MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist and founding member of the glam rock band Kiss, died from blunt force injuries to the head that he suffered in a fall earlier this year, an autopsy has determined.

Frehley died peacefully on Oct. 16 surrounded by family in Morristown, N.J., a few weeks after the fall occurred, according to his agent.

The Morris County Medical Examiner's Office determined Frehley's death was an accident. The report said Frehley, 74, suffered facial fractures near the eyes and left ear and also had bruising on his left abdomen and thigh area and his right hip and upper thigh.

Kiss, whose hits included “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” was known for its theatrical stage shows, with fire and fake blood spewing from the mouths of band members dressed in body armor, platform boots, wigs and signature black-and-white face paint.

Kiss’ original lineup included Frehley, singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, tongue-wagging bassist Gene Simmons and drummer Peter Criss. Frehley’s is the first death among the four founding members.

Band members took on the personas of comic book-style characters — Frehley was known as “Space Ace” and “The Spaceman.” The New York-born entertainer and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer often experimented with pyrotechnics, making his guitars glow, emit smoke and shoot rockets from the headstock.

Born Paul Daniel Frehley, he grew up in a musical family and began playing guitar at age 13. Before joining Kiss, he played in local bands around New York City and was a roadie for Jimi Hendrix at age 18.

Kiss was especially popular in the mid-1970s, selling tens of millions of albums and licensing its iconic look to become a marketing marvel. “Beth” was its biggest commercial hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1976.

Frehley frequently feuded with Stanley and Simmons through the years. He left the band in 1982, missing the years when they took off the makeup and had mixed success, while Frehley performed both as a solo artist and with his band, Frehley’s Comet.

But he rejoined Kiss in the mid-1990s for a triumphant reunion and restoration of their original style that came after bands including Nirvana, Weezer and the Melvins had expressed affection for the band and paid them musical tributes.

He would leave again in 2002. When the original four entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, a dispute scrapped plans for them to perform. Simmons and Stanley objected to Criss and Frehley being inducted instead of then-guitarist Tommy Thayer and then-drummer Eric Singer.

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NEW YORK — Fashion designer Tom Ford has called up Adele to co-star in his adaptation of Anne Rice’s “Cry to Heaven,” his production company said Wednesday. The film, which Ford is writing, directing and producing, will mark the acting debut of the superstar singer.

Adele is just one part of a large ensemble cast that includes Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, George MacKay, Colin Firth, Paul Bettany, “Adolescence” breakout Owen Cooper and Hunter Schafer, though no details were immediately available about their specific roles.

Rice’s novel, first published in 1982, is set the world of the opera in 18th century Italy and follows two characters from very different backgrounds: one born a peasant, the other a Venetian noble.

“Cry to Heaven” will be the third feature for Ford, who made his directing debut with the romantic drama “A Single Man” in 2009, followed by the psychological thriller “Nocturnal Animals” in 2016. The movie is currently in pre-production for a release in late fall 2026.

As with his previous features, Ford is financing “Cry to Heaven” himself. In 2016, he told the Associated Press: “I will only ever make a movie if I control the underlying rights.”

LOS ANGELES — A California court on Wednesday denied rapper Tory Lanez’s appeal of his guilty verdict on charges he fired a gun at Megan Thee Stallion.

A three-judge panel from the California 2nd District Court of Appeal issued a ruling saying they affirm in full his conviction on three felony counts. They did not publicly release an opinion with their reasoning.

In December 2022, Lanez was convicted of three felonies: assault with a semiautomatic firearm; having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.

Megan testified during the trial that in July 2020, after they left a party at Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood Hills home, Lanez fired the gun at the back of her feet and shouted for her to dance as she walked away from an SUV in which they had been riding together with two others.

She had bullet fragments in both feet that had to be surgically removed. It wasn’t until months after the shooting that she publicly identified Lanez as the person who had fired the gun.

Attorneys for Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday’s ruling. They can petition to have the California Supreme Court hear the appeal. A representative for Megan also didn't immediately answer an email seeking comment.

Lanez is serving a 10-year sentence at the California Men’s Colony near San Luis Obispo, Calif. He was moved there after he was stabbed by a fellow inmate at California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi.

Authorities did not specify how Lanez was attacked, but a message posted on the rapper’s Instagram account Monday evening said Lanez was stabbed 14 times and both his lungs collapsed.

The 32-year-old Canadian Lanez began releasing mixtapes in 2009 and saw a steady rise in popularity, moving on to major label albums, two of which reached the top 10 on Billboard’s charts.