KISS co-founder Gene Simmons has offered a blunt assessment regarding the death of original guitarist Ace Frehley, suggesting that the musician’s lifestyle choices played a significant role in the tragic accident that claimed his life this past October. In a new interview with the New York Post, Simmons expressed heartbreak over his former bandmate’s refusal to accept help.
Frehley passed away in October following a fall at his home in New Jersey. While the official cause of death was ruled accidental due to blunt force trauma, Simmons implied that underlying issues contributed to the incident.
“He refused [advice] from people that cared about him — including yours truly — to try to change his lifestyle,” Simmons told the outlet. “In and out of bad decisions. Falling down the stairs — I’m not a doctor — doesn’t kill you. There may have been other issues, and it breaks my heart. The saddest thing — you reap what you shall sow, unfortunately. It breaks my heart.”
The interview comes just as KISS is set to be honored at the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors today (December 7). Simmons lamented that Frehley did not survive long enough to witness the tribute, a moment that would have seen the band celebrated by their peers.
Simmons confirmed that the original lineup reunited under somber circumstances to pay their respects last month.
“Peter Criss, our founding drummer, Paul [Stanley] and myself went to the funeral, open casket,” Simmons shared. “It was just heartbreaking. Saddest of all perhaps is that Ace just couldn’t stay alive long enough to sit there proudly at the Kennedy Center and listen to — I can’t even tell you who’s going to come out … really impressive people, just to say how much KISS meant to them. What can you say — sad.”
According to the Morris County Medical Examiner’s report, Frehley died from blunt-trauma injuries to the head. A CT scan revealed severe damage, including multiple contusions, skull fractures, hemorrhages, and a subdural hematoma. The report also noted bruising on his body and indicated that Frehley had suffered a stroke.
Frehley, born Paul Daniel Frehley, was laid to rest at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York, on October 22. This followed a private memorial service held the previous day at the Sinatra Memorial Home in Yonkers.
Simmons had previously touched on his regrets regarding Frehley during the “KISS Kruise: Landlocked In Vegas” event last month. At the time, he admitted he wished he had practiced more “tough love” with his former bandmates.
“If I have any regrets, it’s that I sometimes — and I think we all go through this — wish we were smarter and better at trying to help Ace and Peter have better lives,” Simmons said at the event. “All of us are guilty of it, and so am I — ‘I don’t want to start an argument. Let’s just continue doing the tour,’ because you want to get through it for selfish reasons… [In the] meantime, somebody who might be your brother is ruining their life by bad decisions.”
