Maidstone

Rip Torn versus Norman Mailer.

The film is now famous for the improvised fight between Norman Mailer and Rip Torn. As the camera rolled, Torn struck Mailer in the head with a hammer, intending to "kill his character." Mailer's scalp opened up, and a vicious fight ensued. With the camera still rolling, Torn energetically strangled Mailer until the fight was broken up by Mailer's wife Beverly and Mailer's wailing children. During the melee, Mailer bit off a small chunk of Rip Torn's ear. The fight, in which the actors called each other by their real names, made it into the film, and the segment has proven very popular on the Internet in recent years.