Herschlag was born in the
New York City borough of
The Bronx, and grew up in
Spring Valley. He moved to
Montreal to attend
McGill University where he majored in Psychology. He began performing stand-up comedy in Montreal and continued doing so when he moved to
San Francisco after graduating college. While living in San Francisco, he began writing comedy material for various sketch comedy groups. He then moved to
Los Angeles, where he began and performing with a comedy group featuring a then-unknown
Molly Shannon. After a number of career disappointments, Herschlag began writing material for various stand-up comedians. He met
Ellen DeGeneres, through this experience, who hired him as a producer and writer on her
self-titled 1990s sitcom from 1995 to 1997. Herschlag's other television credits include
Costello,
Teachers,
Andy Barker, P.I.,
Sit Down, Shut Up,
Modern Family,
100 Questions and
Hot in Cleveland. He has also been credited as a writer for the
Primetime Emmys, the
Grammy Awards and the
Academy Awards. ==Personal life==