Gene Simmons

In France, there was once a coca cola bottle with Gene Simmons' face on it.

A magician called "Amaze-O" taught Gene Simmons how to breathe fire.

In March of 2007, Gene Simmons, along with his longtime girlfriend, Shannon Tweed, got his and hers facelifts.

Gene Simmons can shoot fire out of his mouth 15 feet high. The world record is 20 feet, which makes him one of the top five people who can breathe fire in the world.

Gene once lost his voice onstage in Osaka, Japan on January 22, 1997.

Gene accidentally caught his hair on fire on December 31, 1973 in New York.

In August, 2006 Gene sent a video recording to an Israeli soldier severely wounded in combat in Lebanon, praising him as his hero.

Gene's nicknames are Gene the Nazarene and Genie.

Gene's parents are named Feri Witz and Florence Klein.

Gene was offered the role of Nick Hurley in the film, Flashdance, but turned the role down because of scheduling conflicts with KISS. Michael Nouri ended up getting the part.

Gene is of Hungarian and Jewish descent.

Gene graduated from Sullivan County Community College with a Bachelor's degree in Education.

Gene's famous tongue has been measured at over 7 inches in length.

Gene's trade marks are his tongue, his axe-shaped bass guitar and the Demon makeup he wore during his days in KISS.

Gene was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on Oct 15, 2006 along with fellow Kiss members Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley.

Gene has a cartoon show based on his family life on Nickelodeon, titled My Dad The Rock Star.

Gene and his family are the subject of a new reality show on the A&E Network, titled Family Jewels.

Gene is a former member of the Mickey Mouse Club.

Gene created and published his own line of fanzines as a teen. Some of his titles include: Cosmos, Faun, and Lamaba Gamma. His magazines were based on fantasy, science fiction, and basic creative imagination comics.

Gene shared a live-in relationship with Cher for awhile, before meeting longtime love Shannon Tweed.

Gene worked at Glamour magazine, then at Vogue as assistant to the editor, Kate Lloyd.

Gene was executive Producer on the movie Detroit Rock City.

Gene worked with kids & rock music on the VH-1 reality hit Rock School.

Gene is publisher of his magazine Gene Simmon's Tongue.

Gene's first job was delivering the Long Island Star Journal in Queens, he made $37.50 a week, then added a second route for an additional $28.00 a week.

Gene Simmons and a former girlfriend, Georgann Walsh Ward, have settled a defamation lawsuit in which he made her sound like a "sex-addicted nymphomaniac" during a TV documentary. Walsh was Gene's girlfriend in the '70s and received no financial payment for appearing in the film When KISS Ruled the World. Her lawsuit also alleges the film defamed her by juxtaposing Gene's commentary with photographs that included her.

Gene has his own 39 cent postage stamp now. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Humane Society.

Gene has the same birthday as Rob Halford, the vocalist for Judas Priest .

Even though, Gene is the co-founder of the band, Paul Stanley is actually the one who suggested the name KISS.

Gene founded Simmons Publishing, which publishes books and magazines.

Gene played in a band called Cathedral several years before forming KISS.

Gene has never used alcohol, drugs, or tobacco.

Gene claims to have slept with over 4,600 women.

Gene gave Cher's son, Elijah Blue, his first guitar at age 11.

Gene launched his Gene Simmons - Dragonfly fashion label in August, 2002.

Gene has been publishing the magazine entitled Tongue since late 2001. He is currently working on a KISS brand of condoms, among other things. Most of his post-KISS career will be spent producing feature films and creating new KISS merchandise.

Gene discovered Van Halen in 1977 and produced the demo that got them signed to Warner Brothers Records.

Gene produced many entertainment acts in the 1980's, including Keel, Wendy O' Williams, EZO,Liza Minelli, and Black & Blue.

Gene designed the axe shaped bass guitar.

Before deciding on a career in the music industry, Gene considered becoming a rabbi.

Gene was once in a band called Bullfrog Beer. Other pre-KISS bands he was a member of include Coffee, The Long Island Sounds, and Wicked Lester (with Paul Stanley).

Gene speaks five languages. He can speak English, German, Hungarian, Japanese and Hebrew.

Eddie Van Halen once begged Gene and Paul Stanley to let him join KISS, during a time when his band, Van Halen, was having problems. He was rejected because Gene and Paul were still trying to convince Ace Frehley to stay, though their efforts were unsuccessful as Frehley left the band in 1983. He was replaced by Vinnie Vincent, then Mark St. John, and finally Bruce Kulick.

Gene has a son, Nicholas, who was born in 1989 and a daughter, Sophie, who was born in 1992. Shannon Tweed is the mother of both children.

Gene has lived with model/actress Shannon Tweed since 1983, but they've never married. He calls marriage an "institution", and says he doesn't believe in institutions.

Gene dated Norwegian actress, Liv Ullmann.

Gene was involved in a live in relationship with Diana Ross.

Prior to forming KISS, Gene Simmons was a 6th grade teacher in Spanish Harlem.

Gene was the co-founder of the hard rock band, KISS. The band is famous for outrageous antics and kabuki style make-up.

Gene is 6' 2" tall.

Gene has written two books. He wrote Sex, Money, KISS and KISS and Make-up.