Jamie Masada Ti any Haddish

THE COMIC RELIEF

JAMIE MASADA AND TIFFANY HADDISH

Founder, Laugh Factory • Comedian, Actress

photographed by JEFF VESPA at THE LAUGH FACTORY

JAMIE MASADA arrived in L.A. from Iran at 14 with a mouthful of English, even less money. After his attempt at stand-up comedy failed to produce many laughs or dollars, the resourceful émigré scraped together funding and founded the Laugh Factory in 1979 at the wrong end of the Sunset Strip. Masada’s insistence on paying the comedians appearing on his stage earned him the undying gratitude of future superstars like David Letterman and Jay Leno. Today, Masada’s eye for talent is as keen as ever. He discovered Haddish at his charity comedy camp for disadvantaged teens when she was 15 and mentored the future Grammy winner. “This man laid the foundation for my career,” Haddish says. “He gave me the greatest gift in the world: he cared.” —M.W.