A Fistful Of Alice

The Unofficial Alice Cooper FAQ

Version 1 -September 28, 1999 - Compiled by Erik Holmstrom

"I got the answers to all of your questions , it you´ve got the money to pay me in gold" - Alice Cooper in "Halo of flies" on the album Killer

What is this FAQ all about?

This FAQ (Freguently Asked Qustions) is to answer the basic Alice Cooper questions and more fun Alice facts! If you have any FAQ or fun Alice facts that you would like me to put on this page, just mail me at Erik Holmstrom

What WAS the SickThings mailing list?

The sickthing mailing list was an Internet mailinglist dedicated to Alice Cooper. We discussed all things releated to Alice, the original Alice Cooper group, past members of the group, you name it. The mailing list was maintained by Hunter Goatley at Western Kentucky Unviversity. You will find the SickThings webpage here www.sickthings.com

Another realy great mailinglist on the net. is the one dedicated to the original Alice Cooper Group, the ACG Mailinglist, you will find it here: www.onelist.com

I am a member of both mailinglists, they are great. Bryan "Renfield" Nelson is a member of the STML, he tries to answer the questions we Alice fans asks. I would like to take time to say a big THANK YOU to him, he is the man behind THE man! He is on the inside...

Common abbrevaiations and acronyms

Orginal band:
AC-ALICE COOPER 
DD-DENNIS DUNAWAY
GB-GLEN BUXTON
MB-MICHAEL BRUCE
NS-NEAL SMITH
Other:
ACG - Alice Cooper Group
AFOA - A Fistful Of Alice
ACGTH - Alice Cooper Goes To Hell
ACS - Alice Cooper Show
BDB or B$B - Billion Dollar Babies (The book, song and album)
BRN - Brian "Renfield" Nelson
EA - Easy Action
FOS - Freak Out Song
FTF - Flush The Fassion
FTI - From The Inside
GH - Greatest Hits
HS - Hey Stoopid
LAW - Lace And Whiskey
LITD - Love It To Death
LM - Ladies Man
MA - Me, Alice (The book)
MOL - Muscle Of Love
PFY - Pretties For You
Ren - Brian "Renfield" Nelson (see BRN)
RYFAY - Raise Your Fist And Yell
SF - Special Forces
STML - Sick Thing Mailing List
SO - School´s Out
TLACOAC - The Life And Crimes Of Alice Cooper (boxset)
TLT - The Last Temptation
VF - Vince(nt) Furnier
WTMNM - Welcome To My Nightmare
ZCS - Zipper Catches Skin

Who is Vincent Furnier and how do I pronounce his name?

Vincent Damon Furnier (Pronounced "Fern-yea") is the son of a Metodist minister, was born February 4, 1948, in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Vincent Furnier would later be known world wide as Alice Cooper.

What was the names of Alice highschool bands?

Their first band name was The Earwigs.

Bandmembers:
Glen Buxton - guitar 
Dennis Dunaway -bass
John Tatum - guitar 
John Speer - drums 
Vince(nt) Furnier - vocals

"Over the year, we taught ourselves how to play instruments and changed our name to the Spiders. We learned all our songs from Yardbirds and Rolling Stones albums which we had to play several hundred times each to figure out the chords." - Alice Cooper

Thier next bandname was The Spiders

John Tatum left the band in the summer of 1966. He was replaced by Michael Bruce. Mike had played for the bands The Duels and The Wildflowers before he joined The Spiders.

Their third name was The Nazz

John Speer left the band at the end of 1967, he was replaced by no other then Neal Smith. Now it was the legendary Alice Cooper group! They had to change the band name again because Todd Rundgren in Philladelphia had a band with the same name. You all know what the new bandname was, dont you? YES, ALICE COOPER!

Who is/was Alice Cooper?

Alice Cooper was originally a 5 men band, comprised of: Vince Furnier(later known world wide as Alice Cooper) - Vocals
Glen Buxton - Guitar
Neal Smith - Drums
Dennis Dunaway - Bass
Michael Bruce - Guitar

So, when did ACG become Alice Cooper the person?

In 1974, after the relese of their "MOL" album, the band officialy split. Also in 1974, Furnier officialy took the name Alice Cooper.

When are the birthdays for the members of the ACG?

March 16, 1948 Webpage: www.michaelbruce.com	December 9, 1948 No known webpage W
September 23, 1947 Webpage: www.nealsmith.com	November 11, 1948 - 19 October 1997 Webpage: www.glenbuxton.com

Where did Alice grow up and where does he live now?

