# Richard Gere's Pet Gerbil: Truth Or UL? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 14, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761 "2000-03-14T20:10:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RonaldBarnhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bc79bd/32.png) [@RonaldBarnhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RonaldBarnhardt)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/1 "2000-03-14T20:10:00Z")
Did he really do it? If he did, did the medical facility that treated him get sued for breach of privacy? Or is it all just a bunch of you-know-what? ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2000, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/2 "2000-03-14T20:26:00Z")
Cecil could not find any authenticated “gerbil stories” involving any persons, famous or not, according to [Is it true what they say about gerbils?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_216b.html). This column originally appeared in _More of the Straight Dope_. You do own a full set of Unca Cecil’s books, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2000, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/3 "2000-03-14T20:33:00Z")
Patently false, and really abhorrent (this from a queer, no less). Uncle Cecil says it, as does [www.snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com) and [www.urbanlegends.com.](http://www.urbanlegends.com.) Esprix * * * [Ask the Gay Guy!](http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum7/HTML/001376.html) ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2000, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/4 "2000-03-14T20:46:00Z")
And P.S. Jayne Mansfield was not decapitated, Lupe Velez did not drown in her toilet, and Catherine the Great did not die during a romantic encounter with a horse. Oh, yeah, Marie Antoinette never said “Let them eat cake.” Anything else? ---
**Author:** ![RonaldBarnhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bc79bd/32.png) [@RonaldBarnhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RonaldBarnhardt)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2000, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/5 "2000-03-14T20:52:00Z")
Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2000, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/6 "2000-03-14T20:53:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Eve: > Lupe Velez did not drown in her toilet. But they said that on Frazier! OK, so what’s the true story for Lupe? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2000, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/7 "2000-03-14T21:01:00Z")
[sigh] Yeah, they said it on The Simpsons, too. It was made up by Kenneth Anger for his Hollywood Babylon book—doesn’t appear anywhere in print before him. Lupe died from an overdose of sleeping pills (she was unmarried, pregnant and Catholic—not a good combination). If you think for a few minutes, you’ll realize it is impossible to drown in a toilet unless you have someone holding you by the ankles and dunking you—gravity would pull you out once you lost consciousness. Poor Lupe, like she didn’t have enough problems, this SOB Anger has to make this her legacy! Everybody go out and rent one of her films, she was a pretty good dramatic actress and a bang-up comedienne, as well as a real looker. She turns up a lot on AMC, check if any of her movies are on this week! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2000, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/8 "2000-03-14T21:24:00Z")
I wonder if Kenneth Anger is related to Ed Anger, who writes a column for the “Weekly World News.” I read “TV Babylon,” by someone whose name I forget. The writer really had a way with words, though. In referring to Dick York’s back pain, and how his role was lessened during his tenure on “Bewitched,” it said something like “He seemed to be all right, but that was only the way he looked on TV–the medium of lies.” (And, let’s not forget Fatty Arbuckles trial by press.) ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2000, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/9 "2000-03-14T23:34:00Z")
Sorry, don’t have cable. I remember seeing Lupe in a movie called “The Mexican Girl” or something like that, a funny comedy about her being discovered by some Hollywood talent scout. She was hot! ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2000, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/10 "2000-03-15T00:09:00Z")
This is true. My friend Jill goes to a doctor in LA who keeps the gerbil, yes that famous Gere one, in a bottle. He is the doctor who took it out. So there. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2000, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/11 "2000-03-15T01:28:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by handy: > \*\* > This is true. My friend Jill goes to a doctor in LA who keeps the gerbil, yes that famous Gere one, in a bottle. He is the doctor who took it out. So there.\*\* What, is he waiting to sell it as a movie novelty or as a blackmail attempt? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2000, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/12 "2000-03-15T01:45:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I wonder if Kenneth Anger is related to Ed Anger, who writes a column for the “Weekly World News.” Ed Anger is, or at least was, a guy named Rafe Klinger, who doesn’t believe word one of what he writes. This according to John Waters’ book “Crackpot.” ---
**Author:** ![lvick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d07c76/32.png) [@lvick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lvick)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/13 "2000-03-16T06:08:00Z")
Well that makes me pig biting mad 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SwimmingRiddles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SwimmingRiddles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwimmingRiddles)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/14 "2000-03-16T06:22:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by handy: > \*\* > This is true. My friend Jill goes to a doctor in LA who keeps the gerbil, yes that famous Gere one, in a bottle. He is the doctor who took it out. So there.\*\* Yea, and my brother’s girlfriend’s cousin’ sister saw Ferris pass out at 31 flavors. I think it’s serious. * * * DON PEDRO: Your silence most offends me, and to be merry best becomes you; for, out of question, you were born in a merry hour. BEATRICE: No, sure, my lord, my mother cried; but then there was a star danced, and under that was I born. -Much Ado About Nothing, Act II, Sc: i ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/15 "2000-03-16T06:55:00Z")
Actually, SR, it goes: > [@](#): > > My best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it’s pretty serious. * * * Wrong thinking is punished, right thinking is just as swiftly rewarded. You’ll find it an effective combination. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2000, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/16 "2000-03-15T20:42:00Z")
**handy** wrote: > [@](#): > > This is true. My friend Jill goes to a doctor in LA who keeps the gerbil, yes that famous Gere one, in a bottle. He is the doctor who took it out. So there. Even if this hypothetical doctor exists, s/he would not have told your friend Jill about the incident, because it would be a violation of physician-patient confidentiality. I suspect the doctor may have made a wisecrack about having Richard Gere’s gerbil, and your friend didn’t understand that the doctor was joking. Either that, or your friend’s a big ol’ liar! ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/17 "2000-03-16T01:52:00Z")
‘Either that, or your friend’s a big ol’ liar!’ No, it’s the gerbil in the jar. Really. I haven’t known her to lie much. She sees him once a year for about 12 years now. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/18 "2000-03-16T09:50:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by handy: > **I haven’t known her to lie much.** Well, this was one of those times, handy. It can be found on [www.snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com) and it’s definately an Urban Legend. * * * **Coldfire** _Voted **Poster Most Likely To Post Drunk** _ * * * _ **"You know how complex women are"** _ - Neil Peart, **Rush** (1993) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Watson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Dr.Watson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Watson)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/19 "2000-03-16T10:31:00Z")
Richard Gere and a gerbil? Geez, that’s not the way I heard it. I thought it was Whoopi Goldberg and a ferret. Or was it Sharon Stone and an iguana? Shit. Yer gettin’ me all mixed up here . . . Dr. Watson “How many people live on the reputation of the reputation they might have made!” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761/20 "2000-03-16T15:38:00Z")
**handy** - I wasn’t trying to insult your friend. Just yanking your chain. 😉 Can you (or your friend) give more detail? Who is the doctor? I still think maybe the doctor was kidding around with her. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-geres-pet-gerbil-truth-or-ul/14761.md?page=2)