Gene Simmons
Biography
Gene Simmons is a musician and songwriter of Israeli and American background, best known as the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he formed in 1973 with Ace Frehley, Peter Criss and Paul Stanley. He was born in Haifa and grew up in Tirat Carmel before moving to Queens, New York, as a boy. On stage he adopted the demonic persona known as the Demon. He made his feature debut in the Michael Crichton thriller Runaway (1984) and appeared in Trick or Treat (1986), Wanted: Dead or Alive (1987) and Scooby-Doo! and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery (2015). KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, the 1978 NBC movie, also featured him with the group. He created and starred in the reality series Gene Simmons Family Jewels and created Rock School and My Dad the Rock Star. He entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Kiss in 2014.
77years old
Turns 78 on August 25in 315 days
- Born Tirat Carmel
- Star sign: VirgoThe sign runs August 23 to September 22
- חיים ויץ (birth name)Also credited as Chaim Witz and Haim Witz
Movie Career
- Films
- 16
- Career span
- 48 years1978 to 2026
Genres
- Comedy38%, 6 films
- Music38%, 6 films
- Action31%, 5 films
- Documentary31%, 5 films
- Crime19%, 3 films
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First role
At 15, in 1964-65, Simmons joined his first band, Lynx, which was later renamed the Missing Links. In a later group, Alan Stuart Graf, a future lawyer and author, persuaded him to buy his first bass because the band needed a bass player.
A change of course
Before music, Simmons worked as an assistant to a Vogue editor, using his typing skill, and spent six months teaching sixth grade on the Upper West Side of New York City.
Big break
Simmons and Paul Stanley quit Wicked Lester and walked away from a record deal with Epic Records, deciding instead to form what they called the ultimate rock band.
Getting ready for a role
Simmons's "Demon" makeup with Kiss took its eye section from the wing design of the comic book character Black Bolt.
Getting ready for a role
Gene Simmons based his signature stalking moves on stage on Ymir, the creature from the movie 20 Million Miles to Earth.
Gene Simmons movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Paul Stanley appears in four of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Paul Stanley's page
Alice Cooper's page
Stan Lee's page
Ozzy Osbourne's page
Doug Savant's page
Joe Perry's page
Box office
What Gene Simmons's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$58.6 million
7 of the 16 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 16 films: 7 worldwide figure; 3 us gross only; 2 never in cinemas; 4 figure not found.
- 7Worldwide figure
- 3US gross only
- 2Never in cinemas
- 4Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The seven biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$31M53.3% of the total
- 2$11M18.5% of the total
- 3$6.8M11.6% of the total
- 4$6.8M11.6% of the total
- 5$2.5M4.3% of the total
- 6$374K0.6% of the total
- 7$52K0.1% of the total
Awards
One award and honor.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| 2006 | Great Immigrants Award | Won | |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.