Ace Frehley has died. As a founding member, and the original lead guitarist, of rock band KISS, Frehley rose to superstardom in the 1970s, propelled by a blend of genuine rock talent and razzle-dazzle showmanship that saw him make a lifestyle out of “Space Ace” makeup and smoking guitars. Departing the group in the early ’80s, after years of rising tensions with bandmates Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, Frehley embarked on a fitfully successful solo career; he would briefly reunite with his former bandmates in the 1990s, but continued rocking regardless. Per Variety, his death was confirmed today by his family, after Frehley suffered injuries in a fall last month. He was 74.
Born Paul Daniel Frehley—adopting the “Ace” nickname in his performing life so as not to overlap with Stanley—Frehley was a self-taught guitarist coming up in the New York rock scene of the 1970s. An ad in The Village Voice brought him into contact with Simmons, Stanley, and drummer Peter Criss, who were then in the process of forming a new band; after settling on the name KISS, Frehley was the one designed the group’s iconic lightning bolt logo. He also became an unconventional, but vital part of the group’s rise to success, which proceeded fitfully until live album Alive! in 1975 helped galvanize fans. Frehley’s playing, and persona, were instrumental to KISS’ sometimes-ridiculous, but just as often infectious, domination of the rock scene: Bombastic, unsubtle, and possessed of a belief in their own superstar grandeur. With the release of Destroyer in 1976, the group solidified its status as one of the biggest rock acts in the world, with Frehley’s solos on singles like “Detroit Rock City” a key element. When the group embarked on an experiment of each releasing a solo album in 1978, Frehley’s was the most financially successful, buoyed in part by a propulsive cover of Hello’s “New York Groove.”
Behind the scenes, things were less euphoric. The hard-drinking Frehley clashed frequently with Simmons and Stanley, and he developed a reputation for attending practices only fitfully. Although he appeared on album artwork and in music videos for 1982’s Creatures Of The Night, Frehley had functionally departed the band years earlier, not long after the ousting of Criss as the group’s drummer. (He was replaced by a long series of new guitarists, some of whom attempted to impose their own styles on the band’s output, while others attempted to mimic Frehley’s idiosyncratic style.) Free of the Spaceman (but not, possibly, his fascination with space) Frehley founded a new band, Frehley’s Comets. The group had initial success, but struggled in the transition into the 1980s and 1990s. (Something that also dogged the original members of KISS.) A much-touted reunion with Simmons, Stanley, and Criss in 1996 produced a single album and a successful world tour (both titled Psycho Circus), but no reduction in the acrimony between the members: Despite being “reunited,” Frehley’s guitar was largely absent from the album, which instead mostly featured contributions from later KISS guitarists.
Frehley continued to play, tour, and release new music for the rest of his life—while also still taking occasional swipes at his “rock and roll brothers.” (As recently as August 2025, he gave an interview in which he held out hope for being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a solo artist, having been inducted—with plans for a reunion infamously falling apart—as a member of KISS in 2014.) In addition to his music work, Frehley also wrote a memoir about his life as a rock star, and spoke about his experience of getting sober in 2006. “When someone comes up to me and says that they haven’t had a drink in six months and that they’re doing well because I am, that makes my day,” Frehley told Guitar World in 2014. “Maybe that’s one reason why God has kept me alive. By all rights I should have died a half dozen times already, so every day above ground I’m thrilled.”
Frehley’s family released a statement earlier today:
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!
