From the moment of its electric debut in April 8, 2000, Will Ferrell‘s “More Cowbell” sketch became an iconic part of Saturday Night Live‘s 50-season history. Also starring Host Christopher Walken and Season 25 cast members Chris Parnell, Chris Kattan, Horatio Sanz, and a fresh face named Jimmy Fallon, Ferrell portrayed the titular cowbell-banger himself: Blue Oyster Cult member named Gene Frenkle.
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Offset by Walken’s own zany energy as record producer “THE Bruce Dickinson,” Ferrell’s Frenkle obeys Bruce’s request to “really explore” the studio space — and how! — as he adds ever more percussion to “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper.”
25 years and countless Gene Frenkle Halloween costumes later, he remains one of Ferrell’s most memorable characters — and “More Cowbell” is now the subject of an entire episode of Peacock’s four-part SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night docuseries. But was Gene Frenkle a real guy?
Below, everything you need to know about the origin of Ferrell’s “More Cowbell” character, and whether he was an actual member of Blue Oyster Cult.
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Who plays Gene Frenkle in SNL’s “More Cowbell” sketch?
Will Ferrell, who was an SNL cast member from 1995-2002.
In the “More Cowbell” installment of Beyond Saturday Night, Ferrell explains that he got the idea for the sketch from his longtime fixation with the cowbell sound in “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper.”
“It’s the perfect calibration of loud and not-too-loud,” he says. “It’s really kind of impotent in the background — it’s just, ‘don’t listen to me!””
“And I had a thought, even as a kid: What is the life of the guy playing the cowbell,” Ferrell continued. Decades later, his brain re-presented the idea and it became a sketch.
Is Gene Frenkle a real person?
“Anyway, Gene Frenkle is totally made up,” Ferrell clarifies in the documentary. (Hilariously, Kattan admits in Beyond Saturday Night that he only just then learned that Frenkle was a fictional invention for the sketch.)
This, of course, means Gene Frenkle didn’t actually die and the “in memoriam” at the end of the sketch is another joke.
The real Blue Oyster Cult, who enjoyed their biggest success in the 1970s with the release of the 1976 hit single, is led by founding members Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom, who also appear in Peacock’s documentary. While they’ve had a revolving lineup, absolutely none of their bandmates were named Gene Frenkle.
As the real band’s members explain in the “More Cowbell” documentary, the sketch’s cast weren’t a one-to-one recreation of the real band, but Bloom insists that Gene Frenkle’s look is based on him back in the ’70s — and the side-by-side evidence is compelling.
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And by the by, Bruce Dickinson wasn’t the real producer of “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” either. The song’s actual producers, David Lucas and Murray Krugman, say in the doc that they believe Walken’s Dickinson was either a fictionalized version of themself (per Lucas) or an “amalgam” (per Krugman).
However, a record company employee named Bruce Dickinson had a credit in the liner notes of the Blue Oyster Cult album, so Ferrell says he borrowed it.
Chad Smith plays Will Ferrell’s Gene Frenkle in Peacock’s SNL documentary
Bringing Gene Frenkle to life in Beyond Saturday Night is Chad Smith, longtime drummer for Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith’s playful Frenkle cosplay in the doc is a nod to the resemblance fans see between Will Ferrell and Chad Smith, which has been previously leveraged in a fake Tonight Show that culminated in a 2014 drum-off between the two.
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Gene Frenkle made a second appearance with Musical Guest Queens of the Stone Age
Ferrell revived his Gene Frenkle to bang the cowbell once more on Saturday Night Live in 2005, when the Five-Timers Club member returned to host for his first time.
Staying in character, Ferrell gave the cowbell hell during QOTSA’s performance of “Little Sister” — and according to the band’s frontman Josh Homme, Ferrell himself asked to join in.
“My response was, ‘Are you kidding me? Of course!” Homme says in Beyond Saturday Night.
If you’re a fan of Saturday Night Live, chances are you’ve seen the iconic “More Cowbell” sketch featuring Will Ferrell as fictional cowbell player Gene Frenkle. But have you ever wondered if Gene Frenkle is based on a real person?
The answer is no, Gene Frenkle is not a real person. He was created by the SNL writers as a hilarious and over-the-top character for the sketch, which originally aired in 2000. The sketch, which also features Christopher Walken as the fictional producer, Bruce Dickinson, has since become one of the most beloved and quoted sketches in SNL history.
So next time you watch the “More Cowbell” sketch, just remember that Gene Frenkle may not be a real person, but he will always hold a special place in the hearts of SNL fans everywhere.
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