Yakov Naumovich Pokhis, better known as Yakov Smirnoff (created 24 January 1951), is a Soviet-born American comic, actor and writer. After emigrating to America in 1977, Smirnoff started performing as a stand-up comic. He eventually attained popularity, and he achieved his biggest successes in the mid-to-late 1980s, when he also appeared in a number of movies and television shows, including his own 198687 situation comedy, “What a State!”. His witty character was of a innocent immigrant in the Soviet Union who had been perpetually confused and reveled about life in America.
In 1992, he purchased his own theatre in Branson, Missouri, where he still performs and hosts. In the late 1990s, prompted by his own divorce, he retooled his standup performance to give attention to the differences between women and men, as well as on solving problems within relationships.
Smirnoff can also be a professor at Missouri State University and Drury University where he teaches “The Work of Laughter.” He’s also a painter. He’s a featured writer for AARP Magazine and gives readers guidance in his column, “Happily Ever Laughter”. He guests in the Skinny Improev in Springfield, Missouri on occasion. He’s taught courses at Drury University alongside Missouri State University with this issue. He also gives seminars and self help workshops on the subject of enhancing relationships.
Double Platinum, Up Your Alley, Heartburn, The Money Pit, Brewster's Millions, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, Moscow on the Hudson
TV Shows
Night Court, What a Country!
Star Sign
Aquarius
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Trademark
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Performs comedic routines with a heavy Russian accent. His trademark line is: "What a country!"
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Quote
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"I've gone from Red to Redneck" (On Owning and Operating an 800 seat Theater in Branson, Missouri).
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What a country!
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In Russia, if a male athlete loses, he becomes a female athlete.
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Fact
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In May 2006 he received a master's degree in positive psychology from the Penn College of Liberal and Professional Studies (Penn LPS).
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Is a professor at Missouri State University and Drury University where he teaches "The Business of Laughter.".
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Has two children: a daughter, Natasha, born in 1990, and a son, Alexander, born in 1992.
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Performs his own comedic variety show in Branson, Missouri. [June 2005]
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After the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade centers, he began working on a mural to commemorate the event. Just in time for the first anniversary of the event, the mural was printed on a huge banner, with the quote "The human spirit is not measured by the size of the act, but by the size of the heart." It was hung from a nearby building where it was clearly visible from Ground Zero for over a year. Yakov financed the banner with $100,000 of his own money, but kept his donation anonymous, for fear that people would see it as a joke because of his reputation as a comedian.
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He was an art professor at Odessa Pedagogical University in Ukraine before starting his comedy career in the United States, and he remains a talented artist.
$20 Million
