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121-405: Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier ; February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions , Cooper is considered by many music journalists and peers to be "The Godfather of Shock Rock ". He has drawn equally from horror films, vaudeville , and garage rock to pioneer

242-678: A Satanic cult singer. The final shows by Alice Cooper as a group were in Brazil in March and April 1974, including the record indoor attendance estimated as high as 158,000 fans in São Paulo on March 30, at the Anhembi Exposition Hall at the start of the first ever South American rock tour. In 1975, Alice Cooper returned as a solo artist with the release of Welcome to My Nightmare . To avoid legal complications over ownership of

363-416: A boa constrictor hugging Cooper on stage, the murderous axe chopping of bloodied baby dolls, and execution by hanging at the gallows . In January 1972, Cooper was again asked about his peculiar name, and told talk show hostess Dinah Shore that he took the name from a " Mayberry RFD " character. The summer of 1972 saw the release of the single " School's Out ". It went Top 10 in the U.S. and to number 1 in

484-400: A stunt double may replace the main actor for scenes involving their use. Hero props are the more detailed pieces intended for close inspection by the camera or audience. The hero prop may have legible writing, lights, moving parts, or other attributes or functions missing from a standard prop. The name refers to their typical use by main characters in a production. A hero prop phaser from

605-502: A villainous side, portraying a potential threat to modern society. The success of the band's single and album, and their tour of 1971, which included their first tour of Europe (audience members reportedly included Elton John and a pre- Ziggy Stardust David Bowie ), provided enough encouragement for Warner Bros. to offer the band a new multi-album contract. Their follow-up studio album Killer , released in November 1971, continued

726-529: A DVD of a concert, recorded in London, England, on July 19, 2000. Cooper made a guest appearance in 2001 on a third-season episode of That '70s Show titled "Radio Daze", in which he partook in a game of Dungeons & Dragons . Prop The earliest known use of the term "properties" in English to refer to stage accessories is in the 1425 CE morality play , The Castle of Perseverance . During

847-517: A Medici employed by Charlemagne slew a giant using three bags of rocks. The three-ball symbol became the family crest. Since the Medicis were so successful in the financial, banking, and moneylending industries, other families also adopted the symbol. Throughout the Middle Ages, coats of arms bore three balls, orbs, plates, discs, coins and more as symbols of monetary success. Saint Nicholas

968-410: A Top 10 hit for Cooper. It was a concept album that was based on the nightmare of a child named Steven, featuring narration by classic horror movie film star Vincent Price , and serving as the soundtrack to Cooper's new stage show, which now showcased more theatrics than ever, including an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) furry Cyclops which Cooper decapitated and killed. Accompanying the album and stage show

1089-536: A backstage party, the movie's main characters Wayne Cambell and Garth Algar discover that when offstage, Cooper is a calm, articulate intellectual as he and his band discuss the history of Milwaukee in depth. Wayne and Garth respond to an invitation to hang out with Cooper by kneeling and bowing reverently before him while chanting "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!" In 1994, Cooper released The Last Temptation , his first concept album since DaDa (1983). The album deals with issues of faith, temptation, alienation and

1210-416: A brief appearance as a vagrant in the supernatural horror film Prince of Darkness , directed by John Carpenter . His role had no lines and consisted of generally menacing the protagonists before eventually impaling one of them with a bicycle frame. Also in 1987, Cooper appeared at WrestleMania III , escorting wrestler Jake "The Snake" Roberts to the ring for his match against The Honky Tonk Man . After

1331-467: A certain contractual period of time the pawner may redeem it for the amount of the loan plus some agreed-upon amount for interest . In the United States the amount of time, and rate of interest, is governed by law and by the state commerce department policies. They have the same license as a bank, which is highly regulated. If the loan is not paid (or extended, if applicable) within the time period,

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1452-423: A customer brings an item into a pawn shop. Common items pawned or, in some instances, sold outright by customers include jewelry , electronics , collectibles, musical instruments , tools , and, depending on regulations, firearms , gold , silver , and platinum , which are often purchased, even if in the form of broken jewelry of little value. Metal can still be sold in bulk to a bullion dealer or smelter for

1573-442: A dental psychosis scene complete with dancing teeth, and the ultimate execution prop and highlight of the show: the guillotine . The guillotine and other stage effects were designed for the band by magician James Randi , who appeared on stage during some of the shows as executioner . In 2012 at Dragon Con , Randi and Cooper discussed their working relationship during this period. The Alice Cooper group had now reached its peak and it

1694-573: A few blocks from Eastland Mall . Cooper attended Kantner Elementary School, recalled watching horror movies at the Eastown Theatre (where he would later perform), and local neighborhood trick-or-treating on Halloween, the “biggest night of the year,” which he took “very seriously.” Cooper was active in his church at ages 11 to 12. Following a series of childhood illnesses, he moved with his family to Phoenix, Arizona , where he attended Cortez High School . In his high school yearbook, his ambition

1815-713: A gradual commercial decline, with the last two not charting within the Billboard Top 200. Flush the Fashion , produced by Roy Thomas Baker , known for his work with Queen and the Cars , had a thick, edgy new wave musical sound that baffled even longtime fans, though it still yielded the US Top 40 hit " Clones (We're All) ". The track also surprisingly charted on the US Disco Top 100 chart. Special Forces featured

1936-619: A group that makes up 25% of the population. In Malay, the word for pawn is "pajak gadai". A valid and licensed pawnshop in Malaysia must always declare itself as a "pajak gadai" or a pawn shop for its company registration. It must also fulfill the requirement of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government that the pawn counter be no higher than four feet and bulletproof, and have stainless-steel counters/doors, strong rooms with automatic locks and safes, CCTV, alarms and pawnbroker insurance. In