Alice has lived in various cities in the United States. He was born in Detroit, Michigan on February 4, 1948. When Alice was just three years old, his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona but returned to Detroit just a year later. They lived in Detroit for another five years before his father decided to join Alice's uncle in Los Angeles, California. Once in LA, Alice's father rededicated himself to the church and was ordained as a minister. Alice's father then decided to move to Arizona so that he could continue his missionary work with the Apaches. By the time Alice was twelve years old, his family had resettled in Phoenix, Arizona. In Phoenix, Alice attended Cortez High School and it was while Alice was still in high school, that he convinced a few of his friends to form a rock band. They called their band the "Earwigs" and their first gig was at the Letterman's talent show. The Earwigs became the "Spiders" and adopted a sound that was influenced by such bands as the Yardbirds and the Rolling Stones. The Spiders managed to achieve success in their hometown of Phoenix, even scoring a hit single with "Don't Blow Your Mind". But, the band realized that in order to get a record deal and make it nationally, they would need to relocate to Los Angeles. So, in 1966, the band made the big move to Los Angeles, California. They lived in various places in LA, including Venice Beach, but eventually rented a home in Topanga Canyon, an area just outside of LA which was the haven of many hippies and would-be stars. After changing the band's name to the "Nazz", the band finally settled on the name "Alice Cooper" and played its first gig as Alice Cooper in March 1968. Finally, in October 1968, the Alice Cooper band obtained its first record deal and signed a record contract with Frank Zappa's Straight-Bizarre label distributed through Warner Brothers. The band toured all over the US and discovered that they were most popular in the Detroit area where audiences were really into high-energy rock music. So, they moved into a farmhouse in Pontiac, Michigan. It was while living in Pontiac, Michigan, that the Alice Cooper band developed material for the "Love it to Death" album, released in early 1971, which was to become their first big hit.

The "Galeisi Estate" - The Rock ´n´ Roll house!

In 1971, Alice Cooper had become an international success and the band was now able to afford a new home: a 42-room mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. It was called the "Galeisi Estate" and none other than Ann-Margaret had occupied its premises just a month prior to the band's moving in. Alice and the other band-members also lived in New York City, in Manhattan penthouse appartments.

In 1974, the Galeisi Estate burned down to the ground. This was also the year that the original Alice Cooper band broke up. Alice moved to Los Angeles where he bought a house in Bel-Air, a suburb of Beverly Hills. This house, which had been previously owned by none other than H.R. Haldeman, was Alice's home until 1984. In 1984, the Cooper family moved to Chicago, Illinois after deciding that LA was too crime-ridden and not really an ideal place to raise a family. They lived in a high-rise appartment overlooking the water, but Alice was not overly fond of Chicago winters. So, in 1985, Alice and his family finally made Phoenix, Arizona their permanent home by moving into the Paradise Valley house Alice had purchased many years earlier. They have been living in Phoenix, Arizona ever since.

Did Alice once appear naked, with a snake, on a billboard?

Of all the numerous times Alice Cooper was photographed, one of the most notorious pictures ever taken was a shot by famous photographer, Richard Avedon.

In this photo, Alice appeared completely naked with only a boa constrictor wrapped around his crotch. This notorious picture made headlines and newspapers all around the world in 1972 after it was blown up into a twenty-foot billboard and mounted on the side of a truck. The truck had ridden the streets of London and had even gone past Buckingham Palace and Parliament until eventually circling the Piccadilly Circus. When the truck broke down in the middle of the intersection during the afternoon rush hour, it caused a major traffic jam and was impossible to miss. As a result, newspapers all over the world featured pictures of the stalled truck with the naked picture of Alice and his snake.

Did the press once take off their clothes at an Alice Cooper press party?

In 1972, Alice Cooper held a press party at Chessington Zoo the afternoon before their concert at London's Wembley Arena. Chessington Zoo was a small park with a circus tent. What was unusual about this afternoon press party, was the fact that the only thing being served was alcohol. For some strange reason, no one remembered to order any food and alcohol was generally not served at London press parties because English journalists were known for getting quite sloshed when there was free booze around. Nearly everyone at the party got quite drunk and the crowd got to their feet when a Soho stripper did a slow peel. Then an American girl, Stacia, started stripping and stole the spotlight. The two girls started to fight and then lots of people started taking off their clothes. By the time the London police arrived, people were throwing beer cans into the air and were running around without their clothes on. Five people were even arrested for indecent exposure.

Did a member of parliament try to have Alice banned from Britain?

A member of the British Parliament, Leo Abse, asked the government to have Alice Cooper banned from Britain. Abse said that he made his decision after talking to his teenage children who told him that Alice was absolutely sick. On the floor of Parliament, Abse said "I regard his act as an incitement to infanticide for his audience. He is deliberately trying to involve these kids in sadomasochism. He is peddling the culture of the concentration camp. Pop is one thing; anthems of necrophilia are another."

