I don't think there's an "official" costume, but I'm also going as
Gene Frenkel (aka "More Cowbell Guy") this Halloween. I happened to
find the "Foxxy Cleopatra" wig from "Austin Powers" on sale, and
trimmed the hair shorter. It's about the right color. For the beard
I'm growing my own in, and will bleach it to match the wig.
Don't know about the specific shirt, but I went to a thrift store and
found a couple of close matches in the womens' shirt section. I
bought them, and will do a little sewing to get the details to match.
Basically you just need a brown, long-sleeve shirt with a deep V-neck
and pointy, 1970s-style collar. Also, it should be a size or two too
small for that authentic goofy Will Ferrell look. (Bonus points if
you have a gut.)
Same for the jeans, bell bottoms are in style for women right now and
are much easier to find than a close match in men's jeans.
So I pretty much bought my entire costume for under $10, although I
still need to buy the cowbell and sunglasses. Glasses like that are
everywhere, they're tinted pink or purple at the top and fade to clear
toward the bottom. The lenses are shaped like aviator glasses, but
the frames appear to be wire frames. The color of the metal isn't
really visible on screen, so really any close match will do.
If you can, get hold of a video or pictures of the performance of the
band Queens of the Stone Age performing the song "Little Sister" on
SNL on May 14, 2005. The guest host was Will Ferrell, and in a
surprise move he dressed as Gene Frenkel again and joined the band
with his cowbell. What's interesting is his costume was a bit
different - the wig was much bushier, the hair was darker, and the
shirt, jeans, and belt were slightly different. It proves that you
could pretty much get by with a close match, SNL even did it
themselves.
While shopping, take a picture from the skit with you. Yu'll get a much better
match than just trying to memorize what you want.
Have fun, and really explore that studio space! |
