This August marks 25 years together for Shannon Tweed and KISS' Gene Simmons, the "happily unmarried" stars of Gene Simmons: Family Jewels (Tuesdays at 10 pm/ET), now in its third season on A&E. We spoke to the gracious model-actress (and onetime Playboy Playmate of the Year) about the keys to her long relationship.
TV Guide: Twenty-five years. What's the secret?Shannon Tweed: It's about being strong enough to have your own life. That doesn't mean be a nasty bitch who's loud or bossy; it just means be strong in your own sense of self. You can still be strong and be feminine.
TV Guide: Some people believe your relationship with Gene is an open one....Tweed: "Open" has never been a word I've described my relationship as. And he has never described our relationship as "open," nor has it ever
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As KISS' bass-playing, fire-breathing demon, Gene Simmons is the embodiment of sex, drugs and rock and roll. But on A&E's Gene Simmons: Family Jewels (Sundays at 9 pm/ET), the occasionally kabuki-faced father of two and partner of Shannon Tweed (don't dare call him a husband) is an iron-fisted paterfamilias and tireless businessman. We asked Simmons to wag his legendary tongue about his nonconformist lifestyle and the success of his series, which was recently renewed for a third season.
TV Guide: To what do you credit this show's success? Gene Simmons: On the surface, there's nothing particularly exciting. People like train wrecks, but as much as we'll try to be
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A&E has greenlit a third season of Gene Simmons Family Jewels, increasing the order from 20 half-hours to 24.... ABC has ordered six episodes of Wanna Bet?, a game show in which contestants wager on whether they can perform stunts. U.K. personalities Ant and Dec will host.... A study by the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation finds that when it comes to people snacking in front of the tube, the more entertaining the program, the more they eat. That explains The Black Donnellys' dominance among anorexics 18 to 49.I have no organic segue for the following, but I feel a need — as part of closure, perhaps? — to share with you, the people I "talk to" on a daily basis, the news that my father passed away last Tuesday, hence my weeklong absence. John Mitovich, 80, had a degree in journalism, yes, from OSU, but made his career as a business leader in Fairfield County, Connecticut. (If I may proudly "brag" a bit, the Stamford paper paid him tribute Thursday with a...
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Who's the first date from hell? Who's utterly desperate? Who is this year's comeback kid? And who have we seen just a bit (OK, way) too much of? TV Guide calls 'em like we see 'em in our wacky Reality TV Awards. Did your favorites make the cut?
Roughest RidersThe men of American Chopper (Thursdays at 7 pm/ET, TLC) Mikey, Paul Senior and Junior build custom bikes — choppers — for stars, movies, Web sites and basically anyone who'll pay. Sometimes they're cool. Sometimes they're not (we still don't get Junior's green dream Web bike). But it's fun watching them fight their way through the process.
Fiercest BacheloretteTiffany Pollard of
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Illinois senator and possible presidential contender Barack Obama visits The Tonight Show on Friday.... Perhaps as soon as Dec. 7, the NFL Network will begin offering live webcasts of its Thursday and Saturday telecasts to Verizon FiOS and DirecTV subscribers with Verizon broadband hookups.... A&E has greenlit a 20-episode second season of Gene Simmons Family Jewels.... Sofia Coppola and boyfriend Thomas Mars welcomed their first child together, a girl named Romy, on Tuesday.... Celine Dion has canceled five performances of her Las Vegas show, as well as an appearance at Monday's Billboard Music Awards, due to a highly contagious respiratory infection. Mycoplasma bronchitis rocks.... Ice Age: The Meltdown topped the DVD sales and rental charts last week, unseating The Da Vinci Code in both instances.
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