2057-560: A legitimate revival with the Desmond Child produced and Grammy -nominated studio album Trash , which spawned a hit single " Poison ", which reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 7 in the US, and a worldwide arena tour . In 1991, Cooper released his nineteenth studio album Hey Stoopid featuring several notable rock musicians guesting on the record. Released as glam metal 's popularity was on

2178-422: A little bit of Emma Peel from The Avengers ." The classic Alice Cooper group lineup consisted of Furnier, lead guitarist Glen Buxton, rhythm guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and drummer Neal Smith. With the exception of Smith, who graduated from Camelback High School (which is referred to in the song "Alma Mater" on the band's fifth studio album School's Out ), all of the band members were on

2299-460: A macabre and theatrical brand of rock designed to shock audiences. Originating in Phoenix, Arizona , in 1964, Alice Cooper was originally a band consisting of Furnier, guitarists Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce , bassist Dennis Dunaway , and drummer Neal Smith . The band released seven albums from 1969 to 1973, and broke up in 1975. Having legally changed his name to Alice Cooper, Furnier began

2420-514: A more aggressive but consistent new wave style, and included a new version of "Generation Landslide" from Billion Dollar Babies (1973). His tour for Special Forces marked Cooper's last time on the road for nearly five years; it was not until 1986, for Constrictor , that he toured again. 1982's Zipper Catches Skin was a more pop punk -oriented recording, containing many quirky high-energy guitar-driven songs along with his most unusual collection of subject matters for lyrics, and Patty Donahue of

2541-468: A music video for the "Poison" B-side " I Got a Line on You " after the song was featured on the soundtrack to Iron Eagle II (1988). On April 7, 1988, Cooper nearly died of asphyxiation after a safety rope broke during a rehearsal concert wherein he pretended to hang himself, a stunt he would often perform during live concerts. In 1988, Cooper's contract with MCA Records expired and he signed with Epic Records . Then in 1989 his career finally experienced

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2662-561: A new generation". The Constrictor album was followed by Raise Your Fist and Yell in 1987, which had an even rougher sound than its predecessor, as well as the Cooper classic " Freedom ". The subsequent tour of Raise Your Fist and Yell , which was heavily inspired by the slasher horror movies of the time such as the Friday the 13th series and A Nightmare on Elm Street , served up a shocking spectacle similar to its predecessor, and courted

2783-410: A pawnshop are lending money for interest based on valuable items that customers bring in, some pawnshops also undertake other business activities, such as selling brand-new retail items that are in demand in the neighborhood of the store. Depending on where a pawnshop is located, these other retail items may range from musical instruments to firearms. Many pawnshops will also trade used items, as long as

2904-571: A performance props are set up in order, off stage on a table in an easily accessed area or pre-set on-stage before the performance begins by the assistant stage manager (ASM) . The person in charge of preparing, maintaining and acquiring props is generally called the property master . Most props are ordinary objects. Some may require modification, such as rewiring of lamps to be compatible with dimmers or painting to make an object look used or be more visible from front of house under bright or dim lighting. Props may also be manufactured specially for

3025-464: A pipe-dream became an overwhelming burden." The success of Welcome to My Nightmare marked the final breakup of the original members of the band, with Cooper collaborating with their producer Bob Ezrin, who recruited Lou Reed 's backing band, including guitarists Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter , to play on the album. Spearheaded by the US Top 20 hit ballad " Only Women Bleed ", the album was released by Atlantic Records in March of that year and became

3146-401: A range, with the low point being the wholesale value of the used good, in the case that the pawnshop is unable to sell it to pawnshop customers, and they decide to sell it to a wholesale merchant of used goods. The higher point in the range is the retail sale price in the pawnshop. In determining the amount of the loan, the pawnshop owner also assesses the likelihood that the customer will pay

3267-453: A rest from one another", said manager Shep Gordon at the time. "A lot of pressure had built up, but it's nothing that can't be dealt with. Everybody still gets together and talks." Journalist Bob Greene spent several weeks on the road with the band during the Muscle of Love Christmas Tour in 1973. His book Billion Dollar Baby , released in November 1974, painted a less-than-flattering picture of

3388-523: A solo career that year with the concept album Welcome to My Nightmare . Throughout his career, Cooper has sold over 50 million records. Cooper has experimented with various musical styles, mainly hard rock , glam rock , heavy metal , and glam metal , but also new wave , art rock , and industrial rock . He helped shape the sound and look of heavy metal, and has been described as the artist who "first introduced horror imagery to rock'n'roll, and whose stagecraft and showmanship have permanently transformed

3509-535: A stake through the heart of the Love Generation". In autumn 1970, the Alice Cooper group teamed with producer Bob Ezrin for the recording of their third studio album, Love It to Death . This was the final album in their Straight Records contract and the band's last chance to create a hit. That first success came with the single " I'm Eighteen ", released in November 1970, which reached number 21 on

3630-696: A sustained period of activity from Alice Cooper, the decade in which he would turn 60. He toured extensively releasing a steady stream of studio albums to favorable critical acclaim. Beginning in 2000 with Brutal Planet , a return to horror-filled heavy metal, industrial rock , set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future. The album was produced by Bob Marlette , with longtime Cooper production collaborator Bob Ezrin returning as executive producer. The accompanying world tour, which included Cooper's first concert in Russia, also resulted in Brutally Live (2000),

3751-451: A time. Despite the publicity from the chicken incident, the band's second studio album, Easy Action , produced by David Briggs and released in June 1970, fared even worse than its predecessor, entirely failing to chart within the Billboard Top 200. Around this time, fed up with Californians' indifference to their act, they relocated to Pontiac, Michigan , where their bizarre stage act

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3872-466: A tour titled The Nightmare Returns. The Detroit leg of this tour, which took place at the end of October 1986 during Halloween , was captured on film as The Nightmare Returns (1987), and is viewed by some as being the definitive Alice Cooper concert film. It was released on DVD in 2006. The concert, which received rave reviews in the rock music press, was also described by Rolling Stone magazine as bringing "Cooper's violent, twisted onstage fantasies to

