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When 1980 arrived, there had
been more talk about holding another concert, but nothing ever
materialized. In June, Troy moved away from Fremont. This seemed
as though it might be the final nail in the coffin for the KISS
Impersonators, since Troy was now living more than an hour away
from the other members.
Summer arrived, and the costumes remained packed away. By July,
however, Troy was eager to get back in front of an audience
and recapture the success the group had enjoyed in 1978. If
they were going to make another appearance, he wanted it to
be something special-a chance for the group to go out with a
bang. Everyone was getting older and moving on with their lives,
so Halloween would have to be carefully planned and organized
to make it a memorable occasion.
Troy first contacted Joey and then Jack, and both agreed to
participate. The fourth position was not filled immediately
because Peter Criss had left KISS earlier that year, and the
band had yet to publicly announce his replacement.
In August, KISS appeared on the cover of People magazine
with its newest member, Eric Carr, whose stage persona was the
Fox. Now that the group knew which character needed to be represented,
the search for a fourth member began.
Joey asked Greg about returning, but Greg was unsure whether
he wanted to continue. Troy then approached Paul Alberts, who
declined because he was too busy with other commitments. Just
three days after Troy spoke with Paul, the group found its Eric
Carr: Bin Avery, whose older sister was married to Jack's uncle.
After Troy, Joey, and Jack reunited, they spent several weeks
working on costumes before progress came to something of a standstill.
Troy and Joey planned to wear the same costumes they had worn
in 1979, so theirs were essentially ready. Troy's costume needed
some repairs and modifications, which he took care of right
away. It wasn't until October that work on Jack's and Bin's
costumes began moving forward again.
As part of the plan to make Halloween 1980 their best appearance
yet, Troy mailed letters on October 10 to four local television
stations, the television show Real People, and several
local newspapers, asking whether they would be interested in
doing a story about the group.
On October 14, Joey received a call from the Fremont newspaper
The Argus, confirming that it would cover the group.
No other responses arrived before Halloween, although Troy eventually
received letters from Real People and Channel 5's Evening
Magazine. Both declined to do a story but thanked the group
for its submission.
Costume work continued throughout October. Troy traveled to
Fremont every weekend to meet with the members and take care
of anything that needed his attention. Jack's and Bin's costumes
went through fittings and adjustments, and Troy continued working
with Jack's grandmother to have pieces sewn or altered.
Despite the distance Troy had to travel, preparations progressed
at a good pace. The final costume pieces were picked up from
Jack's grandmother the day before Halloween. For once, the group
had essentially finished its costumes a day early.
Troy arrived in Fremont the day before Halloween to prepare
Joey's garage for the following day's activities. After picking
up the final costume pieces from Jack's grandmother, he stopped
by Jack's house, where he received some unexpected news.
Jack had decided to quit the group.
His costume was complete, and he told Troy that the group could
still use it. Troy headed to Joey's house to break the news,
and the two immediately set out to find a replacement.
They first approached Paul Alberts, but he was not interested.
Next, they visited their friend Steve Borden, whom Troy thought
would make a convincing Paul Stanley. Troy and Joey did their
best to persuade Steve to join them, but he declined.
It began to look as though the group would be one member short.
With an interview scheduled with The Argus the following
day, there was very little time left to find someone to play
Paul Stanley.
During their search, Joey had mentioned a friend named Tim who
was interested in what they were doing and would probably be
willing to participate. Troy had hoped to find someone he already
knew who would resemble Paul Stanley, particularly since the
group was going to be featured in the newspaper.
Finally, at about 7:30 p.m., Joey called Tim, who came over
to Joey's house. When Tim arrived, Troy didn't think he looked
anything like Paul Stanley. With no other options available,
however, they decided to apply the makeup and see how he looked.
As Troy worked on Tim's makeup, he became increasingly discouraged.
Even with the makeup taking shape, Troy couldn't see any resemblance
to Paul Stanley. He began to fear that all their plans for Halloween
were about to fall apart.
When the makeup was finished, Troy still thought they had struck
out. Then Tim put on the wig and stood at the opposite end of
the garage.
Suddenly, everything changed.
Troy and Joey were amazed at how much Tim resembled Paul Stanley.
Neither could believe the transformation. What had seemed like
a disaster only moments earlier had worked out after all.
The group had its Paul Stanley!
With that problem solved, Troy and Joey turned their attention
back to preparing the garage. They worked until after midnight
getting everything ready for the following day.
