Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley died of blunt trauma injuries to his head due to a fall, it has been revealed.
The Morris County Medical Examiner confirmed the cause of death in a report obtained by People on Monday, November. Ace‘s manner of death was ruled an accident. He was 74 years old.
Late last month, Frehley‘s longtime manager John Ostrosky confirmed to the New York Post that the late KISS icon was laid to rest at Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York.
The legendary musician was buried on October 22 following a private memorial on October 21 at Sinatra Memorial Home in Yonkers, New York.
“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 in a social media post that he was a part of the “small group of family and close friends” — including Frehley‘s fellow original KISS members Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss — who attended both services.
“Ace Frehley was laid to rest in a cemetery in the Bronx, New York — of course, where he grew up, very close to where his parents were buried, which were his wishes,” Trunk said in a video posted to Instagram.
The October 21 private service in Yonkers, where Frehley lived in the 1980s, was attended by about 75 people, “mostly musicians who had played with Ace [or] recorded with him,” according to Tampa Bay Music News.
Frehley, whose real name was Paul Daniel Frehley, passed away on October 16 peacefully surrounded by family in Morristown, New Jersey. He reportedly died nearly two weeks after a second fall at his home, which led to him being placed on life support after a brain bleed. The musician’s family made the heartbreaking decision to take him off the ventilator.
Frehley‘s family confirmed his death, writing in a statement: “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. 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!”
Ace co-founded KISS with guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons and drummer Peter Criss in New York City in 1973. Frehley appeared on KISS‘s first nine albums, and returned for the band’s 1998 reunion album, “Psycho Circus”, only to leave again. He was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with the rest of KISS‘s original lineup in 2014.
Frehley first left KISS in 1982. He rejoined in 1996 and parted ways with the band once again in 2002 after the conclusion of KISS‘s first “farewell tour.” Since his departure, guitarist Tommy Thayer had assumed the role of the Spaceman.
Earlier in October, Frehley scrapped the remainder of his previously announced 2025 tour dates due to unspecified “medical issues”.
The legendary rocker announced the cancelation two weeks after he pulled out of the Antelope Valley Fair in Lancaster, California after sustaining minor injuries in a fall at his home.
When Ace‘s Antelope Valley Fair cancelation was first announced, it was revealed that Frehley had had “a minor fall in his studio, resulting in a trip to the hospital.” He was later advised by his doctor to refrain from travel in order to fully recover from his injuries.
At the time of his passing, Frehley was working on “Origins Vol. 3”, the sequel to Ace‘s 2016 and 2020 collections of cover songs that inspired the former KISS guitarist.
Ace‘s latest solo collection of original material, “10,000 Volts”, came out in February 2024 via MNRK Music Group (formerly eOne Music). It was the follow-up to “Spaceman”, which was released in October 2018 via eOne.
Frehley has had a rocky relationship with Simmons and Stanley whom he blamed for exacerbating his abuse of drugs and alcohol because they allegedly minimized his contributions to KISS.
In 2019, Simmons told Guitar World that Frehley and Criss had exited KISS three times, in part because they “weren’t carrying their load” and weren’t dependable onstage. In response, Frehley called Simmons and Stanley “control freaks, untrustworthy and… too difficult to work with.”
Ace said in a 2024 interview that he got sober in 2006 after “10 car accidents” and credited his daughter Monique with inspiring him to give up drinking in 2006.
“My daughter calls me up and goes, ‘Dad, I’m not hearing good things about you.’ I looked in the mirror and just said, ‘Shit — she’s right,'” he said. “That evening, I called my sponsor and he took me to an AA meeting, and I’ve been sober ever since.”
Frehley married Jeanette Trerotola in 1978 before they legally separated seven years later but remained married. She survives him, along with their daughter Monique, brother Charles, sister Nancy Salvner, and a number of nieces, nephews and extended family members.
Photo credit: Jayme Thornton
