More on Gene Simmons

A typical exchange might go something like this, Simmons says: " 'Hi, it's Gene Simmons, can I speak to the president?' 'I'm sorry?' 'Ya know, Gene Simmons, the guy from Kiss; I stick my tongue out.' 'Yeah, right! Jerry, is this you?'...It happens all the time."

Since trademarking its logo and its signature face-makeup designs in the mid-'70s, Kiss has licensed those internationally known rock icons--the logo and all four faces are owned by Simmons and Stanley exclusively--to more than 2,000 companies, from makers of toilet paper and Matchbox cars to manufacturers of caskets and automobiles.

It all began during the '70s, with the creation of such items as comic books, lunch boxes, bubblegum cards and, of course, the Kiss dolls.
And while it's got to the point where companies are constantly approaching the band about new products, a good number of the ideas that have seen the light of day—like the Kondoms 8212;are engineered by Simmons himself.