Tanner Colby was born in Houston, Texas, in 1975. Hgrew up in Louisiana and Alabama and graduated from Tulane University in 1997. After graduating from college, he served as head writer for the National Lampoon Radio Hour for two years, then co-wrote a biography of "Animal House" and "Saturday Night Live" star, John Belushi. Following "Belushi," he co-wrote the New York Times bestselling "The Chris Farley Show," a similar oral history of the star of "Tommy Boy."