insinuated in the rumor about Rick Springfield?

By the NKOTB era I was so anti-pop that anything surrounding them probably went under my radar.

As far as the Gere rumor, your connections here from way back may recall that Philadelphia had its own version of that with Jerry Penacoli, then a local TV personality. Incidentally, a good friend of mine is a doc who swears that the Penacoli incident was actually true as treatment was sought at his hospital.

a rather funny read on the subject: http://www.jimgoad.net/index.shtml?rectalforeignbodies