3993-409: A traditional pawn loan, however, these stores only accept vehicles as security. Many stores are also accepting "Title Loans", where a customer can pawn the ownership or "Title" documents of their vehicle. This essentially means that the pawnbroker owns the car while the customer continues to drive it, and the customer regains ownership once they pay back their loan. While the main business activities of

4114-603: A wooden screen between the door and the counter for customers' privacy. The symbol of a pawn shop in Hong Kong is a bat holding a coin ( Chinese : 蝠鼠吊金錢 , Cantonese : fūk syú diu gām chín ). The bat signifies fortune and the coin signifies benefits. In Japan, the usual symbol for a pawn shop is a circled number seven because "shichi", the Japanese word for seven, sounds similar to the word for "pawn" ( 質 ). The majority of pawnbrokers in Malaysia are Malaysian Chinese ,

4235-468: Is also a traditional trade in Thailand , where pawn shops are run both privately and by local governments. In Sri Lanka , pawnbroking is a lucrative business engaged in by specialized pawnbrokers as well as commercial banks and other finance companies. In Indonesia , there is a state-owned company called Pegadaian which provides a range of conventional and Sharia-compliant pawnbroking services across

4356-570: Is located just off the Zócalo , or main plaza of Mexico City . It was established between 1774 and 1777 by Pedro Romero de Terreros as part of a movement to provide interest-free or low-interest loans to the poor. It was recognized as a national charity in 1927 by the Mexican government. Today it is a fast-growing institution with over 152 branches all over Mexico and with plans to open a branch in every Mexican city. The pawning process begins when

4477-455: Is the patron saint of pawnbrokers. The symbol has also been attributed to the story of Nicholas giving a poor man's three daughters each a bag of gold so they could get married . In Hong Kong the practice follows the Chinese tradition, and the counter of the shop is typically higher than the average person for security. A customer can only hold up his hand to offer belongings and there is

4598-423: Is the supply and demand for the item in the community or region. To assess value of different items, pawnbrokers use guidebooks ("blue books"), catalogs, Internet search engines, and their own experience. Some pawnbrokers are trained in the identification of gems, or employ a specialist to assess jewelry. One of the risks of accepting secondhand goods is that the item may be counterfeit. The customer can either sell

4719-536: Is widely seen as being pivotal in helping to create and develop the band's definitive sound. The group's 1971 tour featured a stage show involving mock fights and gothic torture modes being imposed on Cooper, climaxing in a staged execution by electric chair , with the band sporting tight, sequined, color-contrasting glam rock -style costumes made by prominent rock-fashion designer Cindy Dunaway (sister of band member Neal Smith, and wife of band member Dennis Dunaway). Cooper's androgynous stage role had developed to present

4840-559: Is yet subject to regulation by the BSP. In India, the Marwari Jain community pioneered the pawnbroking business, but today others are involved; the work is done by many agents called "saudagar". Instead of working from a shop, they go to needy people's homes and motivate them to become involved in the business. Pawn shops are often run as part of jewelry stores. Gold, silver, and diamonds are frequently accepted as collateral. Pawnbroking

4961-566: The Billboard Hot 100 in early 1971. Not long after the album's release in January 1971, Warner Bros. Records purchased Alice Cooper's contract from Straight and re-issued the album, giving the group a higher level of promotion. Love It to Death proved to be their breakthrough studio album, reaching number 35 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album charts. It would be the first of 11 Alice Cooper group and solo albums produced by Ezrin, who

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5082-511: The Star Trek franchise, for example, might include a depressible trigger and a light-up muzzle and display panel (all of which would make the hero prop more expensive and less durable). Although real money can be used, when large quantities are required or the money is to be destroyed, it is usually more practical for facsimiles to be used, which are made to not only look realistic but also comply with counterfeiting laws. In recent years,

5203-663: The Franciscans were permitted to begin the practice as an aid to the poor. In 1338, Edward III pawned his jewels to raise money for his war with France. King Henry V did much the same in 1415. In 1603 an Act against Brokers was passed and remained on the statute-book until 1872. It was aimed at the many counterfeit brokers in London. This type of broker was evidently regarded as a fence . Crusaders, predominantly in France, brokered their land holdings to monasteries and diocese for funds to supply, outfit, and transport their armies to

5324-710: The Jägermeister Ice Cold 4D event (webcast). In 2011, Bruce, Dunaway, and Smith appeared on three tracks they co-wrote on Alice's solo studio album Welcome 2 My Nightmare . In 2017, they appeared on two tracks they co-wrote on Alice's solo studio album Paranormal , released in July, and in November they joined his current live band for five tour dates in the United Kingdom. Following the 1976 US No. 12 ballad hit " I Never Cry "; two studio albums, Alice Cooper Goes to Hell and Lace and Whiskey ; and

5445-961: The Philippines , pawnshops are generally privately owned businesses regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Pawnshops in the country traditionally have Spanish names beginning with "Agencia de Empeños" ("pawn agency"), contrary to "Casa de Empeños" in Spain and Latin America. Most pawnshops accept jewelry, vehicles or electronic valuables as collateral. They also offer various forms of other finance-related services such as remittance , bills payment and microfinancing . Therefore, they serve as financial one stop shops primarily to communities in which alternatives such as banks are not available. Recently, they have also started conducting services online and through mobile applications although this

5566-566: The Renaissance in Europe, small acting troupes functioned as cooperatives, pooling resources and dividing any income. Many performers provided their own costumes and small objects needed for performance, hence the term "property" suggesting these items belonged to the people on stage. Conversely, items such as stage weapons or furniture may have been acquired specially and considered "company property". The Oxford English Dictionary finds

