Alice Cooper was born Vincent Damon Furnier, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of a minister. He moved to Phoenix, Arizona, at a young age and still lives in the state today. At 17 he formed a rock band called the Earwigs, who changed their name to The Spiders and then The Nazz, before finally settling on Alice Cooper. The line-up included himself, Dennis Dunaway , Michael Bruce , Glen Buxton and Neil Smith . Rumors (which the band did not necessarily make efforts to deny) to the contrary, the name was not chosen from a Ouija board reading nor was it named after a woman once burned at the stake for witchcraft -- it was picked because the random name had a twisted sense of originality and misleading innocence, complementing the band's bizarre and macabre stage theatrics and lyric themes. The band got their first big break playing at the Whiskey-a-GoGo in L.A. one night in 1969 when Frank Zappa discovered them and signed them to his record label. After two albums-and relocating to Detroit -- they were signed by Warner Bros., hooked up with famous producer Robert Ezrin and came out with their third album, the break-through "Love It to Death" in 1971. Several albums followed, including "Killer", the highly successful "School's Out" and "Billion Dollar Babies", and "Muscle of Love". The band made an appearance in the movie Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970) and their own theatrically released documentary Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974). Alice himself also starred in an episode of "The Snoop Sisters: The Female Instinct (#1.0)" (1972). The original Alice Cooper band broke up in 1975, with the lead singer getting his name legally changed to Alice Cooper -- and performing under the name ever since -- while some of the other members formed a band called the Billion Dollar Babies. That same year saw the release of a Greatest Hits album, while Alice as a solo artist completed the "Welcome to My Nightmare" album and his incredibly theatrical tour. It was on this tour that he met his future wife Sheryl Cooper , who had been hired as a dancer. Along with the album and tour came a TV special, Alice Cooper: The Nightmare (1975) (TV), and both included dialog from horror movie legend Vincent Price . Alice made a number of other TV and movie appearances in the second half of the decade, including "The Muppet Show" (1976), Mae West 's final film Sextette (1978), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) and several appearances on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962). However, by the late 1970s Alice's problems with alcohol became life-threatening, and he was checked into a clinic for rehabilitation. He told of his experiences on the semi-fictional album "From The Inside" (there was also a comic book of the same title), and explored different sounds in the early '80s with four albums ("Flush The Fashion", "Special Forces", "Zipper Catches Skin", "DaDa"). After having a severe "falling off the wagon" to the point of almost dying, he sobered up once more -- this time for good -- and returned with the albums "Constrictor", "Raise Your Fist and Yell" and the 1989 album "Trash", which featured the hit song "Poison". The '80s also saw Alice starring in the horror flicks Leviatán (1986) (also known as "Monster Dog") and Prince of Darkness (1987), as well as having mostly new songs for the soundtracks to Roadie (1980), Class of 1984 (1982), Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) and Shocker (1989). It was the 1990s, however, that brought Alice's most memorable movie appearance: playing himself in Wayne's World (1992). The phrase uttered by characters Wayne and Garth in his presence, "We're not worthy!", became one of the most popular movie catch-phrases of the decade. Alice also played the father of Freddy Krueger in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), and himself on "That '70s Show" (1998) and "Something Wilder" (1994). The decade also saw the release of his "Hey Stoopid" and "The Last Temptation". Alice toured occasionally but took a break from releasing albums until 2000, when he released "Brutal Planet". He followed this up with "Dragon Town", "The Eyes of Alice Cooper" and the "Dirty Diamonds", and continues to tour regularly, performing shows with the bizarrely dark and horror-themed theatrics that he's best known for.

