One of the greatest urban legends of all-time is that at some point in the late 1980′s, actor Richard Gere went to an L.A. hospital with … how do we say this … a tiny rodent lodged in his rectum.
Well, apparently that rodent emerged today after two decades and saw its shadow, which means six more weeks of winter …
Kidding, kidding.
But seriously, surely you’ve heard this story before, right?
The Gere urban legend is one of those mythical tales that took on a life of its own and became part of the public consciousness in a way reserved previously for “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.”
Simply put, it was a story that “went viral” before anybody even knew what “going viral” meant.
No one is precisely sure how the rumor started (or why), and the tale is all the more curious because the allegedly homosexual habit of gerbilling (or gerbil stuffing) is basically a product of the legend, not the other way around.
In other words, “gerbilling” didn’t even exist prior to the Gere legend being created.
So did it really happen?
Did Richard Gere really stuff (or have someone stuff) a live rodent into his rear end?
For the definitive word, click here.
By Bren March 6, 2009 at 3:20 am
Boy ,, I’m really getting sick of hearing this crap!!!!!!!! Don’t you have any better things to do , other than this????????
By Toyota Kawaski March 6, 2009 at 8:42 am
This Really happened here in the CSRA famed NFL punter Charlie Britt had this rodent problem with his um FRIEND back in 1985 and was no longer seen or heard of again on the local TV news were he severed as lead anchor.
By Toyota Kawaski March 6, 2009 at 8:44 am
oh might i add he went to the University of Georgia now we all know what the G stands for.
By Brian July 18, 2010 at 9:15 pm
The charlie britt thing is a myth too bud sorry
By Shara July 8, 2011 at 11:00 pm
@ Brian,….nope,…ain’t a myth. I was living in Augusta. And it was all over the local news It happened Sometime before I left/moved in 1990, so Coulda, been 1985,…but It seems it was a little closer to the time when I/we moved,…. The guy went into the hospital 3 days after the incident,…because ‘at home’ efforts had failed to get rid of the problem. The news said his ‘wife’ had ‘helped’ with the initial play,..and the gerbil’s paws and snout had been wrapped in duct tape (to prevent damage). The guy’s career was suddenly over. He was on the news, no more, except as a local joke. I have no clue where he went, but it was pretty clear that he Left Augusta just as quick as he could arrange it,…..as he was Now a local Joke,…and the term ‘Human Habi-trail’ was going around pretty heavy at the time.
For awhile there, it was also all over the internet also. That’s how I found This site,…looking for a link to send a friend.