Flora told Kiss star not to fear failure

Jewish Telegraph, December 2018

ROCK star Gene Simmons described his mother, Florence Klein, as his “moral compass” in an Instagram post about her death.
Florence, who was known as Flora, died last week, aged 93.
The Kiss star posted a photograph of himself as a child with his mother on Instagram with the message:
“The best mother in the world. I lost my Mother. My mentor. My moral compass. And I am heartbroken. My Mother, Flora Klein, passed away at 93 years of age. No illness. No pain. She simply went quietly, went to sleep.
“My Mother will always be in my thoughts and in my heart. Today. And Forever. And I would urge all of you, to run over, put your arms around your mother, kiss her and tell her how much you love her. Do this every day!”
Kiss bandmate Paul Stanley wrote on Twitter: “Gene’s mother, Florence Lubowski, has passed away. I knew her as long as I’ve known Gene. Beyond her fierce love and pride in her only child, she was his inspiration to live up to being worthy of the sacrifices she made in a very difficult and, at time, horrific life.
“A holocaust survivor, she fought for all she had, and her fierce protection and pride in Gene made her someone to be feared, admired and loved. I will miss her laugh and smile.” (sic)
Last year, Simmons — who was born Chaim Witz in Israel — opened up about his mother’s life, calling her “my hero”.
“She was sent to a Nazi concentration camp at the age of 14 and survived, but all the members of her family were wiped out — she saw her mother walk into a gas chamber,” he said.
“Despite the tragedy, she is a positive person who sees the goodness in people’s hearts.”
He added: “She raised me as a single mother in Israel — I was an only child. My father (Feri Witz) abandoned us when I was six. Mom had relatives living in America and so we relocated there for a better life when I was eight.
“When we arrived in America neither of us could speak a word of English. My mother worked in a factory that was like a sweatshop — six days a week, no lunch breaks and there was no minimum wage.
“She was a button and buttonhole worker, handling 1,000 coats a day. She made half a penny for every button sewed.
“My father was her one true love. She went to Israel 25 times to visit him, even though he was a scoundrel who had remarried.
“I later found out that I had five half-brothers from my father’s five other marriages. He died in his early 80s and at that time he was living with a 35-year-old woman. He was who he was to the end.”
He continued: “My mother told me never to fear failure so I was fearless . . . and delusional about myself. She would say, ‘What is the worst thing that can happen?’
“She encouraged me to pick myself up, dust myself off and try again. I don’t let emotions get in the way ‘that stuff will cripple you’.”
Flora was well-known among Kiss fans for appearing in Simmons’ reality television show Family Jewels.
Last year, Simmons and his daughter Sophie accepted the Legacy Award in Los Angeles on behalf of his mother from Yad Vashem.
Photographer Lynn Goldsmith has been in touch by text with Simmons this week.
She featured photographs of Flora with Gene in his Kiss outfit and make-up in her book Kiss: 1977–1980.
“I first met Flora around 1976/77,” Lynn told the Jewish Telegraph. “She was someone who I felt comfortable with, as we are both Jewish.
“She isn’t unlike my own family members. There was a natural rapport and bond.
“I knew that her family had suffered through the Nazi occupation, and thought she was an incredibly brave and strong woman.”
Lynn added: “Gene and I were bonded in that we both had strong single working mothers. There weren’t that many during the days when we grew up. Most kids had two parents and the mother’s didn’t work.
“She was always proud of her son — she had good reason to be.
“I was already familiar with the fact that Gene, the character he played in Kiss, was not the fire-breathing demon in person.
“Flora was clear that even though her son was a rock star, he didn’t do drugs and was a good boy. She was proud of how famous he became.”
Lynn said she sent a copy of her photo of Gene with his mum to Flora as a gift, but “she sent it back to me and wrote about Chaim.
“She had some misspellings because English was not her first language. I saved it all these years.
“I laughed so hard because, I guess, she thought I wanted her to tell a story.”
Lynn continued: “My mother also passed at 92 . . . 92 is a pretty blessed number to live to. You only get one mother and 92 doesn’t matter. It’s a loss that can’t be replaced.
“It is with you until you leave the planet.”
Former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick, who is also Jewish, lost his mother, Alice, in April, so he understands how his ex-bandmate is feeling.
“She was a huge part of Gene’s world,” he wrote on Instagram. “RIP Flora. I remember her watching us with my Mom at the Garden (Madison Square Garden, New York) many years ago. I hope she says hello to my Mom Alice in Heaven.”
In September, current Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer lost his father, James Thayer, who had helped liberate a concentration camp near Wels, Austria.