Ace Frehley, the founding guitarist for KISS, died on Thursday in Morristown, NJ at age 74. A statement issued by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee’s family attributes his death to “a recent fall” at his home studio.

The statement posted to Ace’s website by his family reads, “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.”

Details surrounding Frehley’s fatal fall have been scarce since his team first publicly mentioned the incident late last month. On September 26th, a post on the guitarist’s Facebook had informed fans that Frehley “had a minor fall in his studio, resulting in a trip to the hospital. He is fune, but against his wishes, his doctor insists that he refrain from travel at this time.” The optimistic update concluded with, “Ace looks forward to continuing on his tour and finishing work on his next album, Origins Vol 3.”

While the Ace Frehley Facebook page made various promotional posts for his upcoming October dates in the ensuing days, an update on October 6th indicated that he had taken a turn for the worse: “Due to some ongoing medical issues, Ace has made the difficult decision to cancel the remainder of his 2025 show dates.”

Hours prior to the announcement of Frehley’s passing, TMZ reported that he had suffered a brain bleed when he fell and had been on life support for “some time.”

Paul Daniel “Ace” Frehley was best known as the original and longtime lead guitarist for KISS, the New York City-born outfit famous for its boisterous hits and even more boisterous onstage personas, which liberally utilized face paint, blood-spitting, pyrotechnics, and other devil-may-care rock pageantry. Frehley, who adopted the character of The Spaceman (a.k.a. Space Ace) within KISS’ mythology, originally recorded and performed with the group from its inception in 1973 through 1982, when he left to form his own band, Frehley‘s Comet.

Frehley went on to rejoin KISS for the band’s 1996 reunion tour and continued to perform with the group through the end of a purported farewell tour in 2001. Although KISS reconvened for various farewells and reunions in the years that followed, Frehley shifted his focus back to his solo career, which had started with a bang during his tenure with KISS when all four band members recorded solo albums in 1978 and his cover of “New York Groove” became a commercial hit, peaking at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 111 singles chart.

Ace Frehley – “New York Groove” (1978)

The members of KISS took to social media on Thursday to share their thoughts on the passing of Ace Frehley. As vocalist and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley recalled in a post alongside a photo of him with Frehley, “I remember 1974 being in my room at the Hyatt on Sunset in LA and I heard someone playing deep and fiery guitar in the room next door. I thought ‘Boy, I wish THAT guy was in the band!’ I looked over the balcony… He was. It was Ace.”

As Stanley and bassist Gene Simmons write in a joint statement to The Hollywood Reporter, “I am devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley. 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. My thoughts are with Jeanette, Monique and all those who loved him, including our fans around the world.”

Added drummer Peter Criss in a post of his own, “As a founding member of the rock group KISS and in Ace’s solo career, Ace influenced and touch the hearts of millions of people. His legacy will live on in the music industry and in the hearts of the KISS Army. At this time I ask all of you to please be respectful to Ace’s family and allow them to grieve privately.”

KISS – “Shock Me” (Live) – 6/27/00