Photos: Comic psychologist

A message after the loss of comic Robin Williams adorns the outside of the Laugh Factory in Hollywood before a show. Club owner Jamie Masada hired Ildiko Tabori as an in-house psychologist after he became alarmed by the number of premature deaths in the comic world.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

A painted television with a message expressing sadness over the suicide of comedian Robin Williams sits on the sidewalk outside the Laugh Factory in Hollywood.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

A matted cover image of Robin Williams from an August 1986 issue of Laugh Factory. Psychologist Ildiko Tabori counsels comics at the club a few nights a week.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

“He felt the comedians needed some support from a professional,” says Dr. Ildiko Tabori of Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada. “He’s not trained to recognize someone who’s going to go kill themselves, and I am.”  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

Comedian Paul Rodriguez talks with psychologist Ildiko Tabori on the red “therapy couch,” which used to belong to Groucho Marx, at the Laugh Factory in February 2011.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)