Due to all four original Kiss members having penned respective autobiographies and numerous articles penned about the band over the years, it appears as though the original Kiss line-up can be split down the middle between two categories. First, the “serious side” who kept an eye on the professional and business aspects of things, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, and then those who simply wanted to “rock and roll all night and party every day,” Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.
And this observation was clearly on display when all four original Kiss members appeared on “The Tomorrow Show” with Tom Snyder on Halloween night in 1979, just a few months before Peter left the band. While most of the members played it straight during the interview, it soon became the “Ace Frehley Show” as a clearly inebriated Spaceman constantly made jokes and offered his trademark cackle throughout, much to the chagrin of a very serious-looking Simmons.
During an interview with Booked on Rock, the author of the book “Creatures of the Screen – The Uncensored (and Unofficial) History of Kissploitation on Film, Television & Home Video,” John Harrison, dug deep into this particular Kiss TV appearance.
‘The Tomorrow Show’ was a very sort of serious late-night TV show,” Harrison said (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). “I mean, Tom Snyder was someone that often had politicians and big political figures and real sort of intellectuals. So for Gene especially, and Paul, I think they saw ‘The Tomorrow Show’ was their chance to really show the serious side of Kiss, to try and show how intelligent and clever they were.”
“But unfortunately, as soon as Ace started opening his mouth, that sort of went downhill. And I think rather than go along with it and at least get into the spirit of it, Gene and Paul just decided to really hunker down. And you can sort of tell Gene is really miserable and doesn’t want to talk about anything really exciting.”
