Ace Frehley, Kiss

Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist and founding member of the glam rock band Kiss, who wowed audiences with his elaborate galactic makeup and smoky guitar, died Thursday. He was 74 years old.

Frehley died peacefully surrounded by his family in Morristown, New Jersey, after a recent fall, according to his agent.

Family members said in a statement that they are “completely devastated and heartbroken,” but will appreciate his laughter and celebrate the kindness he provided to others.

Kiss, whose hits included “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” were known for their theatrical shows, with fire and fake blood coming out of the mouths of band members dressed in bulletproof vests, platform boots, wigs and their signature black-and-white face paint.

The original Kiss lineup included Frehley, singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, bassist Gene Simmons, and drummer Peter Criss. Frehley’s is the first death among the four founding members.

Armando Gallo via Getty Images

The band members took on the personalities of comic-book-style characters: Frehley was known as “Space Ace” and “The Spaceman.” The New York-born artist and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer often experimented with pyrotechnics, making his guitars glow, emit smoke, and shoot rockets from the headstock.

“We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley,” Simmons and Stanley said in a joint statement. “He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative founding chapters of the band and its history. He is and always will be part of the KISS legacy.”

Born Paul Daniel Frehley, he grew up in a family of musicians and began playing guitar at age 13. Before joining Kiss, he played in local bands in New York City and was a roadie for Jimi Hendrix at age 18.

Kiss was especially popular in the mid-1970s, selling tens of millions of albums and licensing its iconic look into a marketing marvel. “Beth” was their biggest commercial success in the United States, peaking at number 7 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1976.

In 2024, the band sold its catalog, brand and intellectual property to Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment Group in a deal estimated at more than $300 million.

Frehley frequently feuded with Stanley and Simmons over the years. He left the band in 1982, missing the years when they removed their makeup and had mixed success. Stanley later said that they almost replaced Frehley with Eddie Van Halen, but Vinnie Vincent took over the lead guitar role.

Frehley performed as a solo artist and with his band, Frehley’s Comet.

But he rejoined Kiss in the mid-1990s for a triumphant reunion and a restoration of his original style that came after bands like Nirvana, Weezer and the Melvins expressed their affection for the band and paid them musical tributes.

He would leave again in 2002. When the original four were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, a dispute scuttled their plans to perform. Simmons and Stanley objected to Criss and Frehley being included instead of then-guitarist Tommy Thayer and then-drummer Eric Singer.

Simmons told Rolling Stone that year that Frehley and Criss “don’t deserve to wear the paint anymore.” “Makeup wins,” he added. “It’s not enough to be there from the beginning.”

Frehley and Kiss also had a major influence on the glam style of so-called hair metal bands of the ’80s, including Mötley Crüe and Poison.

“Ace, my brother, I surely can’t 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 said on Instagram.

More radical bands like Metallica and Pantera were also fans, and even country superstar Garth Brooks joined the band members to record their “Hard Luck Woman” on a 1994 compilation.

Frehley would occasionally appear with Kiss on shows in later years. A 2023 concert at Madison Square Garden was announced as the band’s last. While Stanley and Simmons said they would not tour again, they were open to the possibility of more concerts and remained active in promoting the group’s music and memorabilia.