Personal Info
Yakov Naumovich Pokhis
Yakov Smirnoff
Acting
Biography
Yakov Naumovich Pokhis (Russian: Яков Наумович Похис; born 24 January 1951), better known as Yakov Smirnoff (Russian: Яков Смирнов; /ˈsmɪərnɒf/), 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…
Known For
Filmography
Movies
Awful Nice
as Himself
Yakov: Live From Branson!
as Himself
Yakov Smirnoff: As Long As We Both Shall Laugh
as himself
Yakov Smirnoff: Jokes from the Folks
as Self
Yakov Smirnoff: What A Country!
as Self
Yakov Smirnoff: I Bet You Never Looked At It That Way!
as Himself
Yakov Smirnoff: Just Off the Boat
Yakov Smirnoff From Moscow...Idaho
as Self
George Burns: His Wit and Wisdom
as Self - Burns Russian Fan (uncredited)
The Money Pit
as Shatov
TV Shows
Toon In with Me
as Self · 1 ep.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
as Self · 1 ep.
@midnight with Chris Hardwick
as Self · 1 ep.
Gotham Comedy Live
as Self - Host · 1 ep.
King of the Hill
as Yakov Smirnoff (voice) · 1 ep.
Major Dad
1 ep.
What a Country!
as Nikolai Rostapovich · 24 ep.
Night Court
as Yakov Korolenko · 5 ep.
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
1 ep.
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self · 1 ep.
