It was an urban myth. The first I heard of this story was one of Darryl Wayne a news reader in Jax, FL (1985). The story was that a gerbil had to be removed from his butt. Wayne left the station shortly after the rumor spread.
A few years later (1991) a newscaster in Phila. PA (Jerry Penacoli) had similar rumors told about him. Now the target has shifted to Gere...
See my #82-—I have new information.