Simmons was born in
Brooklyn, New York in 1926, the son of Kate (Shapiro), a homemaker, and Irving Simmons, a sign painter. He served in the
U.S. Army during World War II. In 1950, Frank X. McNamara, Ralph Schneider,
Alfred S. Bloomingdale, and Simmons formed Diners Club, the first independent
payment card company in the world, successfully establishing the
financial service of issuing travel and entertainment (T&E) credit cards as a viable business. In 1952, Simmons and fellow Diners Club employee Leonard A. Mogel created
Diners Club News (later known as
Signature Magazine). In 1967, Simmons and Mogel left Diners Club and formed
Twenty First Century Communications, Inc.. The company's first publication was
Cheetah, a
counterculture magazine connected with the popular
Cheetah nightclub chain. and
National Lampoon magazine (launched in 1970). From 1971 to 1973, Twenty First Century Communications published a revived
Liberty magazine. In the mid-1970s, National Lampoon expanded into radio, theater, records, and film. Simmons is given credit for raiding "Chicago’s satirical
Second City troupe to bring
Belushi to New York for the 1973 revue ''
National Lampoon's Lemmings''." In 1977, Simmons and Mogel added
Heavy Metal magazine to the roster, publishing the graphic fantasy magazine under the subsidiary
HM Communications, Inc. In 1981, Simmons installed his daughter, Julie Simmons-Lynch, as editor of
Heavy Metal, a position she held for more than eleven years. In 1985,
National Lampoon's entire editorial staff was fired, with the top positions replaced by Simmons' sons Michael Simmons and Andy Simmons. (Michael Simmons had been in various prior positions at the company, including being the first compiler of the "True Facts" section of the magazine; working as "the doorman at the
Village Gate where National Lampoon's
Lemmings played and for which he handled underground/rock press and radio PR"; acting as "company manager for their second stage show,
The National Lampoon Show"; and heading a
rockabilly band that backed a 1977 stage iteration of the show.) In March 1989, Simmons sold his ten-percent share in National Lampoon, Inc. to film producers
Daniel Grodnik and
Tim Matheson for six dollars a share (more than $761,400), resigned as chairman of the board, and departed the company along with his son Michael Simmons. Simmons's film credits included being the producer of ''
National Lampoon's Animal House and the National Lampoon's Vacation'' film series. In the 2018 film,
A Futile and Stupid Gesture, about the rise and fall of
National Lampoon, Simmons was played by comedian
Matt Walsh. On April 29, 2020, Simmons died at the age of 93 in Los Angeles from a brief illness. == Publications ==