Did an old lady die next to Alice on a plane?

Just as Alice was acquiring the reputation for being "every parent's worst nightmare", a strange incident took place. He was sitting on a plane, playing cards with the old lady sitting next to him, when she told Alice she was going to sleep and to wake her when the plane landed. When Alice tried to wake her, he discovered that the old lady had died. The reaction of some people to this story, was that it was hardly surprising that she would die since she was sitting next to the notorious Alice Cooper. Alice has joked that he should have left two holes in her neck.

Did Alice Cooper ever run for governor of Arizona?

In 1988, right before the election for a new governor of Arizona, Alice joked about the upcoming election during an interview. The interviewer "misunderstood" what Alice had said and this led to a rumour that Alice Cooper would be running for governor of Arizona. The rumour spread like wildfire and the result was many Arizonians saying they thought it was a great idea. Some would shake Alice's hand to show their support and one elderly lady was even quoted, saying "If a lousy actor can become president, why can't a great rock star be governor!" The rumour mill went so crazy, that Alice had to publicly deny that he was running for governor to such publications as People Magazine and USA Today. Alice later joked that if he were to actually run for governor, he would represent the "Wild Party" and his campaign slogan would be "A Troubled Man for Troubled Times". This situation has an ironic twist when one considers that Alice Cooper was always considered "America's worst nightmare". It also has special interest to Alice fans who know that one of Alice's biggest hit songs was "Elected", released in late 1972, where Alice jokingly sings that he "wants to be elected".

Did Alice ever pose as a "Sun Girl"?

In 1991, Alice dressed up as a dominitrix and posed for the British publication, the London Sun, as their page three Sun Girl. In this picture, Alice is wearing turquoise eye-makeup, a black shiny teddy, fishnet stockings and thigh-high boots. Many Sun readers must have been shocked to discover that that day's Sun Girl was no girl at all but the infamous Alice Cooper.

Was Alice ever nominated for a grammy award?

Alice has been nominated for three Grammy awards although he has never actually won one. In 1973, his album "School's Out" was nominated for "Best Album Cover" and in 1974, his album "Billion Dollar Babies" was also nominated for "Best Album Cover". It was at the 1974 Grammy Awards, that Alice made his first Grammy appearance when he co-presented with Helen Reddy. Alice was wearing a black leather jacket with no shirt underneath and this created a stir as the Grammy Awards was still considered a "formal" event in 1974. Alice was nominated for a Grammy again, in 1984, when his video "The Nightmare" was nominated for "Best Video-Long-form". He co-presented at this ceremony, as well, this time with Grace Jones.

Did Alice bite the head off a bat?

No, that was Ozzy Osbourne!

What is the babys name that Alice holds on the B$B record cover photo?

The baby in question was a girl by the name of Lola Pfeiffer. She was the daughter of Carolyn Pfeiffer who handled Alice's PR in the UK.

What is the "Life and crimes of Alice Cooper"?

It is a 81 songs retrospective of Alice Cooper albums from pre Alice Cooper songs to present day. A very nice 80 pages booklet with many never seen before photos. The boxset includes demos and many unrelesed songs. The boxset is produced by Alice special assistant Bryan "Renfield" Nelson. It is a must have! The only bad thing about this boxset is that the song "Halo of flies" is not on it. All songs on the boxset is remastred. Read more here

Are there any books about Alice Cooper or the ACG?

There are a few books out, but some of them are very hard to find. In 1974, Bob Greene wrote a book called Billion Dollar Baby. This follows the band through their touring following the B$B album and the recording of MOL. Unfortunately, it is long out of print. In 1976 Alice (the man) relesed a book with Steven Gaines called Me, Alice. This is the definitive Alice book. Me, Alice was done when Alice Cooper was heavy into the V.O, so the accuracy could be doubted, but it still invaluble. This is also long out of print and very, very hard to find. You may try to find it on pages like www.ebay.com or through other Alice fans. Also look in used bookstores, flea markets and such…Here are a little more info about the books if you want to try to hunt them down.

Title:	    BILLION DOLLAR BABY
Author:	    Bob Greene
ISBN:	    0-689-10616-5
Publishers: Ahtheneum
Library of congres number: 74-77843

Title:	    ME, ALICE
Authors:    Alice Cooper and Steven Gaines
ISBN:	    399-11535-8
Publishers: G.P Putnam´s sons, New York, 1976

Also available, but also very hard to find, is a book put out by The Circus Magazine in 1974. Writen by Steve Demorest, the title of that book is Alice Cooper.

