Here’s one quick, final “countdown” in preparation for tonight’s Alice Cooper concert, when his band invites you to “Spend the Night with Alice Cooper” here at the Peoria Civic Center Theatre. This special list looks at his various media appearances in both film and television.
- Alice Cooper appears in “Dark Shadows”
Dark Shadows was a supernatural-themed soap opera that I recall being show on reruns during the 90’s on the Sci Fi Channel, but that’s as deep as my knowledge of the series goes. The movie was an update of the series by director Tim Burton, which starred his frequent collaborator, Johnny Depp. Alice made an appearance as himself, though the biggest thing to come out of this remake was the friendship formed between Johnny and Alice. They’ve recently turned the friendship into a rock n roll band, joining forces with guitar player Joe Perry to become the “Hollywood Vampires.” I’d read for years that Alice was planning an album of cover songs and never imagined it would morph into a full-fledged touring band.
- Alice Cooper at WrestleMania III
1980’s World Wrestling Federation star Jake “The Snake” Roberts was a creepy fellow who would “feed” his defeated opponents to his pet snake, Damien. Alice Cooper resurrected his popularity in the late 80’s with an album called Constrictor, which has an album cover featuring Alice wrapped up by a boa constrictor. The WWF’s event WrestleMania was known for featuring celebrity appearances, so it only made sense to pair the two reptile lovers together, with Alice accompanying Jake to the ring for his big match. Naturally the snake made an appearance, too.
- Alice Cooper tries to steal the souls of The Muppets
In the late 1970’s, Alice Cooper was featured on an episode of The Muppet Show, which was a variety show that combined real life celebrities with Jim Henson’s creations for comical skits. During Alice’s appearance he sang a few songs and also tried to steal their souls in villainous fashion.
https://youtu.be/SQZooJhBG_E
- Alice Cooper is a villain on “Monk” TV series
Thirty years after his TV appearance with the Muppets, Alice played a villainous version of himself opposite Tony Shaloub on the USA Network series, Monk. In this episode, Monk was investigating the murder of a city official during the middle of a garbage strike. Garbage had been piling up on city streets, with the smell wreaking havoc on Monk’s ability to focus on the case. It was so intense that he envisioned Alice Cooper as the murderer, because as he happened to be in town for a concert, he decided to kill the city official because he wanted his antique chair. Only Alice didn’t want it now because it was covered in blood.
- Alice Cooper in “Wayne’s World”
This is the moment when I was first introduced to Alice Cooper, along with the music of Queen, Jimi Hendrix, and that cool song “Ballroom Blitz”! Wayne’s World was a perfect merging of comedy, rock n roll, and also a satire on pop culture; and the film still holds up today. Especially funny is that Alice, who was always seen as his villainous persona reveals his true self in the film- he’s just a smart, friendly guy. We’re not worthy!
Andy Savage
