A rock and roll legend is blaming his former bandmate’s death on “bad decisions.”
In a new interview with the New York Post, KISS frontman Gene Simmons suggested substance abuse caused guitarist Ace Frehley to die from a fall down the stairs at his home studio in Morristown, N.J. Frehley suffered a brain bleed and died weeks later on Oct. 16 at age 74.
“He refused [advice] from people that cared about him – including yours truly – to try to change his lifestyle. 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,” Simmons told the Post. “The saddest thing – you reap what you shall sow unfortunately.”
Frehley’s cause of death was blunt force injuries to the head from an accidental fall, an autopsy report from the Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office said last month. Frehley had facial fractures near the eyes and left ear, as well as bruising on his left abdomen and thigh area and his right hip and upper thigh.
According to the New York Post, a toxicology report on Frehley’s blood is expected to be released later by the medical examiner.
(L-R) Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Paul Stanley of KISS perform on stage at UK’s Wembley Arena in 1996. (Photo by Mick Hutson/Redferns)Redferns
Simmons, 76, spoke with the publication while in Washington, D.C., to receive a Kennedy Center Honor from President Donald Trump with the surviving members of KISS. Simmons said it broke his heart to attend Frehley’s funeral with fellow KISS co-founders Peter Criss and Paul Stanley.
“It was just heartbreaking. Saddest of all perhaps is that Ace just couldn’t stay alive long enough to sit there proudly at the Kennedy Center and listen to – I can’t even tell you who’s going to come out … really impressive people, just to say how much KISS meant to them,” Frehley told the Post. “What can you say – sad.”
Frehley was best known for his work as Spaceman/Space Ace in KISS alongside Simmons (a.k.a. the Demon), Stanley (Starchild), and Criss (Catman). Frehley was a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group from 1973 to 1982 and 1996 to 2002, playing on hits like “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” “Love Gun” and “Detroit Rock City.”
KISS, which sold more than 100 million records over five decades, retired from touring in 2023. Frehley said in August he declined to perform at an unmasked reunion concert with Simmons and Stanley in Las Vegas last month.
“There’s no way I’m gonna be involved with that, you know?” Frehley told Guitar World at the time. “Their biggest mistake is that they should have done that at Madison Square Garden, not in Las Vegas in a 5,000-seater, or whatever it is.”
Frehley, named one of the Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time by Guitar World magazine, is also known for his solo work on songs like “New York Groove” and “Rip It Out.” He released his last album, “10,000 Volts,” in 2024, and performed at the New York State Fair that year.
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Ace Frehley performs at the NYS FairCharlie Miller
Simmons, Stanley and Criss received their Kennedy Center awards from Trump on Saturday, alongside Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, and actor-singer Michael Crawford. Trump called KISS “an incredible rock band” and said he was “a fan” of all the honorees.
“These are among the greatest artists, actors and performers of their generation. The greatest that we’ve seen,” Trump said. “We can hardly imagine the country music phenomena without its king of country, or American disco without its first lady, or Broadway without its phantom — and that was a phantom, let me tell you — or rock and roll without its hottest band in the world, and that’s what they are, or Hollywood without one of its greatest visionaries.”
Frehley was also named among the Kennedy Center honorees as a member of KISS.
Sylvester Stallone, right, shows Gene Simmons, center, and Paul Stanley, left, members of the band Kiss, his Kennedy Center Honors medal that has the name of Peter Criss, another member of Kiss, on it, in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)AP
