Yakov Smirnoff

Comedian, Film actor

1951 –

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Who is Yakov Smirnoff?

Yakov Smirnoff is a comedian who immigrated to America from the USSR. He was popular in the 1980s for comedy performances in which he used irony and word play to contrast life under the Communist regime in his native Soviet Union with life in the United States, delivered in heavily accented English. He owns a theatre in Branson, Missouri, where he performs regularly. Smirnoff is also a professor at Missouri State University and Drury University where he teaches "The Business of Laughter." He also painted a 9/11 mural.

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Born
Jan 24, 1951
Odessa
Also known as
  • Yakov Naumovich Pokhis
  • Yakov Smirnov
Spouses
Ethnicity
  • Jewish people
Nationality
  • United States of America
  • Ukraine
Profession
Education
  • University of Pennsylvania
Lived in
  • Odessa

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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