KISS guitarist Ace Frehley dead at 74

KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, who was announced to be on life support earlier today, has died at age 74.

Frehley's family issued a statement shared by Variety that read, “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."

"We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others," it continued. "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!”

Earlier today, TMZ reported that Ace had a brain bleed after falling at his studio a few weeks ago, forcing him to cancel upcoming tour dates.

Following his fall and cancellations that happened because of that incident, a week later, his team released a statement saying, “Due to some ongoing medical issues, Ace has made the difficult decision to cancel the remainder of his 2025 dates.”

Ace was born in 1951 into a musically inclined family. He received his first electric guitar in 1964 as a Christmas present and basically taught himself to play, citing Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and the Who as his primary influences.

He played in several bands in high school, eventually dropping out after one of his bands, Cathedral, began making some money (he eventually went back and got his diploma).

After playing successfully with one of his bands, Molimo, Ace answered an ad in the Village Voice in 1972 and met Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Peter Criss. They dubbed themselves KISS a year later, rocking their signature face paint and glam costumes. Initially ignored by the New York City music scene, KISS released its self-titled debut album in 1974, but it was their live set that featured “Rock and Roll All Night" that launched the to icon status.

Ace left the group in 1982 amid creative differences and substance abuse issues. He began his solo career, founding the band Frehley’s Comet, which played together from 1984 to 1988.

He briefly rejoined the group from 1996 to 2002, but departed again. Ace did not join the band for their final performances in 2024, but he did join Simmons on stage in January 2018 at his intimate “Vault experience” at Capitol Records in Los Angeles, according to The New York Post.

In 2011, Ace released a memoir titled "No Regrets--A Rock 'N' Roll Memoir."