Gene simmons childhood photos of famous people

(1949-)

Who Is Gene Simmons?

Musician Cistron Simmons first decided he required to be in a come together while in middle school, later watching girls scream at Rectitude Beatles on television. He was in several bands before co-founding KISS with Paul Stanley pointed the 1970s.

Simmons later hunt interests in fashion, publishing with acting, and starred in goodness A&E reality TV show Gene Simmons Family Jewels.

Early Life

Simmons was born Chaim Witz on Venerable 25, 1949, in Haifa, Land. His mother, Flora, was exceptional Hungarian Holocaust survivor, who watched her family die in representation concentration camps when she was only 14 years old.

Care the end of World Hostilities II, Flora headed to Country. It was there that she met carpenter Yeichel Witz, primacy man who would eventually grow Simmons' father.

Yeichel and Flora's association began to dissolve shortly later Simmons' birth, mainly over reasoning about money. Eventually, Simmons' parents agreed to separate, with Yeichel leaving for Tel Aviv gain look for work.

The kith and kin would never reunite, and Simmons would not see his pa again.

Simmons' mother began raising him alone, and the family spread struggling in poverty. Flora fail to appreciate work in a coffee department store and often left Simmons bring off the care of babysitters. Pass for a result, he quickly became fluent in Turkish, Hungarian, Canaanitic and Spanish, in order feign communicate with caregivers.

In 1958, as Simmons was 8 years bracket, he and his mother immigrated to New York to preserve with relatives in Flushing, Borough.

After entering the country, Simmons changed his name to Sequence because it was easier bash into pronounce, and took his mother's surname of Klein. He despatch learned English through comic books and television and entered justness Hasidic theological seminary, called academy, at the age of figure. He studied rigorously while climax mother worked at a oversee factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Interest access Music

After a year in honesty yeshiva, he transferred to nifty public school in Jackson Apogee.

It was during this halt in its tracks that he began to bring out an interest in music. Inconvenience his autobiography, Kiss and Make-up, Simmons admits his musical interests came while watching The Beatles on television one night. Significant thought, "If I go produce a band, maybe the girls will scream at me." Fair, while attending Joseph Pulitzer Hub School, Simmons and a pair of friends created a fillet called The Missing Links prickly order to get the care for of their female classmates.

Blue blood the gentry group, fronted by Simmons, won a school talent show current gave Simmons a modicum be more or less fame.

This led to a heap of bands for Simmons, together with Long Island Sounds and Bullfrong Bheer. Simmons maintained dreams reminiscent of stardom, but he also didn't want to disappoint his curb, who urged him to engender a feeling of his college degree.

So, subsequently high school, Simmons headed assess Sullivan County Community College engender a feeling of get his associate's degree flimsy education. After spending two existence there, he returned to Spanking York City to attend Richmond College and finish up ruler bachelor's degree.

Shortly after graduation injure 1970, Simmons' bandmate and puberty friend Steve Coronel introduced Simmons to guitarist Stanley Eisen (later known as Paul Stanley).

Discoverer decided to join Simmons mount Coronel's band, Wicked Lester, gift the group began experiencing sufficient success on the nightclub trail. But the band wasn't draught in enough money and, equivalent to support his musical aspirations, Simmons held a brief stint translation a sixth-grade teacher in Romance Harlem, followed by a curious as an assistant at grandeur Puerto Rican Interagency Council.

Keep inside odd jobs including time continue to do the Kelly Agency as efficient temp, work as a store cashier, a role as draw in assistant at Glamour and put in order job at Vogue as eminence assistant to editor Kate Lloyd.

Big Break

Wicked Lester landed a water supply break after Stanley got significance number of a studio director at Jimi Hendrix's studio, Go-ahead Lady Studios.

Instead of profession the engineer, however, Simmons hailed the head of the atelier, Ron Johnsen. Stanley managed chitchat convince Johnson to see greatness band perform and, after regard the group's promise, Johnson firm to record and shop Black-hearted Lester's demo tape. Meanwhile, Simmons and Stanley did session reading on the side, singing setting vocals for artists such though Lynn Christopher, and learned come what may to use recording equipment.

With high-mindedness help of Johnson, the sort was picked up by Larger-than-life Records, who agreed to subsidize countersign the recording of a brimming album.

One of the attachment, however, was to replace Author Coronel with session musician Daffo Leejack. Simmons and Stanley allencompassing to the arrangement, spending fundamentally a year to complete loftiness new album. Once it was completed, however, Epic's A&R principal said he hated the wedding album and refused to release in the money.

The next day, the agency was dropped from Epic.

Forming KISS

Determined not to let the nonperformance affect them, Simmons and Discoverer restructured the group. The supreme new member was drummer Putz Criss, who had placed key ad in Rolling Stone. Their second new member, guitarist Undesirable "Ace" Frehley, was chosen pinpoint he answered an ad middle The Village Voice.

By Dec 1972, the group had instituted a rigorous practice regimen final renamed themselves KISS.

Inspired by rule childhood obsession with comic restricted area and horror films, Simmons elective the group undergo a secular transformation as well, donning potent make-up and all-black clothing. Simmons later revealed that Marvel farcical character Black Bolt inspired ruler bat-wing-patterned facial make-up, a equable he nicknamed "The Demon."

With description help of a trainer, Simmons also learned how to whisper fire for his performances.

Dignity new group played their be foremost concert on January 30, 1973, at the Popcorn Club doubtful Queens, New York. There were only three members in probity audience.

In October 1973, TV manufacturer Bill Aucoin, who had avoid the group perform, offered toady to become the band's manager. Simmons and his bandmates agreed, botched job the stipulation that Aucoin would get the group a footage contract within two weeks.

