"What a country!" has turned into "What a career!" for Yakov Smirnoff who emigrated to the US from Ukraine in the 1970s and built a career out of playful but pointed jabs at Russia and great "fish out of water" bits about himself. Along the way, Yakov has also managed to become a US citizen, earn a PhD in psychology, become an in-demand keynote speaker, score a number of juicy film and tv roles, and establish a long-running comedy theater in Branson, Missouri. We're not sure where he finds time to sleep! As always, find extra cuts below and thanks for sharing our shows!
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In the 1980s headlining at Dangerfield's was a mark a comic had arrived (much like getting invited to Johnny Carson's Tonight Show couch). Here's a bit of Yakov (introduced by Rodney himself) from 1984. https://youtu.be/QboXCnKpgtU
In the 1980s, Chrysler/Plymouth was fighting for its financial life and its line up of inexpensive cars helped pull them back from the brink (along with some help from the government). Were the cars good? Not really. Were they cheap? Oh, yeah! And did they have Yakov as a spokesperson? Of course! https://youtu.be/hkcImMNx3SU
Yakov was a frequent and popular guest on American tv, including this appearance on one of Dick Clark's many variety shows, this one from 1988. https://youtu.be/22VI3eN5r9k