Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist and founding member of the iconic glam rock band Kiss, met his demise from blunt force head injuries sustained in a fall earlier this year, as determined by an autopsy. The New Jersey-based musician passed away peacefully on October 16, surrounded by family in Morristown, a few weeks after the incident, as reported by his agent.
The Morris County Medical Examiner's Office declared Frehley's demise an accident. The report revealed that the 74-year-old suffered facial fractures near his eyes and left ear, along with bruising on his left abdomen and thigh area, as well as his right hip and upper thigh.
Kiss, whose hits included "Rock and Roll All Nite" and "I Was Made for Lovin' You," was renowned for its extravagant stage shows, featuring 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. The original lineup included Frehley, singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, tongue-wagging bassist Gene Simmons, and drummer Peter Criss. Frehley's passing marks the first death among the four founding members.
The band members adopted comic book-style personas—Frehley was known as "Space Ace" and "The Spaceman." The New York-born Rock & Roll Hall of Famer often experimented with pyrotechnics, making his guitars glow, emit smoke, and shoot rockets from the headstock. Born Paul Daniel Frehley, he grew up in a musical family and began playing guitar at age 13. Prior to joining Kiss, he played in local bands around New York City and served as 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. Frehley frequently feuded with Stanley and Simmons over the years. He left the band in 1982, missing out on their years without makeup and mixed success, while pursuing a solo career and performing with his band Frehley's Comet. However, he rejoined Kiss in the mid-1990s for a triumphant reunion and restoration of their original style that followed the band's resurgence due to tributes from bands such as Nirvana, Weezer, and the Melvins. 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, with Simmons and Stanley objecting to Criss and Frehley being inducted instead of then-guitarist Tommy Thayer and then-drummer Eric Singer.
