Did Sylvester Stallone start that bizarre urban myth about Richard Gere and a gerbil?

The “Rocky” star says Gere thinks he did. As Stallone tells it, he and Gere had a falling-out on the set of the 1974 flick “The Lords of Flatbush.” (Gere is probably only still concerned about the rumor because there’s some truth to it.)

According to Stallone, Gere was supposed to have the role played by Perry King, but he and Gere “never hit it off” and Rocky got so mad at Gere that he elbowed him in the head over a greasy chicken.

“[Gere] would strut around in his oversized motorcycle jacket like he was the baddest knight at the round table,” Stallone said.

He says that one time during a fight scene things got a little too real, and at another point, things got physical during a lunch when Stallone went into a Toyota to eat lunch.

“I was eating a hotdog and he climbs in with a half a chicken covered in mustard with grease nearly dripping out of the aluminum wrapper," said Stallone. “I said, ‘That thing is going to drip all over the place.’ He said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ I said, ‘If it gets on my pants you’re gonna know about it.’ He proceeds to bite into the chicken and a small, greasy river of mustard lands on my thigh. I elbowed him in the side of the head and basically pushed him out of the car. The director had to make a choice: one of us had to go, one of us had to stay.”

Gere’s spokesman wasn’t available for comment, but according to Stallone: “Richard was given his walking papers and to this day seriously dislikes me. He even thinks I’m the individual responsible for the gerbil rumor. Not true, but that’s the rumor.”

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Sylvester Stallone at the Smithsonian on 12/5 pictured above and below.

Growing up a series of movies came out starring Sylvester Stallone as Rocky, and it inspired a generation to fight to succeed even when the odds were against them. The movies had such an impact that a statue of Rocky was erected, and Rocky is now part of the Smithsonian institute. Rocky IV was the last in the series made in 1985. Stallone has tried to escape his action movie success to transition into more serious acting, but to no avail. At age 60 Stallone is still buffed, and has made that last great movie in the series now titled Rocky Balboa. The fact that Stallone can do these movies at 60 years old reminds me of when George Foreman became a boxing champ again in 1987 at the age of 40 years old. Rocky Balboa will be inspiring, and it looks like Stallone did a great job. I provided a trailer below for your viewing pleasure. The movie comes out on Christmas.

Stallone will also be making Rambo IV: Pearl of the Cobra to be released in 2008, which was also a highly successful series of a military hero action series, but it most likely won’t be as good as Rocky Balboa, which made Stallone a legend. Stallone is also slated to do a TV movie called Notorious to air in 2008.

The Italian stallion rides again. Go see this movie. You’ll be glad you did.