Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley honor his life’s work and legacy.
Ace Frehley has died at the age of 74. The Kiss guitarist died “peacefully, surrounded by his family in Morristown, New Jersey,” according to a statement from his family. Accordingly, Frehley had recently fallen; the exact cause of death has not yet been officially announced.
Editorial recommendations
Death as a result of a fall
“We are deeply shocked and heartbroken,” Frehley’s family wrote in a statement on Instagram. “In his final moments, we were fortunate to surround him with loving, caring and peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth. We treasure all of his fondest memories, his laughter and celebrate the strength and kindness he gave to others.”
It continues: “The magnitude of his death is epic and unfathomable. As we remember all of his incredible life achievements, Ace’s memory will live on forever!”
Frehley’s former bandmates Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley also reacted with dismay to the news. They told Page Six: “We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley. He was an indispensable and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most defining chapters of the band’s history. He remains a part of the Kiss legacy.”
Simmons: “Ace was the eternal rock soldier”
Simmons additionally wrote in a post on
Paul Daniel Frehley, born in New York City in 1951, was one of the co-founders of Kiss in 1973 – along with singer Paul Stanley, bassist Gene Simmons and drummer Peter Criss. Frehley co-wrote the Kiss classics “I Was Made For Lovin’ You,” “Rock And Roll All Nite,” “Detroit Rock City” and “Love Gun,” among others. After a decade together, he left the band to pursue a solo career. His drug problems and growing tensions within the group had previously been reported.
Difficult relationship with bandmates
In the years following his departure, Frehley founded the band Frehley’s Comet. They released two albums, neither of which had commercial success. In 1996 Frehley returned to Kiss as part of a reunion and remained part of the band until 2002. He was no longer part of the farewell world tour in 2022. The relationship between Frehley and his Kiss colleagues remained strained.
At the beginning of October, the guitarist canceled his remaining solo dates for 2025 due to “some ongoing health issues”, which have since been confirmed as a result of the fall, according to NME.
Numerous expressions of condolence
Since then, numerous fans and artists have expressed their sadness over his death. Among others, Mike McCready from Pearl Jam, Nile Rodgers, the Go-Go’s and Maynard James Keenan from Tool reacted shocked to the loss.