Quotes by Yakov Smirnoff

About Yakov Smirnoff:


Yakov Naumovich Pokhis is a Soviet-born American comedian, actor and writer. After emigrating to the United States in 1977, Smirnoff began performing as a stand-up comic. He eventually gained fame, and he reached his biggest successes in the mid-to-late 1980s, when he also appeared in several films and television shows, including his own 1986-87 sitcom, 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!'"

Author Bio


  • NameYakov Smirnoff
  • DescriptionAmerican comedian
  • BornJanuary 24, 1951
  • CountrySoviet Union; United States Of America
  • ProfessionComedian; Actor