MASKED MEN OF PRE-KISSTORIC TIMES

MASKED MEN OF PRE-KISSTORIC TIMES

While we don’t want to shock anybody, the fact of the matter is that Kiss are not the first people to hide their faces behind masks. To the contrary, throughout the history of show business, literature, crime, war, medicine, and unsightly acne, there are entirely plausible tales of masked men and women.

For one thing, does“Hi-Yo,

Silver!” mean anything to you?

That’s right. It’s the Lone Ranger, America’s favorite avenging angel of radio and later TV, who wore a black mask across his eyes to obscure his identity. Though it was never clear why he did this, it is as clear as the nose falling off your face why Lon Chaney as the Phantom Of The Opera wore a complete face covering—he was ugly as sin, due to an unfortunate accident with ly^. Of course, that’s only a movie, only a movie, only a movie...

In real life, too, there are folks who wear masks. The bank robber, for instance. Whether he chooses to hide under a ski mask or a lady’s stocking, a concealed identity is essential to this criminal’s livelihood.

It’s the same for guys like “Joey,” the author and self-professed hitman. When he goes on The David Susskind Show to plug (no pun intended) his new book, he certainly doesn’t want the cops snapping his picture! So what does he do? He slips on a mask—in his case, an elegant black satin pillowcase with eyeholes. And what about the doctors in the* emergency room who are called on to repair Joey’s victims? They certainly don’t stand around coughing and drooling their germs into a patient’s extensive wounds— they wear* surgical masks which filter out all that gunk.

Let’s not forget Halloween, either. People have been wearing masks on Hallod/een to ward off the devil for centuries. (Matter of fact, Kiss made their first TV appearance ever on Paul Lynde’s Halloween Special last year.) Then there are the clowns in the circus, who’ve always painted their faces (with Stein’s Clown White—same as Kiss) and worn fake noses and fright wigs.

In Japan, they maintain an ancient and very serious tradition of theatre called Kabuki, in which the actors perform in outrageously designed whiteface in order to accentuate their roles. Though Gene has denied the influence, it’s entirely possible— even likely—that Kiss was inspired (perhaps subconsciously) by the visual styles of Kabuki. Gene doesn’t deny, however, that the group’s makeup was influenced by Marvel Comics characters, most of whom wear some sort of mask.

There are other more functional masks, too. There’s the gas mask, the swim mask, and the football face mask—the latter of which has a penalty named for it. In a more esoteric vein, on the other hand, one might add to this list the “mask of grief” and the “mask of anonymity,” cliches used by writers throughout history to color their literature.

. And what’s that stuff you keep in a jar in your medicine cabinet? The stuff you put on your pimples before a heavy date? Of course, that’s your facial masque! You see, everybody is in show biz after all!

Truth to tell, masks are an intrinsic part of the story of the human race and, Kiss or no Kiss, masks are here to stay.