5687-615: The United States , there are over 11,000 pawnbrokers and an industry revenue of $ 14.5 billion. The US industry serves 30 million customers. The pawnbrokers' symbol is three golden balls suspended from a bar. The three-ball symbol may be indirectly attributed to the Medici family of Florence , Italy, owing to its symbolic meaning in heraldry. This refers to the Italian region of Lombardy , where pawn shop banking originated under

5808-524: The Woodstock -esque Strawberry Fields Festival near Toronto , Ontario, in August 1970. The band's mix of glam and increasingly violent stage theatrics stood out in stark contrast to the bearded, denim-clad hippie bands of the time. As Cooper himself stated: "We were into fun, sex, death and money when everybody was into peace and love. We wanted to see what was next. It turned out we were next, and we drove

5929-563: The devil 's henchmen trying to dupe Kermit , Gonzo and Miss Piggy into selling their souls). He also appeared in an against-typecasting role as a piano-playing disco waiter in Mae West 's final film, Sextette , and as a villain in the film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band . Cooper also led celebrities in raising money to remodel the famous Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, California. Cooper himself contributed over $ 27,000 to

6050-433: The 1977 US No. 9 ballad hit " You and Me ", it became clear during his 1977 US tour that Cooper was in dire need of help with his alcoholism (at his alcoholic peak it was rumored that he was consuming up to two cases of Budweiser beer and a bottle of Seagram's Seven Crown whiskey a day). Following the tour, Cooper had himself hospitalized in a sanitarium for treatment, during which time the live album The Alice Cooper Show

6171-642: The Cortez High School cross-country team. Cooper, Buxton, and Dunaway were also art students, and their admiration for the works of surrealist artists such as Salvador Dalí would further inspire their future stage antics. One night after an unsuccessful gig at the Cheetah club in Venice, Los Angeles , where the band emptied the entire room of patrons after playing just ten minutes, they were approached and enlisted by music manager Shep Gordon , who saw

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6292-663: The Holy Land. Instead of outright repayment, the Church reaped a certain amount of crop returns for a certain amount of seasons, which could additionally be re-exchanged in a type of equity. A pawnbroker can also be a charity. In 1450, Barnaba Manassei, a Franciscan friar, began the Monte di Pietà movement in Perugia , Italy. It provided financial assistance in the form of no-interest loans secured with pawned items. Instead of interest,

6413-409: The London cast recording of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar . In 1999, the four-disc box set The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper appeared, which contained the authorized biography of Cooper, Alcohol and Razor Blades, Poison and Needles: The Glorious Wretched Excess of Alice Cooper, All-American , written by Creem magazine editor Jeffrey Morgan . The first decade of the 21st century saw

6534-592: The Monte di Pietà urged borrowers to make donations to the Church . It spread through Italy, then to other parts of Europe. The first Monte de Piedad organization in Spain was founded in Madrid , and from there the idea was transferred to New Spain by Pedro Romero de Terreros, the Count of Santa Maria de Regla and Knight of Calatrava . The Nacional Monte de Piedad is a charitable institution and pawn shop whose main office

6655-486: The Spiders graduated from Cortez High School, and after North High School football player Michael Bruce replaced John Tatum on rhythm guitar, the band released their second single, "Don't Blow Your Mind", an original composition which became a local No. 1 hit, backed by "No Price Tag". By 1967, the band had begun to make regular road trips to Los Angeles to play shows. They soon renamed themselves Nazz and released

6776-516: The UK, and remains a staple on classic rock radio to this day. The studio album School's Out reached No. 2 on the US charts and sold over a million copies. The band relocated to their new mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut . With Cooper's on stage androgynous persona completely replaced with brattiness and machismo , the band solidified their success with subsequent tours in the United States and Europe, and won over devoted fans in droves while at

6897-418: The US Top 10, performing better than Muscle of Love . However, the band's 1974 feature film Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (consisting mainly of 1973 concert footage with 'comedic' sketches woven throughout to a faint storyline), released on a minor cinematic run mostly to drive-in theaters , saw little box office success. On March 5, 1974, Cooper appeared on episode 3 of The Snoop Sisters playing

7018-527: The Waitresses provided guest vocals and "sarcasm" on the track "I Like Girls". 1983 marked the return collaboration of producer Bob Ezrin and guitarist Dick Wagner for the haunting epic DaDa , the final studio album in his Warner Bros. contract. In mid-1983, after the recording of DaDa was completed, Cooper was hospitalized for alcoholism again, and cirrhosis of the liver. Cooper was finally stable and sober (and has remained sober since that time) by

7139-404: The action does not require detailed or functional weapons, in order to minimise risk. It is common for functioning firearms to be used in film and television productions usually firing blanks . Due to the increased level of risk it is standard practice for the safe and proper handling and use of firearms as props to be overseen by a specifically trained and licensed professional, usually called

7260-519: The ages strictly regulated by Imperial or other authorities. In the West, pawnbroking existed in the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Most contemporary Western law on the subject is derived from the Roman jurisprudence. As the empire spread its culture, pawnbroking went with it. In spite of early Roman Catholic Church prohibitions against charging interest on loans , there is some evidence that

7381-586: The band continued their grueling schedule and toured the United States again. Continued attempts by politicians and pressure groups to ban their shocking act only served to fuel the legend of Alice Cooper further and generate even greater public interest. Their 1973 US tour broke box office records previously set by the Rolling Stones and raised rock theatrics to new heights; the multi-level stage show by then featured numerous special effects, including Billion Dollar Bills, decapitated baby dolls and mannequins,

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7502-411: The band's negative impact that night as a force that could be turned in a more productive direction. Shep then arranged an audition for the band with composer and renowned record producer Frank Zappa , who was looking to sign bizarre music acts to his new record label, Straight Records . For the audition Zappa told them to come to his house "at 7 o'clock." The band mistakenly assumed he meant 7 o'clock in

