Gene Simmons

Gene Simmons (born Chaim Klein Witz on August 25, 1949 in Haifa, Israel to Hungarian Jewish immigrants) is best known as "The Demon", his blood spitting, fire breathing, tongue-wagging persona in the rock band

Gene Simmons (born Chaim Klein Witz on August 25, 1949 in Haifa, Israel to Hungarian Jewish immigrants) is best known as "The Demon", his blood spitting, fire breathing, tongue-wagging persona in the rock band KISS. Simmons currently lives in Beverly Hills, California with his long time partner Shannon Tweed, a former Playboy playmate of the year.

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.