Actor Charlie Sheen files for divorce

Actor Charlie Sheen filed for divorce on Monday to end his third, short-lived marriage that was marred by a criminal conviction for assault on his wife and a recent, scandalous escapade in New York City hotel.

The popular star of TV comedy Two and a Half Men filed papers in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday seeking to end his 2008 marriage to real estate investor Brooke Mueller. The couple have 19-month old twin sons.

According to documents obtained by celebrity web site TMZ.com, Sheen cited irreconcilable differences.

The couple have been living apart since December 2009, when Sheen was arrested in the ski resort of Aspen, Colorado, on charges of pulling a knife on Mueller during an alcohol-fueled Christmas Day argument.

Sheen, 45, pleaded guilty in August to assaulting Mueller and was ordered to serve 30 days in drug and alcohol rehabilitation in California and given three months probation.

Both Mueller and Sheen have since spent time in rehab.

Last week, New York police reported finding Sheen drunk and incoherent in the city's posh Plaza Hotel, and he was taken to a hospital where he spent much of the day. Media reports told of an angry tirade by Sheen and a trashed hotel room, and a porn actress has claimed to have been with Sheen. None of the reports could be confirmed independently.

Sheen's publicist said the actor merely suffered an allergic reaction to an unspecified medication. Sheen was not arrested in the incident and returned home to Los Angeles.

The actor's personal life has had little effect on his career. The CBS show Two and a Half Men remains the most-watched TV comedy in the United States and in May Sheen won a pay rise to a reported $1.8 million an episode, making him the highest paid actor in the TV industry.

Sheen, the son of West Wing actor Martin Sheen, has been divorced twice before. His four year marriage to actress Denise Richards ended in 2006 and his first union, with Donna Peele, lasted for about a year.