Gene Simmons

Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz on August 25, 1949 in Haifa, Israel to Hungarian Jewish immigrants) is best known as the blood spitting, fire breathing, tongue-wagging egomaniacal bass player for the rock band KISS. In 1958, he emigrated to New York City as a child 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 emigrating to America, he took the name Gene Klein; he felt that 'Gene' was more American than 'Chaim', and his mother's maiden name was Klein. In the late 1960s, he changed his name again, to Gene Simmons, as he simply felt that "Gene Klein" didn't have enough of a ring to it.

External links

• GeneSimmons.com, Mr. Simmons' official website
• The IMDb entry on Mr. Simmons (errors exist)
• KISSonline.com, KISS' official website
• Kissfreaks.com
• Transcript of Gene Simmons on NPR