Remember Yakov Smirnoff? That's right: He was the first prominent stand-up comedian in this country to have immigrated from the Soviet Union. He was on darn near every TV show of the eighties that would book a stand-up and even a few that wouldn't, contrasting life back home with life in these United States. Audiences liked him and also the pro-American message of his act. I used to see him up at the Comedy Store back then, popping in for an occasional set and always delighting the audience.
So where has he been all these years? Mostly in Branson. He has his own theater there and spends much of the year playing to packed houses…and while he's in Missouri, he's been attending college in that state, studying and teaching psychology.
But he's not in Branson now. He's in Los Angeles with a limited engagement of his one-man show which I'm going to try to see before it goes. It's at the Acme Theater, a comfy place to see a show over on La Brea and I have three more chances: September 21, September 27 and September 28. If you're local, you have the same three chances to see this clever and gentle man. Get tickets here. (And while you're there, check out the one-woman show starring Kelly Carlin in which she talks about life with her father George…)