Jamie Masada (; born in
Pahlavi Iran
The Imperial State of Iran, officially known as the Imperial State of Persia until 1935, and commonly referred to as Pahlavi Iran, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty. The Pahlavi dynasty was created in 1925 and lasted ...
) is a
Persian American businessman and comedian. He is the founder of the
Laugh Factory
Laugh Factory is a chain of comedy clubs in the United States. The chain is owned by Laugh Factory Inc., and the founder and current chief executive is Jamie Masada.
Endurance record
The Laugh Factory keeps track of an endurance record for ...
, a chain of
comedy clubs
A comedy club is a venue where a variety of comedic acts perform to a live audience. Although the term usually refers to establishments that feature stand-up comedy, stand-up comedians, it can also feature other forms of comedy such as improvisati ...
in several states.
Early years
Masada is a
Persian Jewish immigrant from Iran who had arrived in America as a teenager. Despite the fact that he was living in a garage and barely spoke English, he combined
Persian and
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
and soon was working with professional
comedians
A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who ...
like
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...
,
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...
,
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer, and auto racing team owner. He hosted late-night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982, debut of ''Late N ...
and
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movemen ...
.
Career
Laugh Factory
In 1979, Masada used a loan from
Neal Israel to open the Laugh Factory on
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...
. While other comedy club owners in Los Angeles were not paying the comedians, his goal was to create a venue where comedians could perform and earn money by "splitting the door".
''The Laugh Factory Presents''
''The Laugh Factory Presents'' is an online
stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...
series, which Masada created for up-and-coming comedians to spread their material to a wider audience via YouTube and Amazon.com. Masada's plan is to film comedians' shows on the Laugh Factory stage and allow them to keep 80% of the profits made from the specials. With the help of Laugh Factory New Media, Masada produced two
The Laugh Factory Presents specials, ''The Laugh Factory Presents Tim Gaither Live from Las Vegas'' and ''The Laugh Factory Presents Raj Sharma Live from Las Vegas''.
Honors and awards
In recognition of all his hard work, Masada is the recipient of the
Ellis Island Medal of Honor
The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born ...
, the
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million.
...
Freedom of Speech Award and the
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
Freedom Award. In 2011, Masada received an award from Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services for being a Comedy Innovator and Humanitarian and for offering comics a listening ear to deal with their personal demons.
Philanthropy

In an effort to support under-privileged children, Masada created the
Laugh Factory's Comedy Camp for children in 1985. Through this camp, he has worked with over a thousand children, using comedy as a way to build their self confidence.
Since 1979, Masada has hosted free Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at The Laugh Factory for the homeless, the poor, or anyone who doesn't want to be alone for the holidays, with over 5000 attending in 2008.
The Laugh Factory also hosts free services during the
High Holy Days
In Judaism, the High Holy Days, also known as High Holidays or Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim; , ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm'') consist of:
#strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah ("Jewish New Year") and Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement");
#by extension, th ...
of
Judaism
Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
.
References
Further reading
*
*
*
''Variety's "The Movie That Changed My Life"'' pp. 46–48.
''Vintage Tomorrows'' pp. 296–.
''Comic Insights'' pp. 264–269.
''Variety''.
''Variety''.
''
Los Angeles Magazine
''Los Angeles,'' formerly known as ''Southern California Prompter'', is a monthly magazine based in Los Angeles, California. It focuses on telling regional news, culture, lifestyle, entertainment, and fashion stories from Los Angeles and the br ...
''.
"Laugh Factory Founder Hopes to Unite Countries through Search for 'Funniest Person in the World'" ''
Los Angeles Daily News
The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California, after the unrelated ''Los Angeles Times'', and the flagship newspaper of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado ...
''.
*
External links
*
Official website of the Laugh Factory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masada, Jamie
American company founders
American magazine founders
American publishers (people)
American television producers
American stand-up comedians
American comedians of Iranian descent
Jewish American comedians
Nightclub owners
Businesspeople from California
Comedians from California
American male comedians
20th-century American Jews
21st-century American Jews
American people of Iranian-Jewish descent
Iranian emigrants to the United States
Iranian Jews
1954 births
Living people
Place of birth missing (living people)