Alice and his original band made the song "The Man With the Golden Gun" intended for the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), but the movie producers deemed Alice "too controversial" and went with another song of the same title sung by Lulu for the movie. The Alice version of "The Man with the Golden Gun" appears on the band's 1974 album, "Muscle of Love".Once belonged to the exclusive Hollywood club the "Hollywood Vampires" in the mid to late 70s.Born at 10:33pm - EST.Graduated from Cortez High School in Phoenix, Arizona.Lived with Cynthia Lang from 1968-76. She sued for community property.In 1998 opened up his own restaurant right in downtown Phoenix called "Cooperstown". Also planning to open another one in Ohio in the year 2000.He is an avid golfer, and has participated in several celebrity tournaments.December 2, 2003 - he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's situated at the corner of Orange Drive and Hollywood Boulevard by the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.Is the subject of the songs "Why Must I Be Sad?" by They Might Be Giants , "Scared" by Dangerous Toys, and the b-side "The Ballad of Alice Cooper" by Bon Jovi .Was granted an honorary PhD (Doctor of Performing Arts) from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona (2004).When the giant letters of the famous "HOLLYWOOD" sign had to be replaced with new letters in 1978, a fund-raising party was held, with the old letters being auctioned off at around $28,000 each. Hugh M. Hefner hosted the event and bought the "H", while Warner Brothers bought the "W". Alice bought an "O" in memory of the late Groucho Marx , with whom he had been very good friends. The check was painted on a big piece of the old sign and endorsed by Alice.While Cooper was playing a stadium show in the 1970s, a fan threw a live chicken on stage. Cooper, who's from Detroit and unfamiliar with farm animals, generally assumed that since the chicken had wings, it would be able to fly. So he grabbed the chicken and tossed into the air, thinking it would fly out of the stadium, when in fact it went straight down into the crowd, who ripped the bird to pieces. The parts were thrown back on stage, and the headlines later claimed that Cooper bit the head off the chicken, and drank its blood. Frank Zappa later advised Cooper not to tell the real story, simply because "everybody loves it!".Doesn't seem to mind mocking his own "scary" image in the media; young people who appear with Alice act unafraid of him, while he pretends fright at ordinary things.Cooper's daughter, Calico Cooper , has been touring with him as one of the dancers/actors in the show.Children: Calico Cooper , born 20 May 1981; Dashiell Cooper, born 1984; and Sonora Rose Cooper, born 1993. Sonora was rumored to be the young actress who appeared with Alice in a TV commercial for school supplies, but it wasn't her.Despite his horror-make up, pet snakes and wild image, he is a huge fan of Australian pop star Kylie Minogue .Hosts a radio show "Nights with Alice Cooper", broadcast on many FM radio stations across the US. [2005]Went out on a limb to get his first record deal, almost to the point of getting himself and his band tossed in jail: after discovering where Frank Zappa lived, Cooper and his band set up their instruments and audio equipment right in Zappa's yard and began to perform. Sure enough, Zappa soon came out of the house in a rage; Cooper told him that he and his band would continue playing until Zappa did one of two things: either give them a record deal or call the police. Luckily, Zappa saw fit to do the former.Once came out with wrestler Jake "The Snake" Roberts ( Jake Roberts ) to a wrestling match, carrying a huge snake.Appeared when the Phoenix Coyotes unveiled their new uniforms at the time at the Hard Rock Cafe, Phoenix, on August 26, 1996.1974: Legally changed his name to Alice Cooper.Collects cars and antique watches.His album "Love It To Death" was recalled to airbrush Cooper's thumb from the cover after complaints it resembled a penis.Submitted a potential theme song for the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun. The song was rejected, though it does appear on Cooper's 1973 Muscle of Love album.His favorite songs are "19th Nervous Breakdown" by The Rolling Stones, "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors, "My Sharona" by The Knack, "Beds Are Burning" by Midnight Oil, "My Generation" by The Who, "Welcome To The Jungle" by Guns 'N Roses, "Rebel Rebel" by David Bowie, "Over Under Sideways Down" by The Yardbirds, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet and "A Hard Day's Night" by The Beatles. (Source: BBC Radio 2 "Tracks of My Years").He wrote the song "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)" for the movie "Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI". He also appeared in "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" uncredited as Freddy's Father. This makes him the only person who has been involved with Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees almost years before the two fought each other in Freddy Vs. Jason in 2003.He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.He's the godfather of Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine.Is a huge Fan of The Simpsons.Often appeared on the Phoenix children's TV show 'Wallace and Ladmo'.Wears a silver bracelet on his left wrist which can only be removed with a key possessed solely by his wife Sheryl.As a guest on BBC's "Breakfast" (2000) (10 Aug. 2010), Cooper disclosed to hosts Sian Williams and Bill Turnbull that he stopped drinking in 1981 and now plays golf. Has been happily married to wife Sheryl for 34 years.