7623-522: The band, showing a group in total disharmony. Cooper later wrote an autobiography with Steven Gaines called Me, Alice (1976) which gave Cooper's version of that era of his career, among other things. During this time, Cooper relocated back to Los Angeles and started appearing regularly on television shows such as The Hollywood Squares , and Warner Bros. released the Greatest Hits compilation album. It featured classic-style artwork and reached

7744-420: The broker are themselves called pledges or pawns , or simply the collateral. While many items can be pawned, pawnshops typically accept jewelry, musical instruments, home audio equipment, computers, video game systems, coins, gold, silver, televisions, cameras, power tools, firearms, and other relatively valuable items as collateral. If an item is pawned for a loan (colloquially "hocked" or "popped" ), within

7865-469: The commercial success of Love It to Death and included further single success with " Under My Wheels ", " Be My Lover " in early 1972, and " Halo of Flies ", which became a Top 10 hit in the Netherlands in 1973. Thematically, Killer expanded on the villainous side of Cooper's androgynous stage role, with its music becoming the soundtrack to the group's morality-based stage show, which by then featured

7986-426: The cost for the customer to borrow money this way will be high, and if they cannot redeem the collateral it would in many cases be better to sell the goods directly. Some stores slim down inventory by selling items to speciality retailers. Some pawnshops sell speciality items online, on eBay or other websites. Another growing trend in the industry is vehicle pawn or auto pawning. This form of pawnbroking works like

8107-402: The crowd, expecting it to fly away. The chicken instead plummeted into the first few rows occupied by wheelchair users, who reportedly proceeded to tear the bird to pieces. The next day the incident made the front page of national newspapers, and Zappa phoned Cooper and asked if the story, which reported that he had bitten off the chicken's head and drunk its blood on stage, was true. Cooper denied

8228-408: The customer by low valuations of their collaterals. It is stated that the pawnbroker may not keep the collateral but must sell them at public auction . Any excess after paying the loan, the interest and auction costs must be paid to the customer. If the item does not fetch a price that will cover these expenses the pawnbroker may keep the item and sell it through other channels. Despite this protection,

8349-933: The early 20th century, often referred to as "loan offices", since the term "pawn shop" had a very negative historical reputation at this point. Some of these so-called loan offices are even located in the upper floors of office buildings. The modern euphemism for the upscale pawn shop is the "high-end collateral lender", lending to upper-class often white-collar individuals, including doctors, lawyers and bankers, as well as more colorful individuals like high-rolling gamblers. They are also interchangeably called "upscale pawnshops" and "high-end pawnshops" due to their acceptance of higher value merchandise in exchange for short-term loans. These objects can include wine collections, jewelry, large diamonds, fine art, cars, and unique memorabilia. Loans are often sought to deal with business revenue shortfalls and other expensive fiscal issues. Upscale pawnshops have also been featured in reality television. In

8470-417: The first time in his career. Cooper spent a lengthy period away from the music business dealing with personal problems. His divorce from Sheryl Cooper was heard at Maricopa County Superior Court, Arizona, on January 30, 1984, but a decision was made by the couple not to move forward with the divorce. The following month he guested at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards alongside co-presenter Grace Jones . Behind

8591-437: The first usage of "props" in its shortened form in 1841, while the singular form "prop" appeared in 1911. "Property" and "prop" apply not only to props used in theatre, but also to props used in film and television. Properties director Bland Wade said "A coffee cup onstage is a coffee cup on television, is a coffee cup on the big screen," adding "There are definitely different responsibilities and different vocabulary." During

8712-443: The frustrations of modern life, and has been described as "a young man's struggle to see the truth through the distractions of the 'Sideshow' of the modern world". Concurrent with the release of The Last Temptation was a three-part comic book series written by Neil Gaiman , fleshing out the album's story. This was to be Cooper's last album with Epic Records since according to Brian 'Renfield' Nelson, Cooper's personal assistant, "Alice

8833-454: The genre". He is also known for his wit offstage, with The Rolling Stone Album Guide calling him the world's most "beloved heavy metal entertainer". Aside from music, Cooper is a film actor, a golfing celebrity, a restaurateur, and, since 2004, a radio disc jockey (DJ) with his classic rock show Alice's Attic . Vincent Damon Furnier was born on February 4, 1948, in Detroit , Michigan ,

8954-534: The gorier segments of the performance removed. It was also during the London leg of the tour that Cooper met with a near fatal accident during rehearsal of the hanging execution sequence that occurs at the end of the show. Constrictor (1986) and Raise Your Fist and Yell (1987) were recorded with lead guitarist Kane Roberts and bassist Kip Winger , both of whom would leave the band by the end of 1988 (although Kane Roberts played guitar on " Bed of Nails " on Cooper's 1989 studio album Trash ). In 1987, Cooper made

9075-436: The greatest moments of my life was getting pie-faced by Soupy. He was one of my all time heroes." Cooper's studio albums from the beginning of the 1980s have been referred to by Cooper as his "blackout albums" because he cannot remember recording them, owing to the influence of his new, and increasing cocaine addiction. Flush the Fashion (1980), Special Forces (1981), Zipper Catches Skin (1982) and DaDa (1983) saw

9196-451: The group banned altogether from performing in the country. In February 1973, Billion Dollar Babies was released worldwide and became the band's most commercially successful studio album, reaching No. 1 in both the US and UK. " Elected ", a late-1972 Top 10 UK hit from the album, which inspired one of the first MTV -style story-line promo videos ever made for a song (three years before Queen 's promotional video for " Bohemian Rhapsody "),

9317-400: The group name, "Alice Cooper" had by then become Furnier's new legal name. Speaking on the subject of Alice Cooper continuing as a solo project as opposed to the band it once was, Cooper stated in 1975, "It got very basically down to the fact that we had drawn as much as we could out of each other. After ten years, we got pretty dry together." Manager Gordon added, "What had started in a sense as

