Nick Nolte gets probation, rehab

MALIBU, Calif., Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Actor Nick Nolte was placed on three years' probation Thursday after pleading no contest to driving under the influence of the drug GHB.

Superior Court Judge Lawrence Mira ordered the Oscar-nominated star of "Affliction" and "Prince of Tides" to remain in a drug rehab program for 90 days, as part of a plea agreement in which prosecutors agreed to drop one of two misdemeanor drug charges in connection with Nolte's Sept. 11 arrest in Malibu. Nolte also was fined $500.

Terms of the plea bargain require Nolte to enter a state drug education program after completing his rehab program. If he violates the terms of his probation, he could be sent to jail for six months.

"If you violate (probation), you're very likely to go to jail," said the judge. "Do you understand that?"

"Yes, sir," said Nolte.

Nolte was charged with being under the influence of Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate, a depressant that acts on the central nervous system. The drug is popular with bodybuilders and dance/club scene regulars.

Nolte's lawyer, Mark Werksman, told reporters last week that his client does not know how the illegal substance was introduced into his bloodstream -- but he suspects it might have come from some of the nutritional supplements he uses.

Three days after he was arrested by a California Highway Patrol officer who said Nolte "seemed completely out of it," Nolte checked himself into Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Conn., on Sept. 14. Other celebrities -- including Billy Joel, Mariah Carey and Diana Ross -- have sought treatment at Silver Hill.

Nolte's other screen credits include "The Thin Red Line" (1998), "Blue Chips" (1994), "Cape Fear" (1991), "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" (1986), "48 Hrs." (1982), "North Dallas Forty" (1979), "Who'll Stop the Rain" (1978)" and "The Deep" (1977).

Nolte was nominated for an Emmy in 1976 for his star-making role as Tom Jordache in "Rich Man, Poor Man" -- ABC-TV's 1976 miniseries based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Irwin Shaw.