Frehley died after he was hospitalized following a fall
Ace Frehley had been in a dire situation for two weeks before his passing yesterday (Thurs, Oct 16th), according to longtime friend and SiriusXM host Eddie Trunk. During a special extended edition of Trunk Nation today (Fri, Oct 17th), Trunk explained that the guitarist severely injured himself when he fell down stairs at home two weeks ago, resulting in a brain bleed and Frehley being unconscious and on a ventilator.
“Ace fell a second time, and that was, I believe, exactly two weeks ago from today, and that was catastrophic,” Trunk says. “He fell down stairs in his home. He was not drunk. He was not high. Ace was very proud of his sobriety, so you can diffuse that right away. I don’t know all of the circumstances around it, but it was a very serious fall. I had been to his house. I know the stairs, and he hit his head severely multiple times, and that caused the problem. I’m not going to get into all of the gory details of it, but it was a very, very serious injury. So Ace was in the hospital and not conscious for many days. I was aware of this and the hospital he was in was maybe ten minutes from my home in New Jersey, but unfortunately, I was not able to see him. They had everything locked down, and understandably, didn’t want people in there. It was extraordinarily serious. I was unable to get a lot of detailed information, but I just know they were not seeing people and they didn’t want anybody up there. I was just hoping he’d make a turn for the best, but to my knowledge, he was not conscious at all after the fall until he passed away.”
In September, Frehley postponed a single show after what his team said was a “minor fall” in his studio that resulted in a hospital visit. However, on October 6th, all remaining 2025 tour dates were canceled following advice from his medical team regarding “ongoing medical issues” which were a result of the second fall.
At 74, Frehley is the first original and youngest member of Kiss to pass away. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Kiss in 2014 and was slated to be awarded a Kennedy Center Honor with them in December.
Rumors of The Spaceman’s death began going viral around midday yesterday. Confirmed news of his passing followed around 6 pm ET after his family reportedly pulled him off the ventilator. Frehley died peacefully in Morristown, New Jersey, surrounded by his family.
An outpouring of tributes quickly followed, with former bandmates and rock legends reflecting on his profound influence on music history. His former bandmates, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, and Bruce Kulick, all shared their condolences. Rockers Tom Morello, Mike McCready, Bret Michaels, Steve Vai, and others also posted tributes to the late guitarist.
Trunk says at least two unseen projects featuring him and Frehley have yet to be released. The first is Trunk’s 40th anniversary celebration in Las Vegas, where Frehley performed at The House of Blues in December 2023. The second is an interview that will be part of an upcoming Eddie Trunk documentary, which was filmed recently at Frehley’s New Jersey home. No release date for either has been shared.
