Yakov Smirnoff (Ukrainian: Яков Смирнов) (born January 24, 1951) is, according to his own description, a Ukrainian-born American comedian and painter. is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... Painting by Rembrandt self-portrait Detail from Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez, in which the painter portrayed himself at work For the computer graphics program, see Corel Painter. ...

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Biography

Smirnoff was born Yakov Naumovich Pokhislatovia in a Jewish family in Odessa, Ukraine--then part of the Soviet Union. He was an art teacher in Odessa and continues to paint. He came to the U.S. in 1977 and became an American citizen on July 4, 1986. The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... The ODESSA, which stands for the German phrase Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen, which phrase in turn translates as “Organization of Former Members of the SS,” is the name commonly given to an international Nazi network alleged to have been set up towards the end of World War II... This article is about the philosophical concept of Art. ... For university teachers, see professor. ... “Painter” redirects here. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ...

He was a roommate of comedian Andrew Dice Clay and has appeared in several motion pictures, including Buckaroo Banzai and The Money Pit. Among his numerous appearances on television, he was featured many times on the sitcom Night Court as Yakov Korolenko. At the peak of his success, he also had a starring role in a 1986-87 television sitcom titled "What a Country". In that show, he played a Russian cab driver studying for the U.S. citizenship test. Since 1992, he has been a fixture in Branson, Missouri. Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein on September 29, 1957, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American comedian and actor. ... The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension! (sometimes just Buckaroo Banzai) is a science fiction film that has reached cult film status. ... The Money Pit (American) is a 1986 film comedy remake of Mr. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Night Court was an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 1984 until May 1992. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... A typical busy night on The Strip (Hwy 76) The Titanic Museum is shaped to look like the real Titanic and is a popular tourist attraction in Branson The Duttons performing their famous song where they all play each others violins at their theater in Branson Missouri Herkimer and Cecil... Official language(s) English Capital Jefferson City Largest city Kansas City Largest metro area St Louis[1] Area  Ranked 21st  - Total 69,709 sq mi (180,693 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 300 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ...

He is almost completely unknown in the former Soviet Union. The decline in his US popularity started after the collapse of the USSR, as nearly all of his signature material consisted of mocking the Soviet regime. A shtick (Yiddish: שטיק) (or schtick) is an expression which refers to a comic theme or gimmick. ...

Although he has largely vanished from the comedy scene and lost his status as a superstar, references to him and his jokes still occur from time to time in popular culture, notably in many popular television series and he played himself in a King of the Hill episode entitled "The Bluegrass is Always Greener" which aired in 2002 ^[1]. Smirnoff was also parodied in a skit on the short-lived Fox sketch comedy show The Ben Stiller Show, where Smirnoff (played by Stiller) has a meltdown on stage after all his jokes prove irrelevant after glasnost and perestroika, moaning "I just want freedom to go away. I am cold, I am frightened...what will the new world order bring for Yakov?" Stiller later expressed mild regret, deeming it "kicking a man when he's down." Smirnoff was also parodied on Mystery Science Theater 3000 in a 1998 episode where the crew was watching a film based on a Russian folktale. He was brought in as a supposed expert on Russia, but when asked complicated and scholarly questions about the movie, he would only reply with his signature America-Soviet Russia comparison jokes. He was played by staff member Patrick Brantseg. This article is about the television program. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The Ben Stiller Show was a sketch comedy television show that aired on Fox from September 1992 to January 1993. ... //   (Russian: IPA: ) is politics of maximal openness, transparency of activity of all official (governmental) institutes, and freedom of information. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Mystery Science Theater 3000, often abbreviated MST3K, is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc. ... Patrick Brantseg was the Art Director and puppeteer for Gypsy on Mystery Science Theater 3000, taking over the character from Jim Mallon, the shows producer. ...

In May 2006, Smirnoff received a master's degree in positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania ^[2]. Yakov has taught classes at Drury University along with Missouri State University in this topic. Positive psychology is a relatively young branch of psychology that studies the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. ... This article is about the private Ivy League university in Philadelphia. ... Drury University is a private liberal arts college in Springfield, Missouri. ... Missouri State University located in Springfield, Missouri is the states second largest university in student enrollment, second only to the University of Missouri. ...

Comedy style

The largest part of the humour of Yakov Smirnoff falls into two wide categories:

"America: What a country!"

• Misunderstanding of American life and custom through the eyes of a new immigrant.
  • For instance, reading employment announcements of "Part-Time Woman Wanted": "What a country! Even transvestites can get work."
  • Upon being offered work as a barman on a "graveyard shift," he remarks “A bar in a cemetery! What a country! Last call? During Happy Hour the place must be dead." ^[3]
  • At the grocery store: "Powdered milk, powdered eggs, baby powder . . . what a country!"
  • "The first time I went to a restaurant, they asked me 'How many in your party?' and I said "Six hundred million."

