Arsenio Hall’s dreams of having a threesome were thwarted by Eddie Murphy — after the actor got into a physical altercation on the set of “Coming to America.”
In “Arsenio: A Memoir,” the former talk-show host, now 70, writes that while shooting the 1988 comedy, he was gifted some “outrageous New York weed” and invited two women for dinner and a private party at his Waldorf Astoria suite.
“I have long dreamed of having a ménage-à-trois,” he writes. “Call it high on my bucket list, maybe in the top three, and tonight’s the night. I am about to fulfill my dream.”
Arsenio Hall writes about shooting the 1998 movie, “Coming to America,” in his memoir. ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
The comedian, seen here in February 2026, was about to engage in his first threesome when he received a call from the head of Paramount Pictures. Getty Images for ABA
Hall says his dates were “making out on the couch and I’m getting turned on,” when the phone rang.
He reluctantly answered it to find Paramount Pictures president Ned Tanen on the other end, bellowing that “Coming to America” was off.
Tanen furiously relayed that Murphy had “choked” the movie’s director, John Landis, “on Queens Boulevard, in front of an entire crowd,” leading him to “f–king quit.”
Murphy had “choked” the movie’s director, John Landis, on set, prompting Landis to quit. ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Hall says that he noticed tension on set between Murphy and Landis, who later worked together on “Beverly Hills Cop III.” ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Hall had noticed “an uncomfortable vibe between” Murphy and Landis, calling the dynamic between them “fraught.” The two had previously worked together on 1983’s “Trading Places.”
Eager to save the day, he called off his party plans and immediately took a limo to Murphy’s Englewood, NJ estate, Bubble Hill. Although Murphy typically never imbibed, he decided the time was right.
The two began downing screwdrivers and Hall pulled out his bag of weed — something else Murphy never did. But Hall insisted and taught the “48 Hours” star how to inhale and exhale.
The pals, photographed here in 1987, got drunk and high and didn’t talk about what had happened. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Hall ended the potential threesome and went to see Murphy at his New Jersey estate. Christopher Sadowski
The next day, Hall heard that a peace treaty had been brokered, and the movie was shooting again. ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
The movie was a huge box office hit. ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
“We drink and smoke and get high as motherf–ka,” he writes.
The next day, Hall returned to the Waldorf and received another call announcing that “Landis has returned to work, he and Eddie have met, agreed to a truce, or made up, or — I never do find out exactly what happened that afternoon on Queens Boulevard.”
While promoting the movie, Murphy was asked if he would work with Landis again, prompting him to quip, “Vic Morrow has a better chance of working with Landis than I do” — referring to the actor who was killed in a gruesome set accident while Landis was filming 1983’s “Twilight Zone: The Movie.”
Nevertheless, Landis and Murphy reunited for “Beverly Hills Cop III” in 1994.