Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz, 25 August 1949, Tirat Carmel, Israel) is an Israeli-American musician. He is best known as the bassist of the rock band KISS. He played the part of the Demon in Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park. His "Demon" makeup also influenced the design of the villain in the Scooby-Doo episode "The Diabolical Disc Demon".
About Gene[]
Best known as the fire-breathing, blood-splitting and way larger-than-life co-founder of hard rock supergroup KISS, Gene Simmons was actually born Chaim Weitz near Haifa, Israel, in August 1949 of Hungarian background, and moved to New York as a young child. Like many American teenagers of the 1960s, Simmons was influenced by a fascination with comic book superheroes, monster movies and rock and roll music, thus the teenage Simmons set about creating what he perceived as the ultimate music supergroup.
Simmons eventually crossed paths with like-minded musician/songwriter Paul Stanley in the early 1970s, and after several failed attempts to create their dream band, they recruited fellow New Yorkers spaced-out guitarist Ace Frehley and "do anything to make it" drummer Peter Criss.
The four struggling young musicians practiced relentlessly in a rundown loft in New York City refining their music and stage show before eventually launching themselves on the New York live music scene in the early 1970s with their blitzkrieg style of hard rock, kabuki stage make up and unforgettable high energy performances. After bombarding media and public relations entities with invitations to their shows, Simmons and Stanley soon brokered a deal with Madison Avenue executive Bill Aucoin for him to manage the band, and Aucoin soon scored KISS a record deal with the fledgling Casablanca Records & Filmworks.
Since their first album debuted in 1974, KISS have sold over eighty million albums and played over two thousand shows to millions of loyal fans, known as the KISS Army, all around the globe. Never one to keep still for too long, the charismatic Simmons made his first feature film appearance as his alter ego, the Demon from KISS, in the 1978 telefilm Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park, which received scathing reviews in the USA from TV critics. However, KISS fans internationally loved the film and it played theatrically to strong box office business in dozens of countries, and has since become something of a cult film.
Since KISS didn't drop wearing their distinctive makeup until 1983, it was several years before Simmons appeared in front of the cameras again, this time without the Demon makeup, as an evil techno-junkie killer battling Tom Selleck in the thriller Runaway (1984). Simmons has since continued to turn up in low-key roles in B-grade thrillers such as Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986) and Red Surf (1989) that utilize his ability to glower and look menacingly into the camera. In addition, Simmons has appeared in minor guest roles in several TV crime shows including Miami Vice (1984), Millennium (1996) and Third Watch (1999).
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Gene Simmons at the Internet Movie Database
- Official site