiting for him outside in a limousine.

I remember when we were going to Miss Mary’s, this underground club that stayed open late. Getting in was always a bit of a hassle – the bouncer at the back entrance had these two huge pit bulls he’d show off before letting anyone through. It was intimidating, but you knew you were about to experience something special once you got past them.

The group spent two hours watching Prince, dressed in a white suit, observe the performers – the strippers and dancers – as he seemed to be pondering what motivated their movements.

According to Hall’s memoir, Prince was a good sport, even after jokingly teasing him on his show about an outfit the singer wore at the MTV Awards – pants that revealed his backside.

Prince playfully responded to Hall’s jokes about him by fax, saying he enjoyed them because they weren’t intended to be hurtful. As a gesture of amusement, he then sent Hall a perfectly tailored black suit with the seat cut out.

The incident with O.J. Simpson occurred while the movie The Naked Gun was being promoted. This 1988 comedy, starring Simpson, Leslie Nielsen, and Priscilla Presley, was a spoof of police movies.

Simpson personally drove over to the Paramount lot and got word to Hall he wanted to see him.

‘What’s up, Juice?’ said Hall, he writes in the memoir, using Simpson’s nickname.

Simpson was angry and responded, ‘Seriously? You book Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley, but don’t even reach out to the Black actor from the movie? I thought this show was supposed to highlight Black talent.’

The show did well for its first three years, but then ratings started to decline, and Paramount felt it wasn’t attracting a wide enough audience.

Despite early concerns, a particularly troubling question arose when Lucie Salhany, a high-ranking executive at Paramount and a supporter of the show, directly asked the creator, ‘Will you be portraying this character as Black every episode?’

She explained to him that she was overwhelmed by pressure from advertisers, viewer feedback, station managers, and her superiors. She also said the show was leaning heavily towards content centered on Black experiences and perspectives.

Hall replied: ‘I am, and always have been, black’.

In his memoir, Hall describes feeling a sudden coldness and a shiver, as he was caught in a difficult position: Paramount considered him ‘too Black,’ while others felt he wasn’t ‘Black enough.’

As the show continued, ratings dropped significantly. Many viewers switched to David Letterman’s late-night program on CBS, which premiered in 1993, because they enjoyed its more daring and unconventional comedy.

Okay, so get this – apparently, Josh Hall actually told Paramount he was done, he was leaving! But they totally ignored his resignation, like they just…hid it! Then, they announced the show was over, and everyone immediately jumped to the conclusion that they canceled him, not that he’d already decided to leave! It’s insane! It looks like they made it seem like he was fired when he’d already made up his mind. I’ve been following this so closely, and it’s just…ugh, it’s awful how they handled everything.

In his memoir, Hall strongly maintains that he chose to leave the show after fully dedicating himself to it.

Let me tell you, the past three years have been a real journey. I poured everything I had into keeping this show afloat, and honestly, it took a toll. It wasn’t just about the work; it was a real battle to protect my own well-being throughout the whole process. It was exhausting, but I’m proud of what I fought for, both on and off screen.

‘I kept trying to ride in that middle lane between black and white America.

It was frustrating because the boundaries kept becoming unclear. Eventually, I reached my limit and decided to stop.

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2026-03-24 00:53