Nick Nolte Enters Rehab after DUI Charge

The 61-year old actor was arrested last week after California Highway Patrol spotted him swerving on the Pacific Coast Highway. According to police, he allegedly pulled his Mercedes into the oncoming lane of traffic at one point. According to CHP spokesman Leland Tang, Nolte seemed "completely out of it" when officers pulled him over. "He was drooling, [with] droopy eyes. He…looked very much like he was under the influence." Anyone who saw his mugshot, which showed a wild-haired Nolte wearing an outrageous Hawaiian shirt, can probably understand why he looked so out of it.

Nolte failed a field sobriety test and was booked on the misdemeanor charge of investigation of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The two-time Oscar nominee is set to appear in court on October 28. In the meantime, he checked himself into Silver Hill Hospital in Connecticut. Nolte’s publicist, Paul Bloch, said in a statement, "[Nolte] voluntarily entered Silver Hill Hospital to receive advice and counsel that he feels he needs at this time."

Nolte, who has described himself in the past as a "functioning drunk," admitted to being a heavy drinker. He was once called a "fall-down drunk" by Katharine Hepburn, his co-star in 1984’s Grace Quigley. Supposedly he quit his hard partying days in 1990. It doesn’t seem as if the star of films such as Prince of Tides, Affliction, 48HRS, and Cape Fear has stayed on the straight and narrow path. Nolte is currently co-starring in Ang Lee’s comic-book flick, Hulk, due out next summer.