Yakov Smirnoff — comedian with roots in the USSR
Yakov Smirnoff (born Yakov Naumovich Pokhis) is a Ukrainian-born American comedian born in Odessa who emigrated to the United States in 1977 and became famous for his 'In America...' jokes celebrating American freedom from the perspective of a Soviet immigrant. His catchphrase 'What a country!' became one of the most recognisable in American comedy.
Tracing the roots — Odessa
Born in Odessa in 1951 and emigrating during the Jewish emigration wave of the late 1970s, Smirnoff's comedy was the direct expression of the Soviet immigrant experience — the shock, the joy, and the irony of arriving in America from the USSR. His joke format (contrasting Soviet and American life) was simple, universal, and genuinely funny because it was genuinely true.
Odessa. At the time, this region was one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union.
A career defined by ambition
"In America, you can always find a party. In Russia, the party always finds you."