Yakov Smirnoff
Yakov Smirnoff
Yakov Naumovich Pokhis, better known as Yakov Smirnoff, is a Soviet-born American comedian, actor and writer. After emigrating to the United States in 1977, Smirnoff began performing as a stand-up comic. He eventually gained fame, and he reached his biggest successes in the mid-to-late 1980s, when he also appeared in several films and television shows, including his own 1986–87 sitcom, What a Country!. His comic persona was of a naive immigrant from the Soviet Union who was perpetually confused and...
NationalityRussian
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth24 January 1951
CityOdessa, Ukraine
CountryRussian Federation
In America, you assassinate president. In Soviet Russia, president assassinate you!
In America, you drive car. In Soviet Russia, car drive you!
In America, your job determines your marks. In Soviet Russia, Marx determine your job!
A Russian Reversal quote on Uncyclopedia's Soviet Union article? How original.
People in Tulsa are totally friendly; the crowds are very nice.
When you like something, you find time to do it.
I fed my ego, but not my soul.
Americans think Soviets are so grim. I want them to see that they can smile.
We may have forgotten how to feel. Nobody is teaching us how to live happily ever after, as we've heard in fairy tales.
Many people are surprised to hear that we have comedians in Russia, but they are there. They are dead, but they are there.
In today's society we sometimes forget to balance our hearts and our heads; this is the reason we stop laughing.
We have a choice - we can both think and feel, using our heads and our hearts.
I have American in-laws, and I care about the environment. We don't use disposable diapers, which, of course, creates an environmental problem of our own.
I was this non-threatening funny guy who contrasted the image of the Brezhnevs and the Reagans of the world.