I guess all thoe years of “Rock n’ Roll all night and partee every day” finally caught up to him!
I can see why they wore make up all those years.
No, actualy it was Ace Frehley and Peter Criss who were the hard partying, drugging members of the band. Gene Simmons and Paul were the squares.
Interview with Lydia Criss, Peter Criss's wife:
Jeb: From the fan’s perspective it seems the band divided into two camps. You had Gene and Paul on one side and Peter and Ace on the other.
Lydia: Gene and Paul were together before Kiss. Gene and Paul were also more into the business aspect of the band. Ace and Peter just wanted to party and live the rock star lifestyle. It really came down to the fact that there were two band members who did not do drugs and there were two band members that did do drugs.
http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/Interviews07/lydiacriss07.htm
Gary James' Interview With Paul Stanley of Kiss
Q - Over the years, Kiss has managed to be scandal free. You haven't had run-ins with the police or been busted for drugs. This is kind of unusual for a group, isn't it?
A - Well, all that mystique or intrigue with either the law or drugs, is such a load of crap. It's usually a cheap way to get publicity.
Q - But, it works.
A - And it works. But, the truth is it doesn't work for the long-run. Whether you're trying to get press because you do drugs or because you suddenly decided not to do drugs, it's all just cheap publicity. To me, it's like - shut-up and play your music. The music has either got to do the talking or not. All the rest is irrelevant, as far as some kind of fascination with some kind of rock 'n' roll lifestyle. And I say that with quotation marks around it. (Laughs). Very often, it's calculated, and it's press. That's all. If somebody really wants to know the scoop on drugs and rock 'n' roll, they should ask Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, or Jim Morrison. Whatever they can say or can't say, says it all.
http://www.classicbands.com/PaulStanleyInterview.html
I can see why they wore make up all those years.
It's called aging. And it's coming for you. :-)
Actually, that pic of him in his makeup is from an old 1970s album. I would assume that they looked better because they were younger, but back then they made such a big deal out of preventing their real faces under all that make up from being photographed. It served a dual purpose: Publicity for their band, and retained their privacy. They could walk around in public and not get harrased by overeager fans.