Back in August, it was announced that the original members of KISS – Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss – had been chosen as recipients of this year’s Kennedy Center Honors. Unfortunately, Frehley passed away this past Thursday (Oct. 16th) just weeks before the Dec. 7 ceremony.
During a special “Tribute To Ace Frehley” episode of SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” this past Friday (Oct. 17th), guitarist John 5 spoke about just how excited Frehley was to receive a Kennedy Center Honor.
“Everybody’s very sad [about Ace’s passing], but then you think back of all the fun stories and all the funny stories, but one of the very last times I talked to him — it was right before his first fall,” John said. “And we were talking, and what he said — he was so happy, he was so excited about the Kennedy Center Honors. He was just so over the moon about this.
“And what he told me is he was so excited that the president said his name and said it correctly. At this point of his life, he was over the moon. He was so happy. And that’s, I think, something really, really important.”
Despite the Kennedy Center having a policy that its honorees must be living, Frehley will still be honored posthumously. The guitarist will be only the third person to receive the award after having died, with the other two being Glenn Frey of Eagles and Phil Lesh of Grateful Dead. Like Frehley, Frey and Lesh both passed away after it was announced that their bands had been chosen as Kennedy Center Honors recipients.
Ace Frehley’s cause of death
Last Thursday (Oct. 16th), KISS guitarist Ace Frehley passed away at the age of 74. Now, TMZ is reporting that his death is being investigated by a New Jersey medical examiner.
A representative for the Morris County Medical Examiner has told the publication that while an autopsy was not performed on Frehley, a toxicology screening and an external body examination is underway. The medical examiner’s office also shared that an official cause of death will be finalized in the next few weeks.
Frehley’s death comes nearly two weeks after he apparently fell for a second time at his home in New Jersey. His first fall took place in late September at his studio.
The severity of the second fall reportedly caused a brain bleed and led to him being placed on life support. When Frehley’s condition failed to improve, his family was left to make the heartbreaking decision to remove him off of the ventilator.
Confirming his death on October 16, Frehley’s family shared the following statement:
“We are completely devastated and heartbroken. In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth.
“We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others. The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace’s memory will continue to live on forever!”
