Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist and founding member of the iconic glam rock band Kiss, has died at 74.
Known for his cosmic makeup, blistering solos, and smoke-spewing guitars, Frehley passed away Thursday in Morristown, New Jersey, surrounded by family following a recent fall, his agent confirmed.
According to The Associated Press, family members said in a statement they are “completely devastated and heartbroken” but will forever remember his laughter and kindness.
Kiss — whose hits include “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” — revolutionized rock with its theatrical stage shows, complete with fire, pyrotechnics, and the band’s signature black-and-white face paint. Frehley, known to fans as “Space Ace” and “The Spaceman,” helped define that over-the-top aesthetic.
“We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley,” bandmates Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley said in a joint statement. “He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history. He is and will always be a part of KISS’s legacy.”
Born Paul Daniel Frehley in the Bronx, the future Rock & Roll Hall of Famer grew up in a musical family and started playing guitar at 13. Before joining Kiss, he gigged around New York City and even worked as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix at 18.
Kiss became one of the biggest bands in the world during the mid-1970s, selling tens of millions of albums and transforming their larger-than-life personas into a global brand. Their ballad “Beth” became their biggest U.S. hit, reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976.
Frehley’s wild guitar work and space-themed character helped inspire a generation of musicians. He left Kiss in 1982 amid tension with Simmons and Stanley but rejoined in the mid-1990s for a blockbuster reunion tour that reignited the band’s popularity. He would depart again in 2002.
Frehley also found success as a solo artist, fronting his band Frehley’s Comet. He influenced countless rockers from Mötley Crüe and Poison to Metallica and Pantera.
“Ace, my brother, I surely cannot thank you enough for the years of great music, the many festivals we’ve done together and your lead guitar on ‘Nothing But A Good Time,’” Poison frontman Bret Michaels wrote on Instagram.
In recent years, Frehley occasionally reunited with Kiss on stage. The band’s 2023 farewell concert at Madison Square Garden was billed as its final performance — closing a chapter that began with four men in makeup and dreams of conquering the world.
Frehley’s death marks the first loss among Kiss’s original lineup — a larger-than-life musician who took rock and roll to the stars.
