text: Early life Besser was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, to parents Diane and Sandy Besser. His father was Jewish, whereas his mother was Christian. Besser is an atheist. He is a quarter German and a quarter French from his mother's side. Besser's grandfather's cousin was Joe Besser of The Three Stooges.
  He was recruited to play soccer after starting on his high school team, but instead attended Amherst College with a major in American Studies. There, he started doing stand-up comedy and competed in a contest at UMass that was judged by Judd Apatow. After graduating, he briefly moved to Denver in an attempt to pursue stand-up, but quickly moved to Chicago. He worked various odd jobs, including stints as a substitute teacher, a host at Carnegie Deli and as a host at Dick's Last Resort.
  Career
  After seeing an improvisational comedy show at Second City iO Theater featuring Dave Koechner, Tim Meadows and Chris Farley, Besser began taking classes there. His improv group Victim's Family (alongside Rick Roman, Adam McKay, Miles Stroth, and Ian Roberts), later renamed The Family (minus Roman, plus Neil Flynn, and Ali Farahnakian), was directed by Del Close, the first long-form group Del focused on.
  Besser is a founding member of Upright Citizens Brigade, which began as a sketch comedy group in Chicago in 1990. Original members included Ian Roberts, Ali Farahnakian, Adam McKay, Rick Roman, and Horatio Sanz.