Born in Pennsylvania in 1956 Meyer grew up in Arizona, the eldest child of eight in a Roman Catholic family of mostly German people descent. Meyer has made frequent jokes about his somewhat unhappy childhood, stating in an audio commentary that one of the frequent arguments in his household was "which family member ruined a holiday". He attended Doolen Junior High and Catalina High School in Tucson, Az. An excellent student, Meyer later went on to Harvard University, where he served as president of the Harvard Lampoon, a comedy magazine at Harvard University. Meyer graduated from Harvard in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. After college, Meyer became a writer for Late Night with David Letterman, Not Necessarily The News, The New Show, and Saturday Night Live. In 1987, Meyer founded the