Troubled actor Charlie Sheen checked into rehab, a day after he was rushed to hospital from a reported drug- and booze-fueled marathon party, his latest career-challenging bender.
The decision triggered the suspension of production on the hit TV series "Two and a Half Men," in which Sheen stars as a hedonistic bachelor, and which is seen in dozens of countries around the world.
The 45-year-old star -- nicknamed "Good Time Charlie" -- spent the day in a hospital Thursday after suffering what was described as "severe abdominal pains" reportedly due to a hiatal hernia.
His spokesman Stan Rosenfield said early Friday that Sheen was planning to return to the set of "Two and a Half Men" next Tuesday following the health scare.
But in an update later Friday he said: "Charlie Sheen has voluntarily entered an undisclosed rehabilitation center today. He is most grateful to all who have expressed their concern.
"Mr. Sheen asks that his privacy be respected at this time and that no additional information will be provided," he added.
The TMZ celebrity website reported that Sheen\'s emergency early Thursday came after a 36-hour long "wild" party involving a briefcase full of cocaine and five women including a porn star.
On Friday, TMZ ran a video with a woman it said was the porn star giving lurid details of the party, the latest hell-raising incident involving the star, son of actor Martin Sheen.
The producers of "Two and a Half Men" confirmed Friday that production was being put on hold.
"We are profoundly concerned for his health and well-being, and support his decision," said a statement by CBS Entertainment, Warner Brothers Television and executive producer Chuck Lorre.
The series about hedonistic jingle writer Charlie Harper -- played by Sheen -- has been a hit since it was launched in 2003 and has been nominated for numerous awards, including nods for Sheen at the Emmys and Golden Globes.
This week\'s hospital and rehab visits are only the latest episode of hell-raising going a little too far for Sheen.
The star filed for divorce from his wife of two years in November, days after being taken to hospital following a reported drunken incident in New York.
People and other entertainment magazines said the star, one of the best-paid TV actors, was hospitalized after causing serious damage to his room at the Plaza Hotel, where police found him drunk, naked and in the company of a woman.
Last August, Sheen pleaded guilty to an assault charge arising from a violent Christmas Day altercation with his wife while vacationing at Aspen, Colorado, but avoided jail under a deal with prosecutors.
Sheen had several run-ins with the law in the 1990s in cases related to drugs, domestic violence and prostitution.
He has also been accused of assaulting his ex-wife actress Denise Richards, known for her role as a James Bond girl.
The young Sheen got his big break in 1986 when he starred in Oliver Stone\'s Oscar-winning "Platoon," and the director cast him again in "Wall Street" the next year.
He subsequently fell out with Stone, but continued with a string of hits including "Young Guns" in 1988 and "Hot Shots!" in 1991. However by the mid-1990s his professional and personal life began to go off the rails.
In 1995, while testifying at the trial of Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss, he admitted to spending nearly $50,000 on 27 of Fleiss\' $2,500-a-night prostitutes.
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