He appeared in court in a wheelchair after being extradited from New York, where he is serving a 23-year jail sentence for similar crimes.
The 69-year-old faces 11 counts of sexual assault in California relating to alleged incidents with five women.
He maintains his innocence and has said any sexual activity was consensual.
The incidents are said to have occurred in hotels in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles between 2004 and 2013.
The charges include forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual battery by restraint, and sexual penetration by use of force.