#2557 - Yakov Smirnoff

Yakov Smirnoff, a Soviet-born comedian who became a symbol of the American Dream in the 1980s, details his unique career trajectory from performing on state-controlled cruise ships to advising President Ronald Reagan on Cold War rhetoric. The conversation explores the dramatic collapse of his mainstream career following the fall of the Soviet Union, which rendered his "Preparation H" brand of geopolitical humor suddenly irrelevant. Smirnoff describes his industrious pivot to Branson, Missouri, where he rebuilt his brand for family audiences, and his subsequent pursuit of a doctorate in psychology to study the relationship between laughter and relationship longevity. Key insights include the "magnet theory" of attraction and repulsion in marriage and the historical significance of the 1980s Los Angeles comedy scene at The Comedy Store. Now 75 with a one-year-old son, Smirnoff is returning to stand-up clubs to integrate his psychological research with contemporary observational comedy.