Alice Cooper discussed his life on stage as his alter-ego, and admitted there was always a small chance one of his props could kill him.
Guillotines, hangman’s nooses and snakes have been part of his well-prepared shows for decades, but he accepted that no amount of planning could wipe out the risk of something going wrong.
“The guillotine misses me by that much,” Cooper told CBS’ Anthony Mason, demonstrating a gap of a few inches. “It’s a 40 pound blade. But I know how to do it.”
READ MORE: How Alice Cooper Survived the ‘80s
He continued: “Especially the hanging. I can’t tell you how it works, but it stops right before [the killing moment] – and it might not!
“When I used to go to the circus I used to watch the guy on the tightrope, and there was no net, and I’m going, ‘What?’ So I want the audience to feel, ‘Wow, what if this is the night when it actually…?’”
Asked if he felt a flicker of fear, Cooper first said: “Honestly, no; I know how it works. I’m not going to put my head in there knowing that it could.” Then he added: “But there’s a one percent chance!“
He went on to recall his decision to tackle his fear of snakes to make the show better: “The first time I saw a girl backstage [with] a little boa around her arm, I jumped. And I went, ‘Wait a minute – if I jumped with that, what would an audience do with the full-size deal?’ So I had to learn to not fear them.
“A snake is automatically terrifying to most people. So I said, ‘That’s perfect for Alice.’ … The only thing they’re afraid of is you dropping them.”
He continued: “I had snakes on stage, I swear, that were performing. I had one … Eva Marie Snake, I think her name was, and she’d get up there and she’d know she was on.“ He mimicked a snake dancing round his head and shoulders. “Some of the others were just like,’Uh, yeah…’ but there were two or three that were actually conscious of being on stage!”
Would Alice Cooper Sell His Character like Kiss Did?
Cooper shared his delight that he can still surprise audiences, especially people who don’t expect a 78-year-old to perform with the vitality he delivers. “If I can’t look like Alice, if I can’t perform like Alice, if I weigh 100 pounds more, Alice is gone,” he said.
If that was the case, he argued: ““Somebody else should play Alice. My daughter Calico should play Alice.” Asked if he’d consider selling the character like Kiss sold theirs in 2024, he replied: “No, I don’t think so – I don’t need the money! But Kiss are good friends.”
He also explained why he never allows the Cooper character to directly deal with the crowd. “He never talks to the audience because that would be below him. He’s sort of this arrogant, condescending villain.
“I’ve never let Alice talk to the audience, because he’s human; he’s one of them – and they don’t want him to be one of them. They don’t want him to be Bon Jovi; they don’t want him to be Paul McCartney. They want him to be this other thing that exists somewhere [else].”
Cooper’s third memoir, Devil on My Shoulder, is published on Oct. 8.
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