Gene Simmons (born August 26, 1949 in Haifa, Israel) is best known as the blood spitting, fire breathing, tongue-wagging bass player for the rock band KISS. His given name is Chaim Witz. In 1958, he emigrated to New York City as a child with his mother after his father, Feri Witz, abandoned his family. After immigrating to America, he was named Eugene Klein.
Simmons formed the rock band Wicked Lester in the early 1970s with Stanley Eisen (a.k.a. Paul Stanley). Wicked Lester recorded one album, but as of 2002 it has never been officially released to the general public. Eventually, two other musicians joined the band, Peter Criscoula and Paul Frehley—who would become Peter Criss and Ace Frehley respectively and the band would change its name to KISS in the early 1970s. KISS released their first self-titled debut album in February of 1974.
Simmons is also a movie producer and actor who has appeared in a number of movies including Runaway . He also created the animated television series called "My Dad The Rock Star", by the Canadian animation company Nelvana, about the mild mannered son of a Gene Simmons-like rock star who wants to live a normal life, with his wealthy and eccentric father making such a life nearly impossible.
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