Ace Frehley’s Death Ruled Accidental After Fall, Autopsy Reveals

11 November 2025

Ace Frehley of Kiss performs at Arco Arena in Sacramento in August 1996. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty

The autopsy report released by the Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed that Ace Frehley died from blunt force head injuries sustained in a fall earlier this year at his home studio in Morristown, New Jersey. He passed away at the age of 74 on 16 October, surrounded by his family, a few weeks after the incident.

According to the report, Frehley suffered facial fractures near his eyes and left ear and also had bruising on his left abdomen and thigh, and on his right hip and upper thigh. The cause of death has been officially ruled an accident.

Frehley’s death marks the first among the founding members of the iconic rock band Kiss, the group he co-founded in 1973 along with Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Peter Criss. Known for his “Spaceman” persona, Frehley played a pivotal role in shaping the band’s theatrical style that featured elaborate costumes, pyrotechnics, and larger-than-life stage shows.

Born Paul Daniel Frehley in 1951 in New York City he began playing guitar at age thirteen and even worked as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix as a teenager. His early life set the stage for a career that would influence generations of guitarists and change the face of rock performance.

With Kiss, Frehley appeared on the band’s first nine studio albums and contributed to both their musical sound and visual identity. Later he embarked on a solo career and released his acclaimed debut solo album in 1978, which included the hit “New York Groove” and became the best-selling of all the solo records released simultaneously by each member of Kiss that year.

Reports indicate that Frehley had suffered a fall at his home studio in late September 2025, an event that forced him to cancel tour dates and which ultimately led to the injuries that caused his death. According to other sources he had suffered a brain bleed and had been placed on life support before passing away.

Tributes poured in from his bandmates and peers. Stanley and Simmons issued a statement describing him as “an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history.” That simple line belies the impact Frehley had not only on Kiss’s success but on rock music as a whole.

Frehley had left Kiss in the early 1980s amid internal tensions and personal struggles, but rejoined for a high-profile reunion tour in the late 1990s and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 2014. In his solo work and occasional collaborations he demonstrated both technical skill and showmanship, his guitars emitting smoke or lights during solos and his persona capturing imaginations.

Beyond the statistics of injury and death the news invites reflection on the legacy of a musician whose influence extended far beyond album sales. Frehley helped bridge the gap between the spectacle of rock theatre and the raw energy of guitar-driven music. Many younger guitarists cite him as an inspiration, someone who broke rules, ignored convention and embraced bold visual identity without sacrificing musical integrity.

His passing also casts a light on the human vulnerability behind larger-than-life personas. For decades he projected cosmic imagery and stage nihilism but here the story is grounded: one man, one fall, one tragic accident that ended a life of noise, fury and bright lights. It is a reminder that the spectacle is built on physical bodies and vulnerable human beings.

Frehley is survived by his wife Jeanette, his daughter Monique and his extended family. They released a statement at the time of his death expressing their devastation, noting they had been able to surround him with love and peace in his final moments.

As fans reflect on his life and work they may revisit the albums, the live performances and the moments when Frehley’s solos seemed to touch something greater than mere entertainment. His image the silver makeup, the fire-shooting guitar, the cosmic backdrop is iconic, but it was matched by a guitar tone, a reckless drive, and a refusal to settle for ordinary.

In a culture that often relies on nostalgia to remember its heroes the final chapter of Ace Frehley’s story adds new depth. It is a death not from disease or heroin overdose or old age in bed but from a fall, brief, fatal and indiscriminate. It reminds us that rock-and-roll lives shine bright and burn fast, and that the man behind the mask is still mortal.

As the first of the original Kiss quartet to pass away his death closes a chapter in rock history. It prompts both appreciation of what came before and reflection on what future musicians must carry forward whether it is the pyrotechnics or the raw guitar riffs or the idea that ordinary youth from New York could become a cosmic rock icon.