Will Ferrell blows mystery of non-existent "More Cowbell" co-writer wide open
Ferrell denies writing "More Cowbell" with "some playwright from Scotland or Ireland."
Screenshot: NBC/YouTube
On the Wikipedia page for the Saturday Night Live sketch “More Cowbell”—and, by the way, only the most culturally impactful sketches have their own Wiki pages!—it says that the “sketch was written by regular cast member Will Ferrell and playwright Donnell Campbell.” Campbell is identified on the page as Ferrell’s “friend.” But he certainly didn’t help write “More Cowbell,” and it’s unclear if any such person actually existed.
This confusion came to light during an Interview Magazine conversation between Ferrell and Bowen Yang, who revealed that SNL has a server “that has all the typed-out sketches from every single show, and it’s incredible.” Recently, Yang said, “We were talking at work one day after a read-through, and we were just like, ‘I think Ferrell wrote ‘Cowbell’ by himself.'” Ferrell confirmed that he did, indeed, write the sketch solo, but “according to Wikipedia, some playwright in Scotland or Ireland helped me. It’s so random.”