Legendary comedian and actor Chevy Chase has re-entered rehab in what has been described as a “tune-up” for a previously existing alcohol-related issue, according to his representative.

TMZ reported on Monday (September 5th) that the 72 year old star is being treated at the Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center in Minnesota, quoting his rep as the source, who explained that Chase “wants to be the best that he can be.”

The former ‘Saturday Night Live’ comedian, famous for his pratfalling on both television and film, previously spent time in rehab in the 1980s for an addiction to painkilling drugs.

Chevy ChaseChevy Chase has re-entered rehab

Chase was recently a star of NBC’s comedy ‘Community’ from 2009 to 2012, before he left the show shortly after publicly criticising the direction of the show and its creator Dan Harmon. He also starred in a re-make of iconic road movie comedy Vacation last year, having starred in the 1983 original. He is due to star in two upcoming films, The Christmas Apprentice and Dog Years, it says on his IMDb page.

Although he lampooned and mocked the former President Gerald Ford on a number of occasions throughout his career, Chase paid tribute to the commander-in-chief’s wife Betty Ford in a tribute piece for the New York Times when Gerald died in 2006, praising her for founding the Betty Ford Clinic, where he sought treatment.

“If it hadn't been for the courage of Mr. Ford's wife, Betty, for admitting to an alcohol problem, I would never have received the help I needed in the early 1980s at the Betty Ford clinic, located not far from the Ford residence near Palm Springs,” he recalled when seeking help two decades beforehand.

“During my short stay there, I often saw Mrs. Ford personally surveying the clinic and generously offering a helping hand to those who were lucky enough to face their problems and, with the learned help of the clinic staff, appraise their behaviour and their lifestyles.”

More: ‘Live from New York’ provides a not-so-detailed behind the scenes look at the ‘Saturday Night Live’ process [archive]