The death of Ace Frehley became one of the saddest and most shocking moments of 2025.
KISS guitarist passed away in October at the age of 74 after a fall at home . His funeral took place in New York and was attended by prominent members of the band, including Gene Simmons , Paul Stanley , and Peter Criss .
Mohr Stories podcast , the bassist spoke about how he found out about the death of his former bandmate. Gene also recalled what it was like to participate in the funeral ceremony, held with the casket open.
“I was here in California and I received a message from Gigi , Peter Criss’s [original KISS drummer] wife, saying that Ace had passed away,” he recalled [transcription via Blabbermouth ]. “He fell down the stairs, apparently for the second time. The hospital said, ‘He needs to rest.’ The family fought to keep him alive, but he didn’t last much longer.”
“So, Peter Criss, Paul Stanley, and I went and flew to the wake and then to the funeral. But I’ll tell you, no matter how emotional it was, the open casket was too much. I just had to lower my head because he was right in front of us. We were right there. And Ace looked like he was going to say, ‘Oh, just kidding,’ get up, and be the fun guy he always was.”
Cause of Ace Frehley's Death
According to the TMZ , Ace died as a result of a head injury caused by a fall.
According to the website, the guitarist's death was caused by a brain hemorrhage resulting from a fall in his studio at the end of September . Frehley was 74 years old and died on October 16th.
The Morris County, New Jersey, medical examiner who issued the official report stated that “Ace suffered a fracture to the back of his skull, a subdural hematoma — an accumulation of blood formed between the outer protective layer of the brain and the brain itself — and a stroke. His death was ruled “accidental.”.
The confirmation aligns with information previously released by the TMZ . Just hours before the guitarist's death was confirmed, a source reportedly told the website that Ace Frehley had suffered a brain hemorrhage when he fell in the studio and was being kept alive by machines.
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