Once, visiting the home of
Laurence Olivier and his then-wife
Vivien Leigh, he was invited to inspect certain paintings which were kept in the attic. Somehow, he contrived to fall over; the floor of the attic gave way under his weight and he fell through it, landing on a bed (which then collapsed) in a room below. He was unhurt, but shaken; he was then scolded at some length by
Vivien Leigh, whom he had already annoyed earlier in the day. He later said, "There was a rational basis to Vivien's fury, which we must salute. If you prod a tigress twice in her lair, you must not expect her to purr.".
