Bill Aucoin, manager who discovered Kiss and launched a merchandising empire, dies at 66
By Wayne Parry, APMonday, June 28, 2010
Aucoin, manager who discovered Kiss, dies at 66
Bill Aucoin, who discovered the rock group Kiss and helped build them into a musical and merchandising juggernaut, has died. He was 66.
A family spokeswoman says Aucoin died Monday in Aventura, Fla., of complications from prostate cancer.
A former television cinematographer, Aucoin discovered Kiss in New York City in 1973 and helped launch the makeup-wearing, fire-breathing quartet into a moneymaking machine.
He financed the band’s first tour on his personal American Express credit card when money was tight. But he was well rewarded when the band’s popularity exploded in 1975 with the hit “Rock And Roll All Nite.”
Kiss co-founder Peter Criss calls Aucoin “the fifth Kiss.”
After parting with Kiss in the early 1980s, Aucoin managed Billy Squier and Billy Idol.
