Ace Frehley, Kiss’ original lead guitarist and founding member, dies at 74

Music commentator Eric Alper recaps on the band’s one-a-kind musical presence and Frehley’s iconic image throughout the 1970s and beyond.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist and founding member of the glam rock band Kiss, who captivated audiences with his elaborate galactic makeup and smoking guitar, died Thursday. He was 74.

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

Family members said in a statement that they are “completely devastated and heartbroken” but will cherish his laughter and celebrate the kindness he bestowed upon others.

Kiss, whose hits included “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” was known for its theatrical stage shows, with fire and fake blood spewing from the mouths of band members dressed in body armor, platform boots, wigs and signature black-and-white face paint.

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

Band members took on the personas of comic book-style characters -- Frehley was known as “Space Ace” and “The Spaceman.” The New York-born entertainer 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 foundational chapters of the band and its history. He is and will always be a part of KISS’s legacy.”

Born Paul Daniel Frehley, he grew up in a musical family and began playing guitar at age 13. Before joining Kiss, he played in local bands around 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 to become a marketing marvel. “Beth” was its biggest commercial hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1976.

As the Kennedy Centre’s new chairman, U.S. President Donald Trump named Kiss as one of this year’s honourees.

In 2024, the band sold their catalog, brand name and intellectual property to Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment Group in a deal estimated to be over US$300 million.

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

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

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

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

Simmons told Rolling Stone magazine that year that Frehley and Criss “no longer deserve to wear the paint.” “The makeup is earned,” he added. “Just being there at the beginning is not enough.”

Frehley and Kiss also had a huge influence on the glammy style of 1980s so-called hair metal bands including Motley Crue and Poison.

“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 front man Bret Michaels said on Instagram.

Harder-edged bands like Metallica and Pantera were also fans, and even country superstar Garth Brooks joined the band members for a recording of their “Hard Luck Woman” on a 1994 compilation.

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