Ace Frehley - Guitarist - Kiss founding member

Credit: b8ddy h8lly

Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley dead at 74

Thu 16 October 2025 23:22, UK

Ace Frehley, the former guitarist with Kiss, has died at 74.

Frehley’s family have confirmed that the iconic guitarist died in Morristown, New Jersey, on October 16th.

In a statement, the Frehley family said: “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.”

Their message continued, “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.”

No cause of death has been revealed.

Hours before his death was announced, TMZ reported that Frehley was on life support after suffering a brain bleed, which had caused him to be put on life support.

News of Frehley’s death comes after he recently cancelled all shows for 2025 after falling ill in September.

Frehley last performed live on September 5th at Uptown Fair in Providence, then cancelled a planned concert at the Antelope Valley Fair in California on September 26th after becoming ill while in the recording studio.

His representatives explained the cancellation in a message to fans, writing, “Dear Rock Soldiers, Ace had a minor fall in his studio, resulting in a trip to the hospital. He is fine, but against his wishes, his doctor insists that he refrain from travel at this time.”

Then, earlier this month, it was confirmed that his shows at Lincoln Square Theater in Illinois, The Family Arena in Missouri, Brown County Music Center in Indiana, and The Token Lounge in Michigan would no longer go ahead due to his medical issues.

Frehley was a founding member of Kiss, who originally served as a member of the band between 1972 and 1982 under the alias ‘Space Ace’. He then embarked on a successful solo career, before eventually coming back into the fold in 1996 until leaving once again in 2002.

The rock icon also released nine solo albums, with his final release, Origins Vol. 3, arriving in 2025.

During an interview with Guitarist earlier this year, Frehley set the record straight about his departures from Kiss, sharing, “A lot of the misconceptions were created by Paul (Stanley) and Gene (Simmons), They still say in interviews that they fired me, but I was never fired from Kiss. I hate when I hear that. And they say that both times I was fired; I quit both times.”

He also explained that his first solo record, 1978’s Ace Frehley, was a musical awakening that made him realise, “I was more creative away from Paul, Gene, and Peter [Criss] than I was around them.”

Frehley is survived by his daughter, Monique Frehley.