In June 2024, Ace Frehley performed at the Lincoln Square Theater. Lavelle Hunt, president of the Lincoln Square Theater, remembers that show well.

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - In June 2024, Ace Frehley performed at the Lincoln Square Theater. Lavelle Hunt, president of the Lincoln Square Theater, remembers that show well. 

"The show was supposed to start at 8:30, and at 8:30 Ace wasn't even in the building," Hunt said. "People were getting antsy and asking if he was even going to show up ... He literally walks in at 8:59, his guitar tech hangs the guitar on his shoulders, and he walks out on stage." 

It was a deeply emotional moment for Hunt, who first saw Kiss perform when he was 14. It was surreal to have Frehley visit the theater he managed. 

"We got Ace Frehley on our stage right here in Decatur, Illinois, and to be able to talk with him and caught up with him and stuff like that, was just unbelievable, it really was," Hunt said.

There is an Ace Frehley signed guitar hanging in the lobby of the Lincoln Theater, as well as a poster from his show. Hunt also proudly displays the wall where Frehley signed after his performance in 2024. 

Frehley was set to return to the Lincoln Square Theater on Oct. 10, six days before he died. The show was canceled due to Frehley's health issues. Hunt says knowing this could have been one of Frehley's final performances before his passing is deeply emotional. 

"When you're in an intimate setting like this, to be up close and personal and actually see his fingers working on that guitar is just monumental, I can't even describe it," Hunt said. 

Frehley died Thursday at age 74. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. 

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