- Born
- Birth nameStanley Harvey Eisen
- Nickname
- Star Child
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- Paul Stanley is the charismatic front man/lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist/songwriter for hard rock super group KISS, best known for his wailing vocals, high-energy on-stage antics and appeal to female fans. Born Stanley Eisen on January 20, 1952, in Queens, New York, Stanley took a keen interest in music from a young age, and in his early teens he was already playing guitar and writing his own songs.
A chance meeting with another aspiring young musician, Gene Simmons, led the two of them to form several musical groups including "Wicked Lester"; however, none of them took off commercially. Stanley and Simmons then decided on a revamped idea of how their "ultimate group" should look and sound, and they then recruited lead guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss. After mediocre success from their first three studio albums titled "Kiss", "Hotter Than Hell" and "Dressed To Kill", they released a double live album simply titled "Kiss: Alive", and it was a mega success. KISS was the hottest group in the US between 1975 and 1980, with every album going platinum and stadiums being sold out to frenzied fans.
However, all was not well within the KISS ranks, with Criss departing in 1980, followed by Frehley in 1983. Various guitarists and drummers moved in and out of the band over the next 12 years, but an MTV Unplugged (1989) special brought all four original members back together in 1995 with considerable interest from promoters. Subsequently, the original four members embarked on "Kiss: Alive Worldwide", the biggest grossing tour of 1996/97, and they continued to tour relentlessly for the next four years.
Thirty years of wild leaps, swirls and prancing had taken their toll on his body, however, and in early 2005 he underwent hip replacement surgery, from which he is expected to make a full recovery. Whilst many may disagree, Simmons and Stanley can proudly stand alongside other key popular song writing duos such as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, or John Lennon and Paul McCartney in terms of both longevity and artistic output.
His on-camera appearances have included playing his "Starchild" alter ego in the hokey Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978) and as himself in The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)
- IMDb mini biography by: firehouse44@hotmail.com
- SpousesErin Sutton(November 19, 2005 - present) (3 children)Pamela Bowen(July 26, 1992 - March 2001) (divorced, 1 child)
- ChildrenEvan Shane StanleyColin Michael StanleySarah Brianna StanleyEmily Grace Stanley
- The "Starchild" makeup when performing with KISS
- Introducing songs onstage by shouting in heavy Queens accent
- Gene Simmons considers Stanley to be the brother he never had. Like Simmons, Stanley doesn't smoke or use drugs.
- His father was from a Polish Jewish family. His mother, Eva (Jontof-Hutter), was born in Berlin, to a German Jewish family that left Nazi Germany for Amsterdam, and then moved to New York (they also had Czech Jewish ancestry).
- Is "Star Child" In The Hard Rock Band, KISS.
- Was the last person to play the Phantom in the Toronto Production of The Phantom of the Opera.
- Is a fan of classical opera.
- The best diet for the road is soup for lunch and candy for supper. It keeps the weight off, and you're speeding on all the sugar by showtime.
- We were bordering on playing roles, because it just wasn't who we were anymore. We had too much respect for our fans and ourselves to turn Kiss into a Broadway show. The makeup wasn't a fashion statement; it was a statement of people and their personalities. I thought we were holding on to something a little longer than we should have, because it really wasn't a true reflection of who we were at that point. We needed to figure out if we were a real band, or just a bunch of guys with makeup. I figured that if all we were about was white faces and platform boots, then we should call it quits. To be effective as a band, we had to drop the makeup. [explaining why Kiss got rid of the makeup in 1983]
- Don't listen to advice. Because advice is always tainted by the person who is saying it, so, you know, what worked for me won't necessarily work for somebody else. The only thing I can say that will work is following your intuition and following your gut feeling.
- Most of the time, people will advise you to do something that you can't accomplish. And that's usually the product of their own failure. I didn't get where I am by listening to other people. Follow your heart, and follow your gut.
- When it came time to do Lick It Up, it was clear to us that it was time to take off the makeup, out of respect for the makeup and for our fans.
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