Aresnio Hall is not just a legendary comedian but he’s also a hero.
In an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air to promote his book Arsenio: A Memoir, Hall shared a story about how he and Jay Leno saved an elderly couple from a house fire.
“There was a night when I was at Jay Leno’s house after we came from working at the Comedy Store,” Hall began. “And we’re standing in his yard, and he’s showing me stuff about his yard. He had a new house and a pool.”
“And we see down the street, there’s smoke coming from a house. Jay says, ‘I think that’s a fire.’ And he says to his wife, Mavis, ‘Call the fire department.’ We went down the street,” Hall continued. “It was a fire. An older couple was in the house, asleep. We kicked in the door and pulled this couple out.”
Mosley noted that Hall mentioned that he told Leno to wake the 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, and 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.”
Hall described Leno as “a big brother figure,” although they would have tensions as their late-night shows compete against each other.
He also spoke about the challenge of writing the book and being vulnerable.
“I had to go through pictures and find pictures for the book,” he said. “And I had to talk to my mom more than I wanted 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.