Ace Frehley, the legendary original guitarist of KISS, has died at 74 due to blunt trauma injuries to the head, following a fall. The Morris County Medical Examiner confirmed the cause of death and ruled it an accident.
Frehley, born Paul Daniel Frehley, passed away peacefully on October 16 at his Morristown, New Jersey home. His death came nearly two weeks after a second fall caused a brain bleed, which required life support. His family made the difficult decision to remove him from the ventilator.
The rock icon was laid to rest on October 22 at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York, close to where he grew up and near the graves of his parents—fulfilling one of his final wishes. A private memorial was held the day before at Sinatra Memorial Home in Yonkers, where Ace lived during the 1980s.
Longtime manager John Ostrosky expressed gratitude to those who supported the family during the memorial. “We would like to thank Frank Sinatra Jr., Joseph Vivona and the entire staff at Sinatra Memorial Home, as well as Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza, Chief Richard Alaimo, as well as the supervisors, officers, and especially the Traffic Division for a safe escort to Woodlawn,” Ostrosky told the New York Post. “Ace would have loved that!”
SiriusXM host Eddie Trunk revealed that both services were attended by a close-knit group of family and friends, including Frehley’s original KISS bandmates—Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Peter Criss. The Yonkers memorial, attended by roughly 75 people, mostly musicians who had played or recorded with Ace, celebrated his life and musical contributions.
As a founding member of KISS, Ace Frehley‘s unique guitar style and iconic stage persona were integral to the band’s global success in the 1970s. He played on their first nine albums before departing in 1982, later returning for the band’s massively successful reunion tour in 1996. The results of the toxicology tests will provide the final, official details surrounding the passing of one of rock and roll’s most influential and beloved guitarists.
Photo credit: Jayme Thornton
