Yakov Naumovich Pokhis (Russian: Яков Раумович ÐŸÐ¾Ñ…Ð¸Ñ ;
born 24 January 1951), better known as Yakov Smirnoff (Russian:
Яков Смирнов; /ˈsmɪərnÉ'f/), is a Ukrainian-American
comedian, actor and writer of Jewish origin. He began his career as a
stand-up comedian in Ukraine, then immigrated to the United States in
1977 in order to pursue an American show business career, not yet
knowing any English. He reached his biggest success in the mid-to-late
1980s, appearing in several films and the television sitcom vehicle
What a Country!. His comic persona was of a naive immigrant from the
Soviet Union who was perpetually confused and delighted by life in the
United States. His humor combined a mockery of life under communism
and of consumerism in the United States, as well as word play caused
by misunderstanding of American phrases and culture, all punctuated by
the catchphrase, "And I thought, 'What a country!'"The collapse of
communism starting in 1989, and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991,
brought an end to Smirnoff's widespread popularity, although he
continued to perform. In 1993, he began performing year round at his
own theater in Branson, Missouri, where he remained until 2015. He
occasionally still performs limited dates at his theater in Branson
while touring worldwide.Smirnoff earned a master's degree in
psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006 and a doctorate
in psychology and global leadership from Pepperdine University in
2019. He has also taught a course titled "The Business of Laughter" at
Missouri State University and at Drury University.
born 24 January 1951), better known as Yakov Smirnoff (Russian:
Яков Смирнов; /ˈsmɪərnÉ'f/), is a Ukrainian-American
comedian, actor and writer of Jewish origin. He began his career as a
stand-up comedian in Ukraine, then immigrated to the United States in
1977 in order to pursue an American show business career, not yet
knowing any English. He reached his biggest success in the mid-to-late
1980s, appearing in several films and the television sitcom vehicle
What a Country!. His comic persona was of a naive immigrant from the
Soviet Union who was perpetually confused and delighted by life in the
United States. His humor combined a mockery of life under communism
and of consumerism in the United States, as well as word play caused
by misunderstanding of American phrases and culture, all punctuated by
the catchphrase, "And I thought, 'What a country!'"The collapse of
communism starting in 1989, and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991,
brought an end to Smirnoff's widespread popularity, although he
continued to perform. In 1993, he began performing year round at his
own theater in Branson, Missouri, where he remained until 2015. He
occasionally still performs limited dates at his theater in Branson
while touring worldwide.Smirnoff earned a master's degree in
psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006 and a doctorate
in psychology and global leadership from Pepperdine University in
2019. He has also taught a course titled "The Business of Laughter" at
Missouri State University and at Drury University.
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