A twisted tale of Alice Cooper's piano.

Byline: Mark Baker The Register-Guard

You probably didn't know that shock-rock legend Alice Cooper was a Republican, did you? Or that he voted for George W. Bush not once, but twice. Or that he's a born-again Christian, despite the fact that he routinely hacks his head off on stage.

And you probably didn't know that he's nearly a scratch golfer. Or that he hasn't had a drop of liquor in 25 years after downing a bottle of whiskey and a case of beer a day for years, did you?

Of course you didn't.

So it goes without saying that you probably didn't know that Don Thumel, a Eugene piano store owner, last year bought a family heirloom - a 1946 Kimball upright piano - that was once owned by Cooper, who plays the Douglas County Fair on Aug. 9, did you?

Of course you didn't.

"Tell him no hit songs were written on that piano," says Cooper, 58, in a telephone interview last week from Fond du Lac, Wis., where he was about to perform at a county fair. "No, wait. Tell him there were. That'll make him feel better."

Doesn't matter now. The piano, which Cooper says all three of his children - Calico, Sonora and Dashiel - learned to play on, is gone.

Cooper's wife, Sheryl, bought it back last winter and shipped it to Monaco, where it arrived about a month ago, says Thumel, who owns the Piano Liquidators store at West Seventh Avenue and Washington Street.

Monaco?

"The country, not the (Coburg) RV dealer," Thumel says.

How did this weird, wacky tale - which must surely strike a chord in Cooper fans - come about?

Thumel was perusing pianos on eBay, the online auction site, in early 2005 when Cooper's piano popped up. A 1946 Kimball made in Chicago, owned by Alice Cooper, he of the hit '70s songs, "School's Out," "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "I'm Eighteen."

Thumel was curious.

But he wanted the seller, My Sister's Attic of Phoenix, to verify that it was indeed the longtime rock star's. Otherwise he had no interest. "We didn't need just another old piano," Thumel says.

Cooper, who lives in nearby Scottsdale, Ariz., sold the piano to the used furniture store on consignment.

"We were cleaning house," Cooper explains. At least he was.

The store got in touch with Cooper and had him send Thumel a letter.

"This is to certify that I, Alice Cooper, owned and played the Kimball model 460 #464142," says the letter that Thumel still has. "My daughter Sonora learned on it and it's been in the family for 60 years."

How do you know they didn't forge the letter? "I had to take their word for it," Thumel says.

If only Sheryl Cooper had known that her husband had gotten rid of it.

"She went ballistic," Thumel says of Sheryl Cooper's assistant, who called last October, wanting the piano back.

But Thumel was not impressed with her offer. She wanted to buy it back for what Alice Cooper had gotten for it from the Phoenix store, about $900 or $1,000, Thumel says. But Thumel bought it for $1,500, and paid about $700 to have it shipped to Eugene. And it had been sitting in his store since February of last year, complete with a blown up photo of Cooper and more words he had written - "Take care of my old piano" - and his autograph.

With a sticker price of $3,995.

Although he had a couple of folks come into the store and show some interest, Thumel could not sell Alice Cooper's piano to anyone.

Why not?

"This is Eugene," Thumel says. "Spend some time in retail in Eugene. It's a real education."

Cooper has another theory: "Probably because he had it overpriced."

But it's your piano! You're Alice Cooper!

"Not that Alice Cooper isn't a celebrity," Thumel says, "but if it had been Liberace's piano ...'

Finally, Sheryl Cooper, a dance teacher and artistic director, called Thumel herself. And a deal was struck. Thumel said he'd give her 10 percent off what he was trying to get for it. She agreed to buy it back for $3,600. And she wanted it shipped to her sister, who owns a dance studio in Monaco, the tiny country wedged between France and Italy on the Mediterranean Sea.

Thumel shipped it this past February.

And it only arrived last month? "It probably went by donkey to Monaco," says Thumel, who in addition to the $3,600 check he received with Alice and Sheryl Cooper's name on it, also got a check for $1,496 from William Goddard, Sheryl Cooper's father in Winter Haven, Fla., for shipping.

End of story.

"We made a profit," Thumel says of the strange ordeal. "Which is kind of what we're here for."

COOPER IN CONCERT Who: Alice Cooper When: 7 p.m. Aug. 9 Where: Douglas County Fair in Roseburg Tickets: $20 for reserved seats; call [phone]