Ace Frehley, the founding lead guitarist and cosmic trailblazer of KISS, has had his cause of death officially confirmed, several weeks after he passed away at age 74.
The Morris County Medical Examiner in New Jersey has ruled Frehley’s death an accident, confirming the guitarist died from blunt trauma to the head following a fall.
The fall caused a brain bleed and complications that led to his deterioration in the weeks before his passing. Frehley was placed on life support after the incident in late September and died on 16 October 2025 in Morristown, New Jersey, surrounded by family.
Frehley’s family issued a statement at the time expressing their devastation, saying they were able to surround him with “loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions” in his final moments. They reflected on his humour, his kindness, and his trailblazing legacy, noting the “magnitude” of his loss to the music world.
The Bronx-born Paul Daniel “Ace” Frehley changed the course of rock history when he answered a newspaper ad in 1973 placed by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss. With his silver facepaint and other-worldly persona, The Spaceman helped forge one of rock’s most iconic identities. His arrival brought not only a charismatic visual presence but also a fiercely individual guitar style, built from instinct, raw tone and street-honed attitude.
KISS quickly became a global phenomenon, fusing hard rock with comic-book theatrics at a level no band had attempted before. Their early albums, including Kiss (1974), Hotter Than Hell (1974) and Dressed To Kill (1975), led to the breakthrough double-live record Alive! in 1975, turning the band from cult favourites into stadium dominators.
Australia played a key role in KISS mythology, particularly during the late 1970s when albums like Dynasty (1979) and Unmasked (1980) triggered “KISS Mania” across the country. Fans here embraced The Spaceman just as passionately as audiences in the US and Europe, cementing the band’s status as global rock superheroes.
Frehley contributed some of the band’s most memorable moments, including writing Cold Gin, Parasite, Shock Me, Hard Times, Save Your Love, Talk To Me and Two Sides Of The Coin. His 1978 solo album Ace Frehley became the most successful of the four KISS solo releases, achieving platinum status and delivering the classic single New York Groove.
Creative friction saw Frehley depart KISS in 1982. His next chapter as a solo artist and with his band Frehley’s Comet witnessed hits such as Into The Night and kept his presence strong as guitar-driven hard rock evolved through the 1980s. Although reunited briefly with KISS in 1996 for the celebrated classic-line-up reunion tour, Frehley ultimately carved his own path with a string of acclaimed solo works through the 2000s and 2010s, including Anomaly (2009), Space Invader (2014), Spaceman (2018) and his covers collections Origins Vol. 1 and Origins Vol. 2.
In 2024, he released 10,000 Volts, celebrating 17 years of sobriety and proving his creativity remained fierce into his seventies. He was working on Origins Vol. 4 at the time of his passing.
During his last weeks, Frehley had cancelled remaining tour dates due to ongoing medical treatment after his fall. His final public comments expressed optimism about returning to the stage and continuing his legacy of recording. Instead, one week after his death, family, close friends and surviving original KISS members Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss attended an intimate memorial in The Bronx where Frehley first discovered rock and roll.
Ace Frehley leaves behind his wife Jeanette Trerotola and daughter Monique. His imprint on rock is immeasurable. From glowing guitars to smoking solos and melodic riffs that inspired generations, Ace Frehley did not simply play rock guitar, he altered its DNA. He leaves a legacy written in silver paint, high-voltage riffs and the hearts of millions who forever returned to his “New York Groove”.
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