compulsion about ash trays?

We observe the hero (Leslie Howard) constantly emptying ash trays, on 4 or 5 different occasions (if not more) during this film's 91 minutes. That's a lot. Given that this film pokes considerable fun at Hollywood in general, is it possible that writers Baker & Towne, director Garnett, and star Howard were poking fun at SOME SPECIFIC TARGET (PERSON) in the film industry, either at United Artists (home base for this film), or at Warners (where Bogart, Blondell, and Howard had long careers)? Maybe some particular movie executive of that day had this same habit of emptying cigaret butts, and that habit was "borrowed" by Howard for his role? -- Prof Steven P Hill, Cinema Studies, Univ. of Illinois (USA).