By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press
Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist and founding member of the glam rock band Kiss who captivated audiences with his elaborate makeup and smoke-filled guitar, died Thursday. He was 74.
Frehley died peacefully surrounded by family in Morristown, New Jersey, following a recent fall, according to his agent.
Family members said in a statement that they are “completely devastated and heartbroken” but will cherish his laughter and celebrate the kindness he bestowed upon others.
Kiss, whose hits included “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” was known for its theatrical stage shows, with fireworks, smoking instruments and fake blood spewing from the mouths of band members in body armor, platform boots, wigs and signature black-and-white face paint.
Kiss’ original lineup included Frehley, singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, tongue-wagging bassist Gene Simmons and drummer Peter Criss. Band members took on the personas of comic book-style characters — Frehley was known as “Space Ace” and the “Spaceman.” The New York-born entertainer often experimented with pyrotechnics, making his guitars glow, emit smoke and shoot rockets from the headstock.
“We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley,” Simmons and Stanley said in a joint statement. “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.”
Frehley and his band mates were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
As the Kennedy Center’s new chairman, President Donald Trump named Kiss as one of this year’s honorees.
Frehley’s is the first death among the four founding members.
The band 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 its biggest commercial hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1976.
Frehley left the band in 1982, skipping the years when they took off the makeup and had mixed success. He 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 that came after bands including Nirvana, Weezer and the Melvins had expressed their affection for the band and paid them musical tributes.