ShowbizClerk throws the book at CroweMetro11 April 2012Actor Russell Crowe threw a vase as well as a phone at a hotel clerk, it was claimed yesterday.The 41-year-old star is expected to be hit with a punitive damages claim this week by employee Nestor Estrada, 28, who says he was cut in the face.Crowe is said to have bowed and taken up a karate stance after the incident at New York's Mercer Hotel.The actor has since gone on TV to apologise for throwing the phone, saying he was jet-lagged and wanted to call his wife Danielle.MORE ABOUTHotelsJapanese Martial ArtsNew York CityNew York StateNYC Upper East Side