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Sophie Simmons

Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons 2012.jpg
Simmons in Los Angeles, California, on October 15, 2012
Background information
Birth name Chaim Witz
Also known as The Demon
Born (1949-08-25) August 25, 1949 (age 68)
Tirat Carmel, Haifa, Israel
Genres Heavy metal, hard rock
Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, entrepreneur, teacher, reality star, assistant editor
Instruments Vocals, bass
Years active 1970–present
Associated acts Kiss, Wicked Lester, Wendy O. Williams
Website genesimmons.com

Gene Klein, born Chaim Witz (Hebrew: חיים ויץ‎, [xaˈim ˈvit͡s], born August 25, 1949), known professionally as Gene Simmons, is an Israeli-American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, actor and television personality. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the rock band he co-founded with lead singer and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley in the early 1970s.

Born Chaim Witz on August 25, 1949, at Rambam Hospital, in Haifa, Israel, Simmons and his mother immigrated to New York City when he was eight. Simmons was raised in a Jewish household, where he practiced playing his guitar for hours on end. His mother, Florence Klein (originally Flóra Kovács), was born in Jánd, Hungary. The name Klein, which means "small" in German, has the Hungarian equivalent Kis (a common Hungarian surname); this, however, did not give the band its name. Simmons' mother survived internment in Nazi concentration camps. She and her brother, Larry Klein, were the only members of the family to survive the Holocaust.

Simmons' father, Ferenc Witz, also Hungarian-born, remained in Israel, where he had one other son and three daughters, and worked as a carpenter. Simmons says the family was "dirt poor", scraping by on bread and milk. In the United States, Simmons changed his name to Eugene Klein (later Gene Klein), adopting his mother's maiden name. Before his musical career began, Simmons worked a variety of jobs in the city. An "excellent typist", he served as an assistant to an editor of the fashion magazine Vogue, and also spent several months as a sixth grade instructor on the Upper West Side.


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