Halloween arrived, and Troy was at Joey's house first thing
that morning. Bin arrived around 10:00 a.m.
At approximately 12:30 p.m., a reporter from The Argus
arrived. He spoke with the guys and began interviewing them
as they continued their preparations.
Around 1:30 p.m., a newspaper photographer arrived, but the
group had not yet started applying makeup. Tim arrived at approximately
2:15 p.m., and the photographer took a few pictures of the guys
without makeup. He asked when they expected to be ready for
photographs in full makeup, and Troy estimated sometime between
4:30 and 5:00 p.m. The photographer said he would return in
a couple of hours.
At about 2:30 p.m., the guys began applying their makeup. The
reporter continued his interview for a short time before finishing
up. After watching them get ready, he left.
The group enjoyed having a reporter follow them around, asking
questions while they prepared for Halloween. For a little while,
it made them feel like celebrities.
While the guys were finishing their makeup, Jeff Correia arrived
to take photographs for them. He captured several shots as they
completed their preparations.
At approximately 4:30 p.m., the group finished applying makeup.
The photographer from The Argus had returned shortly
beforehand and photographed the guys in close-up poses before
they put on their costumes.
Once the newspaper photographs were finished, the group got
dressed and continued posing for pictures for another hour and
a half.
The session produced some excellent photographs, including one
of the group's favorites: a recreation of the pose KISS had
used for its August cover of People magazine.
Around 6:00 p.m., it was finally time for the group to head
out and conquer Fremont. This year, Bin's sister, Lisa, drove
them around in her van.
They began by visiting friends and family. Their next stop was
to see Gino, their hairdresser, who had styled the wigs for
them that year. While visiting him at the salon, they took a
few photographs before walking over to Fry's grocery store.
There, they strolled through the aisles, enjoying the reactions
of shoppers who unexpectedly encountered the four members of
KISS.
Next, they headed to Chadbourne Elementary School to visit Mr.
Lewis. As they walked through the courtyard toward the auditorium,
Tim surprised everyone by walking up and across the picnic tables
along the way.
The others were amazed, considering this was Tim's first time
wearing five-inch platform boots.
After visiting Mr. Lewis, the group headed to the 76 gas station
at the corner of Fremont Boulevard and Thornton Avenue, where
Jack was working.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Fremont had one of California's
popular cruising strips. Since Halloween fell on a Friday night,
the guys decided to stand along the street where the passing
crowds could see them.
Before long, cars began stopping so people could take photographs.
Some drivers even pulled over to pose with the group.
Eventually, a pickup truck carrying several girls pulled up,
and the girls invited the guys to a party. The group climbed
into the back of the truck and headed off with them.
When they arrived at the party, they stayed for approximately
fifteen minutes, giving everyone a chance to see them before
the girls drove them back to the corner where they had been
picked up.
It was well after midnight when the group finally returned to
Joey's house. Once there, they posed for more photographs, many
of them wearing only parts of their costumes and striking outrageous
poses.
It was a chance to unwind, have a little more fun, and reminisce
about the night they had just experienced.
Halloween 1980 had been a tremendous success. Despite the last-minute
loss of Jack and the uncertainty surrounding his replacement,
everything had come together. The group considered it their
best year yet, and as far as they were concerned, it would also
be their last.
The only disappointment was that Patterson Elementary School
had not held a Halloween carnival that year. The guys would
have liked to make their final appearance at the same school
where the KISS Impersonators had made their first appearance
four years earlier.
The Halloween 1980 lineup consisted of Bin Avery as Eric Carr,
Tim Branson as Paul Stanley, Joey Capelli as Ace Frehley, and
Troy Correia as Gene Simmons. |
Click on the thumbnails to view larger photos.
Some of the original photos contain more than what is shown
in the thumbnails. |
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Gene Costume Checklist
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Paul Costume Checklist
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Eric Costume Checklist
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On November
1, the group received a completely unexpected surprise: they
had made the front page of The Argus!
The guys knew there would be a story about them in the newspaper,
but they never imagined it would be front-page news. The publicity
gave them one more day in the spotlight and, if this really
was their final appearance, it was a fitting way to go out.
Troy jokingly remarked, "It had to be a slow news day for
us to make the front page."
Slow news day or not, the group had recaptured the attention
and recognition they had enjoyed so much in 1978.
To read the article, click on the newspaper image. |
The Argus - November 1, 1980
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