Ace Frehley, the groundbreaking lead guitarist and a founding member of the iconic hard-rock band Kiss, passed away on Thursday in Morristown, N.J., at the age of 74. Known for his distinctive white-and-silver face makeup, Frehley was instrumental in the band’s massive success, contributing to millions of record sales during his two significant periods with Kiss, from 1973 to 1982 and again from 1996 to 2002.
His family confirmed that his death was a result of a recent fall at his home. Further details regarding his passing in Morristown were not immediately provided.
Like his bandmates, Frehley was a true spectacle on stage. He revolutionized rock performances with guitars specially rigged for explosive pyrotechnic effects. His legendary stage persona, ‘the Spaceman’ or ‘Space Ace,’ was instantly recognizable thanks to the silver stars adorning his face. He even left his creative mark on the band’s visual identity, designing Kiss’s iconic lightning-bolt logo.
The original lineup of Kiss included Paul Stanley on guitar, Peter Criss on drums, and Gene Simmons on bass, who was recently hospitalized following a car crash in Malibu, Calif. Notably, all four founding members are set to be recognized with Kennedy Center Honors this December.
Initially, many rock enthusiasts viewed Kiss as a novelty act, criticizing their reliance on spectacle. The band famously maintained their theatrical makeup, never appearing publicly without it until 1983. However, their undeniably energetic and dramatic live performances quickly captivated a loyal fan base of teenagers, affectionately dubbed the ‘Kiss Army.’ During Frehley’s time, the band landed eight singles in the Top 40, with him performing on seven, including classics like ‘Love Gun,’ ‘Christine Sixteen,’ and ‘I Was Made for Loving You.’ He was notably absent from their biggest chart success, ‘Beth,’ a powerful ballad with orchestral arrangements that peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard chart in 1976.
Throughout Frehley’s involvement, Kiss released 11 studio and live albums that achieved either gold or platinum status in the U.S. The band’s total album sales eventually surpassed an astounding 100 million copies worldwide. Over the years, especially with the sustained popularity of their anthemic ‘Rock and Roll All Nite,’ Kiss’s critical standing steadily climbed. This culminated in their well-deserved induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
During the induction ceremony, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello eloquently highlighted Kiss’s profound influence on a diverse range of artists, from metal giants Metallica to pop icon Lady Gaga. Morello specifically lauded Frehley for “blazing unforgettable, timeless licks across their greatest records,” underscoring his unique contribution to their sound.
In a 2024 interview with Antihero, Frehley proudly asserted that he had been “the most successful solo artist” among Kiss’s four founding members. This claim was largely supported by the success of his single “New York Groove,” a Top 20 hit with an infectious, driving beat that has become an anthem, notably played at Citi Field after every Mets victory. “New York Groove” emerged from a rather ambitious Kiss endeavor in 1978, when all four members simultaneously released individual solo albums.
Born Paul Daniel Frehley in the Bronx on April 27, 1951, he was the youngest of three children to Carl Frehley, an electrical engineer, and Esther (Hecht) Frehley.
Paul’s musical journey began at 13, fueled by the sounds of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. His parents, hoping to keep him out of mischief, gifted him his first electric guitar one Christmas. The nickname ‘Ace’ was bestowed upon him at 16 by a bandmate who was impressed by Frehley’s knack for arranging dates.
In 1972, at 21 and still living at home, he stumbled upon an advertisement in The Village Voice seeking a “Lead guitarist wanted with flash and ability.” Convinced he was the perfect fit, he auditioned for the nascent band that would soon become Kiss. (His mother, in fact, drove him to the audition.) Upon securing the position, Frehley fully embraced the moniker “Ace” to distinguish himself from Paul Stanley.
While Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons were the main creative forces behind Kiss’s songwriting, Frehley also contributed notable tracks to their catalog, beginning with “Cold Gin” on their self-titled 1974 debut. Initially hesitant about his singing, he didn’t step up to lead vocals until “Love Gun” (1977), the band’s sixth album, where he performed his own composition, “Shock Me.”
Frehley openly struggled with substance abuse, a stark contrast to Gene Simmons, who remained a lifelong teetotaler. In the 2003 authorized biography, ‘Kiss: Behind the Mask’ by David Leaf and Ken Sharp, Paul Stanley once remarked, “I don’t know if Ace knew the back side of his guitar to the front and it was probably due to ingesting certain liquids,” highlighting the extent of his struggles.
Simmons further elaborated, suggesting that “Ace’s judgments have been clouded since the beginning, and that’s being kind.”
In his 2011 memoir, ‘No Regrets,’ co-authored with Joe Layden and John Ostrosky, Frehley revealed his growing disillusionment with Kiss’s escalating commercialism. He famously quipped, “There were Kiss lunchboxes, Kiss action figures, Kiss makeup kits, Kiss dolls. You name it, we sold it.” Despite his concerns, he candidly admitted to enjoying the substantial financial rewards, which he stated reached $100 million annually in the late 1970s.
Peter Criss departed from the band in 1980, with Frehley following suit in 1982. Kiss, meanwhile, continued its journey with a rotating cast of new members. Frehley embarked on a solo career, releasing seven additional albums under his own name and two with his band, Frehley’s Comet.
Both Frehley and Criss returned to Kiss in 1996 for a highly profitable series of reunion tours. Frehley’s final performance with the band took place at the closing ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Frehley often asserted that the minimization of his creative contributions by Simmons and Stanley worsened his struggles with drugs and alcohol. During a 2024 episode of the “Guitar Tales with Dave Cohen” podcast, he shared that he achieved sobriety in 2006, a turning point he attributed to experiencing “10 car accidents.”
At 18, he began dating Jeanette Trerotola, whom he married in 1978. Though they legally separated seven years later, they remained married. She survives him, along with their daughter, Monique, his brother Charles, and his sister, Nancy Salvner.
Frehley consistently championed both his musical talent and his captivating stage presence. In a 1997 interview with Fuzz magazine, he mused that given two guitarists of equal skill, one dynamic and one static, “Nine times out of 10 to an untrained ear in the audience, they’ll probably say that the guitar player who jumps around and stuff is the better musician.” This philosophy guided his entire career, as he famously stated, “To me, image was very important.”