Celebrity Name :Gene Simmons

Celebrity Real Name : Chaim Witz

Date of Birth : August 25, 1949

Birth Location : Haifa, Israel

Biography of Chaim Witz :
Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz on August 25, 1949 in Haifa, Israel) is the performer and entertainment mogul best known as “The Demon”, his blood-spitting, fire-breathing, tongue-wagging persona in the rock band KISS. He plays bass guitar and does vocals. Simmons currently lives in Beverly Hills, California with his longtime partner Shannon Tweed and their two children, Nicholas and Sophie.

Early life and career :
Born Chaim Witz in Haifa, Israel, Simmons immigrated to New York City in 1957 with his mother—a Hungarian immigrant and the only member of her family to survive the Holocaust—after his father, Feri Witz, abandoned his family. After immigrating to the US, he took the name Gene Klein (Klein having been his mother’s maiden name). In the late 1960s, he changed his name again, this time to Gene Simmons, as he felt that “Gene Klein” did not have enough of a ring to it. Gene was heavily influenced by the books, magazines, and comics he read and the movies he saw as a child and later incorporated elements from these influences into his “Demon” character, costume, and gestures on stage. He has cited Lon Chaney Sr. as one of his favorite actors.
Simmons became involved with his first band, Bullfrog Bheer, while attending Sullivan County Community College in Fallsburg, New York. A Bullfrog Bheer song, “Little Lady”, eventually was recorded by KISS as “Goin’ Blind”, and an early-Who-ish sounding song called “Stanley the Parrot” is said to have been the original incarnation of KISS’ “Strutter”. He joined another band, Coffee, when he transferred to Richmond College in Staten Island, New York. The band made a demo, “Leeta”, which was eventually released on the KISS box set in demo form. During this time, Simmons earned a B.A. in Education from Sullivan College, and worked as a teacher in Harlem, New York.
Simmons formed the rock band Wicked Lester in the early 1970s with Stanley Eisen (also known as Paul Stanley) and recorded one album, which was never released. Dissatisfied with Wicked Lester’s sound and look, Simmons and Stanley went looking for other musicians and eventually joined up with drummer Peter Criscuola and lead guitarist Paul Frehley—who would become Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, respectively. When Simmons and Stanley’s attempts to fire their old band members met with resistance, they simply quit Wicked Lester, walking away from their record deal with Epic Records. They formed a new band with Criss and Frehley, which they soon dubbed KISS. KISS released their first self-titled debut album in February of 1974 and have continued to perform to this present day, with Simmons as lead performer on stage and the driving force behind the extensive KISS merchandising franchise.
He has two children with Shannon Tweed - a son, Nicholas (b. 22 Jan 1989), and a daughter, Sophie (b. 7 Jul 1992).

CD releases :
* Gene Simmons 1978
* Sex Money Kiss (audiobook CD) 2003
* Asshole 2004
* Monster (due in 2007)

Trivia :
* He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on Oct 15, 2006.
* Gene sent a video recording in August 2006 to an Israeli soldier severely wounded in combat in Lebanon, praising him as his hero. Gene spoke in “confident Hebrew” at one point during the video, according to AssociatedPress.[wikipedia]