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Kiss Co-Founder Ace Frehley Dies at 74
October17
Ace Frehley, the founding guitarist of Kiss and one of rock’s most influential performers, has died at the age of 74.
His family confirmed that he passed away on Thursday after complications following a recent fall at his home in New Jersey.
Born Paul Daniel Frehley in the Bronx in 1951, he became known to millions of fans as “The Spaceman,” one of the four original personas that defined Kiss’s theatrical style.
Frehley co-founded the band in 1973 alongside Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Peter Criss, helping to shape the group’s iconic image and sound during its rise to global fame in the 1970s.
With his explosive solos, custom-built guitars, and signature space-themed makeup, Frehley’s presence was central to Kiss’s larger-than-life live shows. He co-wrote and performed some of the band’s best-known songs, including Shock Me, Cold Gin, and Parasite, becoming a hero to generations of guitar players.
In 1978, each Kiss member released a solo album — and Frehley’s, featuring the hit New York Groove, became the most successful of the four. He left the band in the early 1980s to pursue a solo career with his group Frehley’s Comet, later returning for the band’s reunion tour in 1996 before departing again a few years later.
Frehley continued to record and tour under his own name well into his seventies, releasing his final album, 10,000 Volts, in 2024.
Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons paid tribute to their former bandmate, describing him as “an irreplaceable part of Kiss history” and “a true original whose influence will live on.”
Ace Frehley’s death marks the first among the original four members of Kiss. His family said he passed away “surrounded by love and music,” adding that they would remember his humour, creativity, and generosity.
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