Ralph Lewis(1872-1937)

Director David Butler recalled when he was just starting out as an actor he watched Lewis rehearse a scene with director T. Hayes Hunter, in which Lewis was to be playing a violin. They would rehearse with a cheap violin, but when it came time to shoot, Lewis was given a rare and expensive Stradivarius that the studio had rented for the day. Lewis and Hunter got into an argument about how to play the violin, and Lewis got so angry he picked up the Stradivariius and smashed it over Hunter's head, destroying it. Lewis was fired from the picture and thrown off the lot, and the company found itself liable for replacing a Stradivarius worth several hundred thousand dollars.