George Peter John Criscuola was born on the 20th December 1945, in Brooklyn, New York City, USA of Italian American descent. He is a musician well known under the name of Peter Criss who was one of the founders, and drummer and vocalist of the legendary music group Kiss. In the hard rock band, Criss was also known as The Catman. As a member of Kiss he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Peter Criss has also added to his net worth as a solo artist and actor. He has been active in the entertainment industry since 1964.
How much is Peter Criss net worth? It has been estimated that the overall size of his net worth is as much as $2 million, accumulated during his lengthy career in the music industry.
Peter Criss Net Worth $2 Million
Peter grew up together with his four siblings in the Williamsburg district of Brooklyn, New York. He shared his passion of playing the drums with a friend, Jerry Nolan, who became the successful drummer of the New York Dolls band. Criss played in a number of bands including Chelsea and Lips in 1960s. In the early 1970s he became a founding member of the band Kiss; Paul Stanley took the position of vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Ace Frehley – leading guitarist, Gene Simmons – vocalist, bass guitarist and Peter Criss – drummer, percussionist and vocalist. Their debut album “Kiss” (1974) was successful with gold certifications received in USA and Canada. It should be noted that Criss served as a lead vocalist on various hits, including “Black Diamond” (1974), “Hard Luck Woman” (1976) and “Beth” (1976) which was certified gold. During the decade of the 1970s, the band released many studio albums including the gold ones “Hotter Than Hell” (1974), “Dressed to Kill” (1975), “Alive!” (1975) and “Double Platinum” (1978); platinum ones “Rock and Roll Over” (1976) and “Love Gun” (1977); and two multi-platinum studio albums “Destroyer” (1976) and “Alive” (1977). Unfortunately, Peter suffered a serious injury from a car crash in 1978, and could not participate in the active life of the band, and as the result was voted out.
Officially, he left the hard rock band in 1980 and immediately pursued a solo career. His debut solo album entitled “Peter Criss” (1978) entered the album charts in Canada and USA, as well as receiving respectively gold and platinum certifications for sales. Later, he successfully continued his solo career with other studio albums, “Out of Control” (1980), “Let Me Rock You” (1982), “Cat #1” (1994) and “One for All” (2007). These recordings added significantly to Peter’s net worth.
It should be mentioned that Peter Criss returned to the Kiss band in 1995 and left again in 2001, and then rejoined the band for the third time in 2002 though he left in 2004. Because of many disagreements and frustration he could not be a permanent part of the band, nevertheless Kiss added much financially to the net worth of Peter Criss.
Additionally, as an actor Criss appeared in the television series “Millennium” (1998) and “Oz” (2002). He landed a role in the feature films “Detroit Rock City” (1999) directed by Adam Rifkin and “Frame of Mind” (2009) directed by Chris Noth. Criss and Larry Sloman wrote the autobiography of the artist entitled “Make-up to Break-up: My Life In and Out of Kiss” (2012). All the above mentioned engagements also increased the net worth of Peter Criss.
In his personal life, Peter Criss has been married three times, to Lydia Di Leonardo (1970 – 1979), Debra Jensen (1979 – 1994) with whom he has a daughter, and Gigi Criss (1998 – present).
“Peter Criss” (1978), “Out of Control” (1980), “Let Me Rock You” (1982), “Cat #1” (1994), “One for All” (2007), “Hotter Than Hell” (1974), “Dressed to Kill” (1975), “Alive!” (1975), “Double Platinum” (1978), “Rock and Roll Over” (1976), “Love Gun” (1977), “Destroyer” (1976), “Alive” (1977)
Music Groups
Kiss, Wicked Lester, Chelsea
Movies
“Millennium” (1998), “Oz” (2002), “Detroit Rock City” (1999, “Frame of Mind” (2009)
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Trademark
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Catman makeup
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Quote
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I find myself evil. I believe in the devil as much as God. You can use either one to get things done.
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Fact
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K.I.S.S. was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
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The song "Beth" was actually inspired by Rebecca; the girlfriend of a former band member. Originally, the song was titled "Beck". The song was released in 1976.
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April 7, 1981 daughter Jenilee, was born.
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First wife Lydia was his inspiration for KISS' 1975 Top 10 hit "Beth", which he wrote and sang lead on.
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Is 'Cat Man' In The Hard Rock Band, KISS
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According to a statement on his website, he is now permanently out of KISS. His contract was not renewed and Gene Simmons allegedly made some slanderous comments, which angered him. [April 2004]
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Played in such bands as The Barracudas, Chelsea (which released an album in 1969) and Lips before becoming the drummer for KISS in 1973.
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Plans to focus on big-band jazz music in his post-KISS career.
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Drummer for KISS from 1973-1980 and 1995-2000. Has rejoined the group for a second time for their 2003 tour with Aerosmith.
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Successfully sued the National Enquirer in 1995 for falsely reporting that he was a homeless drunk living on the beach. The person featured in the Enquirer article was actually an impersonator named Chris Dickinson, whom Peter met on the 'Donahue' show in February 1991.