Yakov Smirnoff was born on January 24, 1951 in Odessa, Ukrainian SSR, USSR as Yakov Naumovich Pokhis. He is an actor and writer, known for The Money Pit (1986), Brewster's Millions (1985) and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984). He was previously married to Linda Dreeszen.