9438-407: The group needed a gimmick to succeed, and that other bands were not exploiting the showmanship potential of the stage. They chose the name "Alice Cooper" largely because it sounded innocuous and wholesome, in humorous contrast to the band's image and music. In his 2007 book Alice Cooper, Golf Monster , Cooper stated that his look was inspired in part by films. One of the band's all-time favorite movies

9559-455: The hits " He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask) " (the theme song for the movie Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives ; in the video for the song Cooper was given a cameo role as a deranged psychiatrist) and the fan favorite " Teenage Frankenstein ". The Constrictor album was a catalyst for Cooper to make a triumphant return to the road for the first time since the 1981 Special Forces project, on

9680-543: The increasing popularity of movie memorabilia has elevated many props to the status of prized collectors items. "Screen-used" props can fetch vast sums at auctions and charity benefits. There is also a growing industry in the making of replicas of well known hero props for home display, cosplay or LARP use. Pawnbroker A pawnbroker is an individual or business ( pawnshop or pawn shop ) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral . The items having been pawned to

9801-524: The infamous "Chicken Incident" at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival concert in September 1969 was an accident. A chicken somehow made its way onto the stage into the feathers of a feather pillow they would open during Cooper's performance, and not having any experience with farm animals, Cooper presumed that, because the chicken had wings, it would be able to fly. He picked it up and threw it out over

9922-473: The interest for several weeks or months and then return to repay the loan and reclaim the item. Since the key to the pawnshop business model is earning interest on the loaned money, pawnshop owners want to accept items that the customer is likely to want to recover, after having paid interest for a period on the loan. If, in an extreme case, a pawnshop only accepted items that customers had no interest in ever reclaiming, it would not make any money from interest, and

10043-412: The item outright if, as in most cases, the pawnbroker is also a licensed secondhand dealer, or offer the item as collateral on a loan. Most pawnshops are willing to negotiate the amount of the loan with the client. To determine the amount of the loan, the pawnshop owner needs to take into account several factors. A key factor is the predicted resale value of the item. This is often thought of in terms of

10164-431: The items have been reported stolen. Many police departments advise burglary or robbery victims to visit local pawnshops to see if they can locate stolen items. Some pawnshops set up their own screening criteria to avoid buying stolen property. The pawnbroker assesses an item for its condition and marketability by testing the item and examining it for flaws, scratches or other damage. Another aspect that affects marketability

10285-494: The kind of controversy, especially in Europe, that recalled the public outrage caused by Cooper's public performances in America in the early 1970s. In Britain, Labour MP David Blunkett called for the show to be banned, saying "I'm horrified by his behaviour – it goes beyond the bounds of entertainment." The controversy spilled over into the German segment of the tour, with the German government actually succeeding in having some of

10406-403: The live album A Fistful of Alice (1997) was released, and in 1997 he lent his voice to the intro track of Insane Clown Posse 's The Great Milenko . During his absence from the recording studio, Cooper toured extensively every year throughout the latter part of the 1990s, including, in 1996, South America, which he had not visited since 1974. Also in 1996, Cooper sang the role of Herod on

10527-417: The lyrics modified to refer to the track team: in their rendition of " Please Please Me ", for example, the line "Last night I said these words to my girl" was replaced with "Last night I ran four laps for my coach". Of the group, only Buxton knew how to play an instrument—the guitar—so Buxton played guitar while the rest mimed on their instruments. The group got an overwhelming response from the audience and won

10648-467: The match, which Roberts lost, ended, Cooper got involved and threw Jake's snake Damien at Honky's manager Jimmy Hart . Roberts considered the involvement of Cooper to be an honor, as he had idolized Cooper in his youth and was still a huge fan. WrestleMania III, which attracted a WWF record 93,173 fans, was held in the Pontiac Silverdome near Cooper's home town of Detroit. Cooper recorded

10769-431: The morning. Being woken up by a band willing to play that particular brand of psychedelic rock at seven in the morning impressed Zappa enough for him to sign them to a three-album deal. Another Zappa-signed act, the all-female GTOs , who liked to "dress the Cooper boys up like full size Barbie dolls," played a major role in developing the band's early onstage look. Cooper's debut studio album, Pretties for You (1969),

10890-409: The name of Lombard banking . It has been conjectured that the golden balls were originally three flat yellow effigies of bezants , or gold coins, laid heraldically upon a sable field, but that they were converted into balls to better attract attention. Most European towns called the pawn shop the "Lombard". The Lombards were a banking community in medieval London, England . According to legend,

11011-798: The pawned item will be offered for sale to other customers by the pawnbroker. Unlike other lenders, the pawnbroker does not report the defaulted loan on the customer's credit report, since the pawnbroker has physical possession of the item and may recoup the loan value through outright sale of the item. The pawnbroker also sells items that have been sold outright to them by customers. Some pawnshops are willing to trade items in their shop for items brought to them by customers. The first pawn shops were in ancient China about 3,000 years ago. Pawnbrokers, often working independently, would offer short-term credit to peasants. The business model existed 1,500 years ago in Buddhist monasteries , no different from today, through

11132-501: The production. This may be for reasons of weight, durability and safety or the item may be unique in appearance and/or function. A prop weapon, such as a gun or sword, can be a replica, a real weapon or a real weapon which has been modified to be non-functional. To make melee weapons non-functional, swords often have their edges and points dulled. Knives are often made of plastic or rubber or have retractable blades. Rubber bladed swords and guns may be used by stuntmen or actors where

11253-423: The project, buying an O in the sign in memory of close friend and comedian Groucho Marx . In 1979, Cooper also guest starred on good friend Soupy Sales ' show, Lunch with Soupy Sales and was hit in the face with a pie, as part of the show. When asked about the experience, Cooper had this to say about his friend: "Being from Detroit, I came home every day and watched Soupy at lunch (Lunch with Soupy Sales). One of

