Ace Frehley, the iconic guitarist who was a cofounder of Kiss, died today. He was 74.
His publicist reports that he passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones in Morristown, New Jersey.
Frehley’s family issued the following statement:
“We are completely devastated and heartbroken. In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth. We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others. The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace’s memory will continue to live on forever!”
Frehley suffered what was described by his team as "a minor fall in his studio" in late September. That resulted in him cancelling a tour date for September 26, then cancelling the remaining dates on his tour on October 6.
“Due to some ongoing medical issues, Ace has made the difficult decision to cancel the remainder of his 2025 dates,” an announcement on his Instagram read. Those dates included a handful of shows in October and November in support of his most recent solo album, 10,000 Volts, February 2024.
But in the following week, rumors spread online that Frehley was in worse condition than originally thought.
On October 16, the day of his death, TMZ reported that Frehley was on life support and that his family was considering removing it.
Paul Daniel Frehley was born in the Bronx, New York, and began playing guitar at age 13. Frehley’s musical influences ranged from Led Zeppelin to Cream to the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix (for whom he was briefly a roadie at the age of 18).
With a musical legacy spanning 50-plus years, Frehley began performing with various bands in the early 70s until he joined Peter Criss, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons to form the iconic rock band Kiss. As lead guitarist for the band, his persona was known as Space Ace, and later, the Spaceman.
In 1978, Frehley delivered his self-titled debut solo album, which reached Platinum status. It was followed by several others, including Frehley’s Comet, Anomaly and the 2014 release Space Invader, which hit number nine on the Billboard 200.
Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Slash, Lita Ford and John 5 collaborated with Frehley in 2016 on Origins Vol. 1, which reached number one on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums Chart and scaled to the top five of the Billboard Top Rock Albums Chart. Frehley followed up Origins Vol. 1 with “Spaceman in 2018 and Origins Vol.2. He was preparing to work on Origins Vol. 3 at the time of his death.
Frehley was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Kiss in 2014 and inducted into Hollywood’s Rock Walk in 1999. A lifelong player of Gibson's Les Paul electric guitar, he received a 1999 Gibson USA Legends award and was to be a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors with Kiss this December 7.
Frehley’s was on tour this year in support of his last album, 10,000 Volts, which features guest appearances by Paul Stanley, Robin Zander and Bruce Kulick.
Frehley is survived by his wife Jeanette, daughter Monique, brother Charles, sister Nancy Salvner, nieces Suncere Frehley and Julie Salvner, nephews Sky Frehley and Andrew Salvner, sister-in-law Michelanne and brother-in-law Ron Salvner.
