Born Chaim Witz on August 25, 1949, rock band KISS founder Gene Simmons is the son of Florence Klein, a Jewish Hungarian immigrant and only member of her family that survived in the Holocaust. His father left his family years before, and Simmons' mother took him to emigrate to New York City when he was just eight years old. Because his mother had to take a couple of jobs to support them, she was often away from her son. Thus her absence left emotional scars upon Simmons at a young age. While in the U.S., he changed his name to Eugene Klein, and later shortened it to just Gene. However, during the 1960s, he changed his name again to Gene Simmons.
As a teenager, Simmons was very into music, forming a band Lynx, which he later renamed to The Missing Links. They eventually disbanded and Simmons formed the Long Island Sounds. He then entered Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake, New York.
Simmons also took a job as an elementary school teacher and continued to make music with a band he formed in 1970 with Paul Stanley, Wicked Lester. However, the two soon left the band and later formed the band KISS. In 1977, he produced Van Halen's demo tape, which eventually got the band signed to Warner Brothers Records. During KISS' days of glory, Simmons was best known for his costume, which featured him as a Demon with a long tongue. From 1975 to 1978, the costume-clad band experienced much success, releasing albums “Alive!,” “Destroyer,” “Rock and Roll Over,” and “Love Gun.” However, in 1978, the group released solo albums, signaling their decline in popularity and success. In 1983, the band underwent a total makeover, cleansing themselves from their make up and costumes, subsequently releasing new albums with their new image.
Aside from music, Simmons also engaged in being the creative director for television projects such as My Dad the Rock Star, Mr. Romance, Rock School and
Gene Simmons Family Jewels . In 2007, he was cast as one of 14 contestants on NBC's The Apprentice: Celebrity Edition, which he will vie for $250,000, which will proceed to the charity of his choice.
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