11374-486: The rumor, whereupon Zappa told him, "Well, whatever you do, don't tell anyone you didn't do it." The band later claimed that this period was highly influenced by Pink Floyd , especially their debut studio album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), the only Pink Floyd album made under the leadership of founding member Syd Barrett (lead vocals and guitar). Glen Buxton said he could listen to Barrett's guitar for hours at

11495-527: The same time horrifying parents and outraging the social establishment. In the United Kingdom, Mary Whitehouse , a Christian morality campaigner, persuaded the BBC to ban the video for "School's Out", although Whitehouse's campaign did not prevent the single also reaching number one in the UK. Cooper sent her a bunch of flowers in gratitude for the publicity. Meanwhile, British Labour Member of Parliament Leo Abse petitioned Home Secretary Reginald Maudling to have

11616-711: The scenes Cooper kept busy musically, working on new material in collaboration with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry . The spring of 1984 was taken up with filming, Cooper acting in the B-grade horror movie Monster Dog , filmed in Torrelodones , Spain. Shortly thereafter he reconciled with Sheryl; the couple relocated to Chicago. The year closed with more writing sessions, this time in New York during November with Hanoi Rocks guitarist Andy McCoy . In 1985, he met and began writing songs with guitarist Kane Roberts . Cooper

11737-596: The second Glen Buxton Memorial Weekend for a show at CoopersTown in Phoenix. They reunited for another show, with Steve Hunter on guitar, on December 16, 2010, at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix. This lineup would perform together again (televised) on March 14, 2011, at the induction of the original Alice Cooper group into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , as well as on May 11, 2011, at London's Battersea Power Station at

11858-417: The seller through photo identification (such as a driver's license or government-issued identity document ), as well as a holding period placed on an item purchased by a pawnbroker (to allow time for local law enforcement authorities to track stolen items). In some jurisdictions, pawnshops must give a list of all newly pawned items and any associated serial number to police, so the police can determine if any of

11979-429: The single "Wonder Who's Lovin' Her Now", backed with future Alice Cooper track "Lay Down and Die, Goodbye". Around this time, drummer John Speer was replaced by Neal Smith . By the end of the year, the band relocated to Los Angeles. In 1968, the band learned that Todd Rundgren also had a band called Nazz , which was signed to a major label, and found themselves in need of another stage name. Furnier also believed that

12100-580: The son of Ether Moroni Furnier (1924–1987) and his wife Ella Mae ( née McCart; 1925–2022). He was named after his uncle, Vincent Collier Furnier, and the short-story writer Damon Runyon . His father was an evangelist in The Church of Jesus Christ , and his paternal grandfather Thurman Sylvester Furnier was a leader and later president (1963–1965) of that church organization. The Furnier family resided in East Detroit on Lincoln Ave near Kelly Road,

12221-399: The store would in effect become a second-hand dealer. Determining if the customer is likely to return to reclaim an item is a subjective decision, and the pawnshop owner may take many factors into account. In some countries such as Sweden, there is legislation to prevent the pawnbroker from making unfair profits ( usury due to financial distress or ignorance of the customer) at the expense of

12342-472: The talent show. As a result of their positive experience, the group decided to try to turn into a real band. They acquired musical instruments from a local pawn shop , and proceeded to learn how to play them, with Buxton doing most of the teaching, as well as much of the early songwriting. They soon renamed themselves the Spiders , featuring Furnier on lead vocals, Buxton on lead guitar, Tatum on rhythm guitar, Dunaway on bass guitar, and Speer on drums. In 1966,

12463-413: The time DaDa and The Nightmare home video (of his 1975 TV Special) were released in the fall of that year; however, both releases performed below expectations. Even with The Nightmare scoring a nomination for 1984's Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video (he lost to Duran Duran ), it was not enough for Warner Bros. to keep Cooper on their books. By February 1984, Cooper became a "free agent" for

12584-587: The time, such as the Guns N' Roses third studio album Use Your Illusion I , on which he shared vocal duties with Axl Rose on the track " The Garden ". He also had a brief appearance as the abusive stepfather of Freddy Krueger in the A Nightmare on Elm Street slasher film Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991). Cooper made a cameo appearance in the 1992 comedy film Wayne's World . Cooper and his band first appear on stage performing "Feed My Frankenstein" from their studio album Hey Stoopid . Afterwards at

12705-561: The transaction turns a profit for pawn shop. In cases where the pawnshop buys items outright, the money is not a loan; it is a straight payment for the item. On sales, the pawnshop may offer layaway plans, subject to conditions (down payment, regular payments, and forfeiture of previously paid amounts if the item is not paid off). Other activities carried out by pawnshops are financial services including fee-based check cashing, payday loans , vehicle title or house title loans, and currency exchange services. Upscale pawnshops began to appear in

12826-415: The value by weight of the component metals. Similarly, jewelry that contains genuine gemstones , even if broken or missing pieces, have value. The pawnbroker assumes the risk that an item might have been stolen. However, laws in many jurisdictions protect both the community and broker from unknowingly handling stolen goods . These laws often require that the pawnbroker establish positive identification of

12947-505: The wane, and just before the explosion of grunge , it failed to have the same commercial impact as its predecessor. The same year also saw the release of the video Alice Cooper: Prime Cuts which chronicled his entire career using in depth interviews with Cooper himself, Bob Ezrin, and Shep Gordon. One critic has noted that Prime Cuts demonstrates how Cooper had used (in contrast to similar artists who succeeded him) themes of satire and moralization to such good effect throughout his career. It

