Lehr was born on November 25, 1965 in Overland Park, Kansas. He went to high school at Shawnee Mission West High. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1988. While attending Northwestern, he worked as a substitute Teacher at Kilmer Elementary School on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. He later received his teaching certificate and taught full time at Kilmer Elementary.
Before 10 Items, he played Christina Applegate's brother in Jesse during its first season (1998) and also appeared in Friends, in the 1996 episode "The One with the Flashback", as Eric.
Lehr is an alumnus of Mee-Ow, an improv group at Northwestern University. In 2004, his one man shows The Lehr Curse: A Series of Comedic Lectures ran Off-Broadway.
In a February 2009 interview on Anytime with Bob Kushell, Lehr stated that the caveman makeup took about three hours to apply.
In 2010, Lehr signed on as a supporter of Alley Cat Allies, a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to transforming communities to protect and improve the lives of cats, joking that “As a feral human, I feel a deep connection with these animals.”
In 2011, Lehr co-created the web series Jailbait which premiered on April 1, 2011 on Crackle.com
Lehr is also a co-creator, executive Producer and star of the Hulu-original series Quick Draw, which premiered in August 2013. The second season premiered in August 2014.
