Is Gene Frenkle, Will Ferrell’s Cowbell Character, a Real Person? (2025)

From the moment of its electric debut in April 8, 2000, Will Ferrell's"More Cowbell" sketch became an iconic part ofSaturday 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-partSNL50: Beyond Saturday Nightdocuseries. 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 anSNLcast member from 1995-2002.

In the "More Cowbell" installment ofBeyond 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, Will Ferrell’s Cowbell Character, a Real Person? (1)

Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken during Behind the Music skit on Saturday Night Live on April 8th, 2000. Photo: Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

Is Gene Frenkle a real person?

No.

"Anyway, Gene Frenkle is totally made up," Ferrell clarifies in the documentary. (Hilariously, Kattan admits inBeyond Saturday Night thathe 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'sSNLdocumentary

Bringing Gene Frenkle to life inBeyond Saturday Nightis 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 fakeTonight Showthat culminated in a 2014 drum-off between the two.

Is Gene Frenkle, Will Ferrell’s Cowbell Character, a Real Person? (2)

Will Ferrell and Chad Smith appear backstage of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Episode 64 on May 22, 2014. Photo: Douglas Gorenstein/NBC

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 onSaturday Night Livein 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.

Is Gene Frenkle, Will Ferrell’s Cowbell Character, a Real Person? (3)

Gene Frenkle (Will Ferrell) appears onstage with musical guests Queens of the Stone Age on Saturday Night Live Season 30 Episode 19 on 05/14/2005. Photo: Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal

"My response was, 'Are you kidding me? Of course!" Homme says inBeyond Saturday Night.

Is Gene Frenkle, Will Ferrell’s Cowbell Character, a Real Person? (2025)

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