13068-920: The weapons master or armourer. Although blank cartridges do not fire projectiles, they still have an explosive charge and can cause fatal injury. Dummy bullets are used if the prop is in closeup and chambered rounds in the cylinder of a revolver are visible to camera. The can also be used in shots of the actor loading a weapon or merely handling ammunition. Dummy bullets contain no primer or charge and are only "bullet shaped objects" Although rare, fatal firearm related incidents have occurred, notably Jon-Erik Hexum on October 18, 1984, Brandon Lee on March 31, 1993, and Halyna Hutchins on October 21, 2021 . Breakaway props are designed to be destroyed or break in use, such as furniture made from balsa -wood or cardboard and windows, bottles and glassware made from sugar glass or resin. Cups, plates or vases may be made from bisque or wax. Although these are relatively safe,

13189-546: Was What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) starring Bette Davis : "In the movie, Bette wears disgusting caked makeup smeared on her face and underneath her eyes, with deep, dark, black eyeliner." Another movie the band watched over and over was Barbarella (1968): "When I saw Anita Pallenberg playing the Great Tyrant in that movie in 1968, wearing long black leather gloves with switchblades coming out of them, I thought, 'That's what Alice should look like.' That, and

13310-406: Was among the most visible and successful acts in the industry. Beneath the surface, however, the repetitive schedule of recording and touring had begun to take its toll on the band. Muscle of Love , released at the end of 1973, was to be the last studio album from the classic lineup, and marked Alice Cooper's last UK Top 20 single of the 1970s with " Teenage Lament '74 ". An unsolicited theme song

13431-442: Was eclectic and featured an experimental presentation of their songs in a psychedelic context. Alice Cooper's "shock rock" reputation apparently developed almost by accident at first. An unrehearsed stage routine involving Cooper, a feather pillow, and a live chicken garnered attention from the press; the band decided to capitalize on the tabloid sensationalism , creating in the process a new subgenre, shock rock . Cooper claims that

13552-411: Was followed by two more UK Top 10 singles, " Hello Hooray " and " No More Mr. Nice Guy ", the latter of which was the last UK single from the album; it reached No. 25 in the US. The title track, featuring guest vocals by Donovan , was also a US hit single. Around this time Glen Buxton left Alice Cooper briefly because of waning health. With a string of successful concept albums and several hit singles,

13673-482: Was in the Prime Cuts video that Bob Ezrin delivered his own summation of the Alice Cooper persona: "He is the psycho killer in all of us. He's the axe murderer, he's the spoiled child, he's the abuser, he's the abused; he's the perpetrator, he's the victim, he's the gun slinger, and he's the guy lying dead in the middle of the street". During the early 1990s, Cooper guested on records by the most successful bands of

13794-503: Was interested in going to Hollywood Records even before 'The Last Temptation' was released because Bob Pfeifer, who originally signed Alice to Epic, was now the President of Hollywood Records. After 'The Last Temptation' was finished, Alice requested that Sony /Epic let him go so that he could make the switch to Hollywood. He just wanted to go where his friends are." and was his last studio release for six years, though during this period

13915-771: Was much better received by Midwestern crowds accustomed to the proto-punk styles of local bands such as the Stooges and the MC5 . Despite this, Cooper still managed to receive a cream pie in the face when performing at the Cincinnati Pop Festival . Michigan would remain their steady home base until 1972. "L.A. just didn't get it," Cooper stated. "They were all on the wrong drug for us. They were on acid and we were basically drinking beer. We fit much more in Detroit than we did anywhere else." Alice Cooper appeared at

14036-595: Was recorded for the James Bond spy film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), but a different song of the same name by Lulu was chosen instead. By 1974, the Muscle of Love album still had not matched the top-charting success of its predecessor, and the band began to have constant disagreements. For various reasons, the members agreed to take what was expected to be a temporary hiatus. "Everyone decided they needed

14157-506: Was released to theaters in 1976. The film was released in a special edition DVD in 2017. Such was the immense success of Cooper's solo project that he decided to continue as a solo artist, and the original band became officially defunct. Bruce, Dunaway, and Smith would go on to form the short-lived band Billion Dollar Babies, producing one studio album— Battle Axe —in 1977. While occasionally performing with one another and Glen Buxton , they would not reunite with Alice until October 23, 1999, at

14278-699: Was released. In 1978, a sobered Cooper used his experience in the sanitarium as the inspiration for his semi-autobiographical studio album From the Inside , which he co-wrote with Bernie Taupin , known for his work with Elton John; it spawned yet another US Top 20 hit ballad, " How You Gonna See Me Now ". The subsequent tour's stage show was based inside an asylum, and was filmed for Cooper's first home-video release, The Strange Case of Alice Cooper , in 1979. Around this time, Cooper performed "Welcome to My Nightmare", "You and Me", and "School's Out" on The Muppet Show (episode #307) on March 28, 1978 (he played one of

14399-450: Was subsequently signed to MCA Records , and appeared as guest vocalist on Twisted Sister 's song "Be Chrool to Your Scuel". A music video was made for the song, featuring actor Luke Perry and Cooper donning his black snake-eyes makeup for the first time since 1979, but neither the song nor the video drew public interest. In 1986, Alice Cooper officially returned to the music industry with the studio album Constrictor . The album spawned

14520-594: Was the television special The Nightmare , starring Cooper and Vincent Price , which aired on US prime-time TV in April 1975. The Nightmare (which was later released on home video in 1983 and gained a Grammy Award nomination for Best Long Form Music Video ) was regarded as another groundbreaking moment in rock history. Adding to it all, a concert film, Welcome to My Nightmare , produced, directed, and choreographed by West Side Story cast member David Winters and filmed live at London's Wembley Arena in September 1975,

14641-557: Was to be "A million record seller". In 1964, 16-year-old Furnier was eager to participate in Cortez High School's annual Letterman's talent show, so he gathered four fellow cross country teammates to form a group for the show: Glen Buxton , Dennis Dunaway , John Tatum, and John Speer. They named themselves the Earwigs. They dressed up in costumes and wigs to resemble the Beatles , and performed several parodies of Beatles songs, with

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