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Smirnoff: From Russia,
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80

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 1990

hen comedian
Yakov Smirnoff
returned to his
homeland for the first time
in more than a decade, the
Soviet emigre crossed a
bridge built of perestroika.
What he found on the
other side were memories
both bitter and beautiful.
"On the one hand, a lot has
changed — people speak up
more, which I didn't expect,"
remembers Mr. Smirnoff of
his recent sentimental so-
journ. "On the other hand,
some of the problems are
worse, like the food shor-
tages."
But even in the pain of
paucity there is pleasure.
"At least now the people can
talk about their problems."
Mr. Smirnoff is eager to talk
about his trip to the past on
behalf of a future project.
His return home several
months ago will serve as the
basis of a Showtime cable
network TV special to air
this fall.
Not that the comic's fans
have to wait for him to show
his stuff on Showtime.
"I'll show clips from my
trip, tell jokes," says Mr.
Smirnoff.
Certainly, he was able to
glean jokes from glasnost.
"When Showtime asked me
to do special and go back to
Russia, I said, 'What did I
ever do to you?' "
After all, he says, "I've
done jokes in this country
about Soviet Union that are
good for 20 years each."
Mr. Smirnoff is always good
for more than a laugh or two.
"Going back to Russia was
not on my list of priorities.
But people said things have
changed all over, that, look,
the Berlin Wall is down. So I
say, what if they're just
remodeling? "
After all, could Mr. Smir-
noff expect the same kind of
greeting on his return home
as he first received when
landing in America? "As
soon as I come to this coun-
try," he says of the United
States, "I see big billboard —
`Drink Smirnov.' What a
welcome!"
Audiences worldwide
welcome this good-humor
man, whose grin-and- tonic
cocktail of comedy goes down
nice and easy.
"I did a concert in Odessa,
my hometown," Mr. Smirnoff

Yakov Smirnoff: Jokes good for 20 years each.

says. "I was the surprise
guest."
No one was more surprised
at what he heard than Mr.
Smirnoff. "I walked on stage
and heard other comedians
telling anti-Gorbachev jokes,"
he says, marveling at the
country's new openness.
Smirnoff was not to be de-
nied. "I got up and told jokes
about Gorba- chev," he says.
The punch lines came
later. "Next morning, I woke
up in a sweat at 4 a.m. 'What
the hell did I do?' I begin
thinking of my telling such
jokes. I'm thinking Siberia is
still as cold as it always
was."
But Smirnoff had no cause
for concern. Perestroika
allows for potshots at politi-
cians, the comedian
discovered.
"The audiences were with
me," says Mr. Smirnoff,
Not that there weren't dif-
ferences in the way they
reacted to his ripostes.
"They were not as excited as
American audiences; they
have a little hesitance."
But then, adds Smirnoff,
he's not sure if the crowds
that gathered to hear him
knew he was legit. "Some
people didn't know if I was a
spoof or really from
America," he says.
But ultimately, he is sure,
they understood he was the
real thing. Why? "Because,"
he says, with mother-tongue

in cheek, "they felt I had a
strong American accent."
Not everything was a
laughing matter on the trip
back home. "Anti-Semitism
has always been issue there,
but now it's in the open,"
says Smirnoff. "Jewish peo-
ple talk about leaving more
openly."
Yet, says Smirnoff, he feels
that "those who wanted to
get out got out." Those Jews
who want to remain behind
have a reason. "It's like peo-
ple living in Cleveland —
they get used to a situation."
A TV situation comedy
star ("What a Country!"),
night club entertainer, pop-
ular television talk show
guest, movie actor (Moscow
on the Hudson) and commer-
cial spokesman, Smirnoff
has commercial appeal
across the boards — but not
necessarily across family
lines.
While visiting relatives in
Odessa, Smirnoff got the
feeling that his assembled
aunts, uncles and cousins
knew about his newfound
fame, "but they have no way
of relating to it when I tell
them I bought a house, a car
— a meal."
Comedy has been his meal
ticket since his arrival in
America. But a trip back to
his old apartment provided
food for thought on how far
he has actually come.
Mr. Smirnoff had trouble