Title:	    ALICE COOPER
Author:	    Steve Demorest
Relesed by: Circus Magazine in 1974

In 1975 Rolling Stone Magazine relesed a book called "Rolling Stone Scrapbook, Alice Cooper". It is a book compiled by articles about the ACG from 1970-1975. Many rare never seen before photos and a color poster. Many intresting articles to read. Also hard to find. Here is little info about that book:

Title:	 ROLLING STONE SCRAPBOOK, ALICE COOPER
Authors:    David Marsh, Elaine Gross and more
Relesed by: The Rolling Stone Magazine
Copyright by: 1975 Stright Arrow Publishers, Inc

In 1996 Michael Bruce wrote a book with Billy James. It is his story about the ACG. Many nice black and white photos in it. Very intresting to read the story in Mike Bruce point of view. Here is little info about that book:

Title: NO MORE MR NICE GUY-THE INSIDE STORY OF THE ALICE COOPER GROUP
Author:	   Michael Bruce with Billy James
Publishers: SAF Publishing Ltd
ISBN:	    0-946719-17-9

And in 1999 Dale Sherman relesed his Alice Cooper book called "The Illustraded Collectors Guide to Alice Cooper". A very intresting book if you collect Alice records and videos. Also in the book are tourdates, TV-apperances and more. Many nice black and white pictures of record covers and Alice in action also a few in color. A must have for the Alice collector. Here is more info about that book:

Title:	THE ILLUSTRADED COLLECTORS GUIDE TO ALICE COOPER
Autour:	Dale Sherman
ISBN:   1-896522-46-7
Publishers: Collectors Guide Publishing Inc.

Happy Hunting!

How did Alice execute himself on stage?

He got fried in the Electric Chair, he got hanged on the Gallows and he got his head choped of in the Guillotine! They did all this tricks very realistic. They learnt how to do the hanging like they do it in the movies. And their was a real blade in the guillotine that only missed Alice neck with a few centimeters.

What movies has Alice been in?

1970 Diary Of a Mad Housewife	The ACG performs at a party
1971 Medecine Ball Caravan	The ACG performs "Black JuJu"
1974 Good To See You Again, Alice	B$B concert film, "The Lady is a tramp" is performed at the begining of the movie
1975 Welcome To My Nightmare	Concert video, recorded at Wembley Arena, London, England
1975 The Nightmare TV-special	A 1 hour tvshow for the WTMN album, song by song. Vincent Price as the Spirit of The Nightmare. This is a classic.
1977 Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band	Alice plays father Sun(k) and performs the Beatles song "Because" togheter with the Bee Gees
1978 Sextette	Mae West movie, Alice plays a bellhop and performs "Next, Next". (A unused song "No More Tears" is on LACOAC boxset!)
1979 The Strange Case Of Alice Cooper	Concert video recorded under the Madhouse Rock tour (From The Inside album). Recorded in San Diego, USA
1980 Roadie	Meatloaf movie. Alice plays himself and performs "Road Rats", "Pain" and "Only Women Bleed". Todd Rundgren remixed the songs for the soundtrack
1981 Alice In Paris (AKA "The Paris TV-special")	Filmed in Paris, France December 1981 through January 1982. The video consists of eleven "MTV-style" videos from the albums "Flush The Fassion" and "Special Forces" also some classic ACG songs
1985 Monster Dog	Alice has the starring role and performs "Identety Crises" and "See me in the mirror". The songs can be found on LACOAC boxset
1986 Friday the 13th part VI	No apperance, "He´s Back" , "Hard rock summer" featured in the movie. Alice also did a great musicvideo for the song "He´s Back".
1986 The Nightmare Returns	Concert video recorded in Detroit, USA on Halloween 1986
1988 Prince of Darkness	Directed by John Carpenter. Alice plays a homeless man and gets to kill a guy. "Prince of Darkness" is included in the soundtrack. Kane Roberts is also in the movie
1989 Shocker	Alice performs on a tvset, "Shockdance" is on the soundtrack
1990 Alice Cooper Trashes The World	Concert video recorded in Bermingham, England under the Trash World tour
1991 Freddy´s Death: The final nightmare	Alice plays Freddy´s evil stepfather
1991 Prime Cuts	Documentary video. This is a great video
1992 Waynes World	Alice plays himself and performs "Feed my frankenstein"
1994 Maverick	Mel Gibson movie. Alice back is shown in a bar scene, very short! Look for the long black hair.

Who´s voice is it on the song "Lock Me Up" on the album Raise Your Fist And Yell?

It is Robert Englund as Freddy Kruger who says:
- Alice Cooper, you have been accused of mass mental cruelty. How do you plead?
And Alice answer is:
- Guilty!
A cool thing, as Alice later played Freddy´s evil stepfather in the movie "Freddys Death: The Final Nightmare"

Did Alice have dancing chickens on stage?

Yes, he did under the "Madhouse Rock" tour in 1979.

MORE TO COME