Paul Stanley

OVERCOMING THE ODDS Paul Stanley Those of you who have followed me on Social Media know that the band Kiss has been a part of my life since I was twelve years old. Lead Singer and Long Time Member and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Paul Stanley, believe it or not, is one man who Overcome the Odds. Unbeknownst to many people prior to the relase of his Autobiography last year, Paul was born with a misshapen right ear due to a birth defect called microtia. This made it difficult for him to determine the direction of a sound, and he could not understand speech in a noisy environment. This is ironic considering he would become a lead singer. He remains deaf in that ear to this day. Paul was teased for his deformed ear and felt inferior and he admits even through his Adulthood in Kiss remained a shy person. Kids used to call him Stanley the ONe Eared Monster. Music became an outlet for him and a way to escape. Considering his band wore makeup the first 10 years of their career, Paul was able to hide his insecurities and escape under a face-painted character The Starchild. He felt in control on stage and confident. In 1982 he endured a series of five reconstructive surgeries in which pieces of cartilage from his rib cage were used to create the framework of an ear, which was then grafted onto his head. When Kiss took the makeup off in 1983 and kept it off until 1996, Paul was able to face performing without makeup but still felt inferior. Indeed, it wasn't until the year 1999, three years after the original members of his band had reunited and put the makeup back on, that his portrayal of the Phantom in the Musical 'Phantom of the Opera' that he had a life changing experience. Paul realized that every time he occupied the character it tapped into things deep inside him. The mask and the hidden facial disfigurement of the Phantom mimicked his own life story to some degree with being born with a deformed ear. In his Autobiography 'Face the Music', Stanley describes how Phantom's climactic moment- when Christine rips off the mask hiding the Phantom's hideously scarred face resonated with him personally. “I knew this scene. It was the scene I had feared my entire life: scrutinizing eyes staring at Stanley, the one-eared monster.” His performance impressed Anna Pileggi, from the charity AboutFace, enough that she reached out to Stanley, noting that he seemed to identify with the character in a way she hadn’t seen in other actors. She went on to describe the work of her organization, which is dedicated to helping children born with facial differences. Stanley soon called her, told her of his mircotia and surgeries, and agreed to partner with AboutFace by talking to kids and their parents about his experiences.
Paul Stanley overcame the Odds of being born with a deformity, deafness by becoming a Lead Singer of a Very Successful Band. In addition, despite appearing in control on stage, he finally Became Comfortable with himself by Portraying a Character that Resonated with his own life.