• Bizarre comparisons between the U.S. and Russia.
  • "We have no gay people in Russia—there are homosexuals but they are not allowed to be gay about it. The punishment is seven years locked in prison with other men and there is a three-year waiting list for that." ^[4]

He once told Johnny Carson, "You have such nice things in the U.S.—like warning shots!" ^[5] For other uses, see Life (disambiguation). ... Transvestism is literally the practice of cross-dressing, wearing the clothing of the opposite sex, and transvestite literally refers to a person who cross-dresses. ... Graveyard Shift is a short story by Stephen King, that appears in his Night Shift collection. ... Castle Ashby Graveyard Northamptonshire A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. ... Photo of powdered milk Powdered milk is a powder made from dried milk solids. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Talcum Powder Baby powder is an astringent powder used for preventing rashes on the area covered by a diaper (see diaper rash). ... For other persons named John Carson, see John Carson (disambiguation). ...

One Smirnoff joke is "Dissident Land," a play on Disneyland and an obvious off-shoot of Soviet prisons. Supposedly it's so fun there that no one ever leaves. For other uses, see Disneyland (disambiguation). ...

Another Yakov Smirnoff joke: "There are no Taco Bells in Russia. They didn't like the slogan, 'Run for the border.' " Similarly, he describes Visine as being prohibited in Russia because "it gets the red out". Taco Bell Corp. ... A bottle of Visine® Original Visine® is a brand of eye drops produced by Johnson & Johnson. ...

Russian reversal

Russian reversal is a type of joke popularized by Smirnoff. The general form of the Soviet Russia joke is that the subject and objects of a statement are reversed, and “In Soviet Russia”, or something equivalent, is added. For example:

In the US, you catch a cold.

In Soviet Russia, cold catches you!

In the US, you can always find a party.

In Soviet Russia, the Party finds you!

All of Smirnoff's original “In Soviet Russia” jokes made use of formulaic wordplay that carried Orwellian undertones. For example, one well known joke of this type runs “In the US, you watch television. In Soviet Russia, television watches you!” The joke alludes to video screens that both reproduce images and monitor the citizenry, as in Nineteen Eighty-Four. Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Big Brothers face looms on giant telescreens in Victory Square Telescreens are featured in George Orwells novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. ... This article is about the Orwell novel. ...

At the peak of Smirnoff's celebrity in the mid-1980s, he did not say "Soviet Russia"—he said simply "Russia", as the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic had been around since 1917, was still extant, and showed no signs of imminent collapse. Smirnoff added the Soviet qualifier after the fall of the USSR, long after his fame had faded, to specify that he was referring to the communist regime and not the present state.^{[citation needed]} The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... State motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Workers of the world, unite!) Official language None ( Russian in practice) Capital Moscow (last) Chairman of the... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... This is a history of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. ... Soviet redirects here. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ...

The joke form has become a trademark of Smirnoff's, and is widely referenced in television parodies and references as well as many on-line communities, including Slashdot, reddit, Digg, Totse, and Uncyclopedia ^[6]. Slashdot, often abbreviated as /.[1], is a science, science fiction, and technology-related news website owned by SourceForge, Inc. ... Reddit is a social news website where users can post links to content on the web. ... Digg is a community-based popularity website with an emphasis on technology and science articles, recently expanding to a broader range of categories such as politics and entertainment. ... TOTSE (IPA: , commonly mispronounced as IPA: and IPA: ) is a San Francisco Bay Area website and former BBS. The name is an acronym for Temple of the Screaming Electron. // TOTSE was started by Jeff Hunter (a founding member of NIRVANAnet)[specify] in 1989 as a dial-up BBS originally named... Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia, is a satirical parody of Wikipedia. ...

9/11 mural

Smirnoff is also a painter and has frequently featured the Statue of Liberty in his art since receiving his U.S. citizenship at Ellis Island. For other monuments to freedom, see Monument of Liberty. ... Ellis Island, at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor, was at one time the main entry facility for immigrants entering the United States from January 1, 1892 until November 12, 1954. ...

On the night of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks he started a painting inspired by his feelings about the event, based on an image of the Statue of Liberty. Just prior to the first anniversary of the attacks, he paid $100,000 for his painting to be transformed into a large mural. Its dimensions were 200 feet by 135 feet (approximately 36.5 m by 41 m). A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... “Painter” redirects here. ... Salle des illustres, ceiling painting, by Jean André Rixens. ...

The mural, titled "America's Heart" ^[7], is a pointillist-style piece, with one brush-stroke for each victim of the attacks. Sixty volunteers from the Sheet Metal Workers Union erected the mural on a damaged skyscraper overlooking the ruins of the World Trade Center. The mural remained there until November 2003, when it was removed because of storm damage. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Sheet Metal Workers International Association is a trade union of skilled metal workers who perform architectural sheet metal work, fabricate and install heating and air conditioning work, shipbuilding, appliance construction, heater and boiler construction, precision and specialty parts manufacture, and a variety of other jobs involving sheet metal. ... For other uses, see World Trade Center (disambiguation). ...

References

See also

• Russian jokes

Russian jokes (Russian: , transcribed anekdoty), the most popular form of Russian humour, are short fictional stories or dialogues with a punch line. ...

External links

• Official website
• Yakov Smirnoff at the Internet Movie Database