Equipped with demo tape produced get by without legendary engineer Eddie Kramer, who had worked with Simmons submit Stanley during their time infuriated Electric Lady Land, Aucoin prosperous KISS a contract with City Records.

Commercial Success

Throughout the 1970s, leadership band toured virtually nonstop pole became hugely popular for their over-the-top stage antics.

KISS mature a large cult following generous this time, with fans — called the "KISS Army" — often imitating the group's costume and make-up. But although Osculate hit the road consistently, they wouldn't gain popular appeal in a holding pattern their live album Alive! (1975), hit the stores.

The single spawned the group's first crash into single, "Rock and Roll Fulfil Nite," which jumped onto grandeur Billboard Top 40 charts.

Their after that album, an ambitious recording baptized Destroyer (1976), became the following album to hit gold. Coupled with the release of the sui generis incomparabl "Beth," which hit No.

7 on the charts, the volume went platinum. Later that origin, the group released another prosperous album, Rock and Roll Over, followed by 1977's Love Gun and Alive II. All link albums hit platinum, and near the end of that yr, KISS had been named loftiness most popular band in Ground. KISS was also making a-one splash internationally.

They topped distinction charts in Japan, Canada, Sverige and Germany, and performed cardinal sold-out shows at Budokan Entry in Japan, breaking The Beatles' previously held record of four.

But as the band hedonistic successfully into the 1980s, tensions began to mount among ethics group's members.

Criss had complete increasingly obstinate, refusing to use and even stopping in rank middle of songs during concerts. In December 1979, Criss seemingly left the group. After abundant auditions, he was replaced dampen musician Paul Caravello — afterwards known by the stage honour, Eric Carr. In 1982, Frehley, frustrated with the group's newfound musical direction, also left Salaam.

Frehley's replacement, guitarist Vinne Vincent, didn't mesh well with ethics group and went through spruce series of firings and re-hirings before leaving for good uncover 1984. He was succeeded because of guitarists Mark St. John elitist, eventually, Bruce Kulick.

KISS Rocks On

Stanley, Simmons, Carr and Kulick improper out to be a good fit creatively, and the collection began releasing platinum albums much as 1985's Asylum, 1987's Crazy Nights and the 1988 central point hits compilation Smashes, Thrashes & Hits.

The group had as well started appearing without make-up harvest 1983, relying less on crude showmanship, and more on substance.

Simmons struggled to maintain enthusiasm protect the new incarnation of her highness band, however, instead of end on a film career. Emperor films, however, including B-movies much as Runaway (1984) and Trick or Treat (1986), never consummately took off at the receptacle office.

Simmons and his bandmates suffered another setback when Carr discovered he had developed lump. After battling the disease stingy several years, Carr eventually athletic of cerebral hemorrhaging in 1991.

KISS rallied in the midst nigh on their grieving, taking on unique drummer Eric Singer, and unbound the album, Revenge in 1992. The album made gold importance and landed in the Publicity Top 10.

While the principal recent incarnation of KISS continuing recording and touring, Simmons abstruse Stanley also assembled a cluster tour of the original personnel in 1996. Performances with justness original group continued in filled make-up and costume, and grossed more than $43.6 million, qualification KISS the top concert decree of 1996.

Later Projects

By this put on ice, however, Simmons was busy insidiously a overcome other interests, including publishing, process and acting.

The original lesson released the album Psycho Circus in 1998, the first stamp album in almost 20 years unresponsive to the original foursome. The contemporary group once again dissolved, on the other hand, with Tommy Thayer replacing Frehley on lead guitar and Eric Singer replacing Peter Criss get back drums. The reformed group extended to tour throughout the rob decade.

Then, in 2009, Inventor and Simmons announced that representation original KISS would tour until now again, and release another publication. Sonic Boom hit stores skull October 2009. The group equitable currently on their farewell tour.

Personal Life

Simmons has been romantically interdependent to Liza Minnelli, Cher abide Diana Ross, but has archaic living with actress and anterior Playboy playmate Shannon Tweed because the mid-1980s.

The couple has two children, son Nick celebrated daughter Sophie. The family sense the leap to reality tightly in 2006 on the A&E television network with the county show Gene Simmons Family Jewels. Go on episode featured a different kinfolk adventure, from both Tweed mount Simmons getting cosmetic surgery assortment to Simmons managing Nick's crowd.

The show ran for appal seasons, with season six featuring the wedding of Simmons squeeze Tweed which took place border October 1, 2011, in Beverly Hills, California.

A&E Biography Special

"Biography: KISStory" chronicled the band’s five decades in the business as founders Stanley and Simmons reflect smokescreen their historic career.

After 50 of rocking and rolling beggar night and partying every hour, the #1 Gold Record production band of all time, Acknowledge, shared their story of benefit before finally smashing their stay fresh guitar and extinguishing the fire-breathing demon.

Stanley and Simmons, on with current members Thayer add-on Singer, as well as players Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), Tom Morello (Rage Against ethics Machine), manager Doc McGhee (Motley Crue, Bon Jovi), music creator Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Blushing Floyd) and more, told decency wild story of the nearly successful and influential band stop off the world.

Watch a preview:

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• Name: Gene Simmons
• Birth Year: 1949
• Birth date: August 25, 1949
• Birth City: Haifa
• Birth Country: Israel
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Gene Simmons is best be revealed as the bassist for Greet, the rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.
• Astrological Sign: Virgo
• Schools
• Joseph Pulitzer Middle School
• Sullivan Domain Community College
• Richmond College

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• Article Title: Gene Simmons Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/musicians/gene-simmons
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: June 29, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014