Gene Simmons has said that “bad decisions” surrounding lifestyle had a part to play in the death of late KISS bandmate Ace Frehley.
The guitarist and founding member of the group died at 74 years old in Morristown, New Jersey, on October 16. A statement shared at the time revealed that Ace – also known as Spaceman – died “peacefully surrounded by family” following “a recent fall at his home”. An investigation was then launched into Frehley’s death, and the results of a medical examination have since been shared, ruling his death an accident.
On Sunday night (December 7), Donald Trump presented this year’s Kennedy Center honourees – among them KISS, Sylvester Stallone and Gloria Gaynor – with medals for their lifetime of contributions to American culture.
Ahead of the Kennedy Center Honors, where Frehley was inducted posthumously, Simmons told the New York Times that “bad decisions” led to his fatal fall, seemingly implying that substance abuse might have played a role.
“He refused [advice] from people that cared about him – including yours truly – to try to change his lifestyle,” he said. “In and out of bad decisions. Falling down the stairs — I’m not a doctor — doesn’t kill you. There may have been other issues, and it breaks my heart.
“The saddest thing – you reap what you shall sow unfortunately.”
While a toxicology report has not yet been released, Frehley said as recently as last year that he had been sober for 18 years, per Consequence.
Last month (November 15), the surviving members of KISS paid homage to him during their first “unmasked” show since retiring from touring. Ahead of the show, electric candles were handed out to the audience, and upon taking the stage, Paul Stanley asked the crowd to lift them in the air and take a moment to “think about somebody who is at the foundation of this band”.
“We’re talking about Ace,” he said. “We certainly had differences, but that’s what family is about. Why don’t we take a moment [and] think about him looking down on us” from the fictional planet “Jendell, probably”, which Ace often referred to as his home. “Let’s have a moment for Ace.”
Frehley co-founded KISS in 1973 with singer Paul Stanley, bassist and part-time singer Simmons and drummer Peter Criss. The members’ identities were famously kept secret until a decade after their debut, by which Frehley had left the band to pursue a solo career, coupled with his struggles with substance abuse and rising tension within the band about their direction.
In the years following his exit from KISS, Frehley formed a new band, Frehley’s Comet. The band released two albums, both of which failed to achieve commercial success. He reverted to using his own name for this 1989 album ‘Trouble Walkin”, which saw former bandmate Peter Criss provide backing vocals.
Frehley would rejoin KISS for their reunion in 1996 and stayed with them until 2002. He did not join them for their farewell world tour in 2022. Frehley and Simmons had a notably rocky relationship, with Simmons in 2019 claiming that Frehley was fired from the band for his substance abuse, while Ace argued that he was 12 years sober by then and quit “of my own free will, because you and Paul [Stanley] are control freaks, untrustworthy and were too difficult to work with”.
Among the names names who have paid tribute to Frehley include Tool’s Maynard James Keenan, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, Nile Rodgers, Steve Vai, John 5, Rush, Alice Cooper, and more.
Following Frehley’s passing, a Change.org petition was launched in an effort to convince NASA to award the guitarist with honorary astronaut status. The petition – started by a fan named Kathryn – has since received over 3,000 signatures and counting.
