Original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley has died at the age of 74.
The iconic musician (real name Paul Frehley) known for his "Spaceman" persona and makeup, died Thursday (October 16) after complications from falling in his New Jersey home last month. TMZ reported that he suffered a brain bleed from the incident, which forced him to cancel tour dates.
Frehley's family shared a statement saying that he was surrounded “with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth.”
In a joint statement, former band members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons wrote, “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.”
Frehley joined Stanley, Simmons and Peter Criss in 1973 to form Kiss, spending nine years with the band as they became one of the biggest rock bands in the world due to their elaborate face paint and costumes, over the top pyrotechnics and loud, provocative brand of rock and roll.
He played on the band's biggest albums between 1973 and 1982, leaving to form his own band, Frehley's Comet, and eventually go on to become a solo artist. Frehley later returned to Kiss for the Alive/Worldwide reunion tour and 1998's Psycho Circus, before leaving again in 2002.
During his time in the band, he became one of rock music's most influential and copied guitarists, inspiring everyone from Weezer and Mötley Crüe to Nirvana and Garth Brooks.
In 2001, he released his autobiography No Regrets: A Rock’n’Roll Memoir, in which he detailed his time in Kiss, his dismissal from the band, and his struggles with drugs and alcohol.
Along with Stanley, Simmons and Criss, Frehley was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Kiss in 2014. He will posthumously receive a Kennedy Center Honor in December when Kiss will be recognized by President Donald Trump.
Frehley is survived by survived by his wife Jeanette and daughter Monique.