Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist and founding member of the glam rock band Kiss who captivated audiences with her elaborate makeup and smoky guitar, died Thursday. He was 74 years old.
Frehley died peacefully surrounded by his family in Morristown, New Jersey, following a recent fall, according to his agent.
Family members said in a statement that they were “completely devastated and heartbroken” but would cherish his laughter and celebrate the kindness he extended to others.
Kiss, whose hits included “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” was known for its theatrical shows, complete with fireworks, smoking instruments and fake blood spewing from the mouths of band members in body armor, platform boots, wigs and iconic black-and-white makeup.
Members of the rock group Kiss, from left, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley, pose for photos during a news conference Friday, January 29, 1999, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin, file)
The original Kiss lineup included Frehley, singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, bassist Gene Simmons and drummer Peter Criss. The band members played comic book style characters – Frehley was known as “Space Ace” and “Spaceman”. The New York-born artist often experimented with pyrotechnics, making his guitars glow, emit smoke and shoot rockets from the doll.
“We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley,” Simmons and Stanley said in a joint statement. “He was a vital and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative chapters of the band and its history. He is and always will be a part of KISS’s legacy.”
Frehley and his bandmates were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
As the new chairman of the Kennedy Center, President Donald Trump named Kiss as one of this year’s winners.
In this Oct. 4, 2009, file photo, former KISS lead guitarist Ace Frehley plays the national anthem before an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Giants in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/LG Patterson, File)
Frehley is the first death among the four founding members.
The group was extremely popular, especially in the mid-1970s, selling tens of millions of albums and licensing its iconic look to sell numerous products. “Beth” was her biggest commercial success in the United States, reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1976.
Frehley left the group in 1982, skipping the years when they went off the band and enjoyed mixed success. He has performed both as a solo artist and with his band, Frehley’s Comet.
But he rejoined Kiss in the mid-1990s for a triumphant reunion and restoration of their original style after bands like Nirvana, Weezer and the Melvins expressed affection for the group and paid them musical tributes.
