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
The reason gas prices are so high is because the oil is in Texas and Oklahoma and all the dipsticks are in Washington.
In America, you can always find a party. In Soviet Russia, The Party can always find you!
I was not only typecast as a Russian, but I was typecast as Yakov Smirnoff. This is understandable, and I was very happy to get the roles, but it would be nice to be in a movie where I could be someone else.
In America, you assassinate president. In Soviet Russia, president assassinate you!
A Russian Reversal quote on Uncyclopedia's Soviet Union article? How original.
When you like something, you find time to do it.
Many people are surprised to hear that we have comedians in Russia, but they are there. They are dead, but they are there.
I was this non-threatening funny guy who contrasted the image of the Brezhnevs and the Reagans of the world.