258: #258 From Russia with Love, Psychology & America ft. Yakov Smirnoff
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Visit Progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations. Hello, folks, and hey, bear. Good to see everybody. I'm Brian Bates. I guess you're running things today, huh? Well, he asked me while you guys were talking. We usually have a conversation about that before we get started. We did. I think I'll just take the reins today. No, I'm happy. I'm happy to be here. As always...

And I shouldn't say always. I'm the only one that's truly always. But as often, Dusty Slade. Okay. Most of the time, Aaron Weber. And coming in a little bit later, very special guest. Yeah, I'm excited. Yakov Smirnoff. All right. Big deal. In a little bit. So excited to see him. So...

We're back in the studio, back in our location after a little road trip last week. Back in the real world. This sign is new to me. It is new. That's a good sign. We got our little bobble heads up there on the top. Funko Pops. Yeah. That's the new Nate Land branding right there. The new logo. Yeah. I like it. Looks good.

Looks good. Speaking of Nate Land, our buddy Mike Vecchione special comes out this Friday. All right. Okay. Low income white. Even the title's funny. Yeah. It is. It's a good title. I was here for the taping. He's so funny. It was great.

Everybody's going to love it. This is his second special with Nate Land. The first one did really well. Very exciting. People loved it. Mike Vecchione's very funny. Yep, yep. And Dusty, I think you might have some news. Well, I do. As of now, it's not been announced. It's supposed to be announced today, meaning Monday. And so far, it hasn't been. But...

It is going to be announced soon. My new special coming out to Netflix July 29th called Wet Heat. All right. I love it. Yeah, Wet Heat. You've been soft launching the title for a while now. Yes, I have. I see all over Twitter. You're like, yeah, it's a real wet heat outside. Yeah, yeah. Let's get that phrase going. Really putting it out into the ether, as they say. Yeah. Yeah, Wet Heat coming. Very exciting. July 29th. So...

you know, the longest, you know, things in the world don't fall apart between now and then it's going to be great. I think we'll be good. I mean, Netflix is first two hour special. Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, we should have that. We should have that. But yeah, as the last, like the last one, it is above an hour. Yeah. Are they going to put it all out at once or are they going to do it in

series mini series each week no yeah that's that would be a good one yeah but a little cliffhanger i could do that yeah but uh yeah wet heat coming july 29th netflix mark your calendars just a month from now just a month from now so exciting they do it quick go ahead add it to the queue have you seen the have you watched the whole the whole thing you feel good yeah i'm i you know i it

It's my special that I funded myself, and I have been involved in the editing process all along the way. So I've been watching it, been very involved, very excited about it. But you're not physically going in there editing.

No, no, no. I'm not doing the editing. Thank God. But actually, there's a guy who lives here that works with the editor named David Shamban. Yeah, sure. He is doing the editing. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, and the same director as last time, Jordan. Jordan. Jordan. Jordan Peele. Jordan. Jordan Peele? No. It's a horror movie? I don't know why I can't think of his last name right now. That's embarrassing. Jordan Peele.

Jordan Levy. Yes, Jordan Levy. That would have been a guess of mine. Yeah. It's embarrassing that I couldn't come up with that. That's what I do. I forget names. I feel like we're on his podcast because he'll always start every week with, had a great weekend, worked with a very funny comic. Ah, jeez. What is his name? I don't know. I wanted to give a shout out to, can't remember his name, but shout out. That's exciting. Yeah, very exciting. And so I'm pumped about it. It's going to be awesome.

I can't wait for people to see it. I think it's better than working, man. I think it's better than the last one. That's impossible. Well, thank you, Brian. For me, it is. There's no way, but I think it's better. Is this your first special where there's not an apostrophized word in the title?

I guess so. Cause I remember you had son of, uh, making that fudge and then you wanted it to be a series. I wanted it to be, yeah, I had a whole idea cause making that fudge and it had a picture of me holding a can thing. And then I wanted to do drinking that gas because I had a joke about drinking gas and I wanted to, I had a picture made with me in the gas can and I want to keep that going, but I chose son of a ditch with a D. So, yeah. So, uh,

But then working man, he came back. Working man, yeah. Yeah, so. Wet heat. That's so awesome. Yeah, wet heat. Wet heat, the title was debated amongst my team for a while, but ultimately. Throw out some other titles. Well, we were going to go hot show because I like to call things a hot show. It was a hot show. So that was the only one other really considered one.

Okay. But wet heat, I think it's got to pop to it. Wet, hot American Joe. Yeah. Cause it feels people are like, Oh, it feels dirty, but it's not. It's about humidity. Yeah. I didn't think it was dirty at all. That's the only thing I thought it was. Yeah.

It's hot out here, guys. It's hot. Summer's in full swing. Summer's in full swing, and man, it's hot out there. And it's going to be hot July 29th when the special comes out. Good branding for it. Get out of the wet heat. Turn on the wet heat. Wow. Yeah. Use that. Well, that's awesome. Congratulations, Dusty. Thank you. Thank you, Brian. We didn't really talk about... Last week's show, we didn't talk about what we'd done, and I...

I want to share. I went and did a corporate in my hometown of Lebanon, Tennessee for many of the same people that was at my all-time classic bomb at the Wilson County Livestock Association. My favorite story of all time. Yeah. Yeah. My mom was there. Her friends were there.

The guy who hired me for the Wilson County Livestock Association. Your mom's friends were like, oh, here we go. This again? Here we go. And they keep hiring this guy? Helen, why do you keep dragging us to this? So there was a lot of pressure on me. And thankfully, it went well. Great. I feel like I redeemed myself a little bit. Yeah, right. So, yeah.

I was more nervous about that than... I like that you say, I redeemed myself a little bit. Well, I'm not saying it was a standing ovation. A corporate is a corporate, so it's never going to be the greatest show ever. And it's going to be tough to take the same people...

And put them in a different room and go, now this guy's funny. Right? Because they watch. It's like when people see you do bad, they always think you're bad. Tough to forget that. Yeah. But there may be some of them were old enough they don't even remember the first time around. Yeah.

Well, some of them are dead. Okay, jeez. My bad. He killed. Who was the corporate for? It was for the... Cracker Barrel? Kilm Alverson Foundation. It's... Kilm Alverson had cancer. She passed away, but her family created this foundation to help people with cancer. Okay. Great organization. Yeah, that's awesome. I was glad to be part of it. It was at the Capitol Theater in Lebanon.

That's a big theater there. Yeah. Yeah. I used to go see movies there as a kid. Okay. That'd be a fun idea. I don't know if it's a TV show or what, but you go, you track down your worst bombs, you reassemble the audience years later and you get a shot at redemption. I can do a lot of episodes. It'd be a long season. Yeah. I mean, that's hard. That's hard to do. It's hard to go. Like, I felt like,

People in my hometown, I felt like I had, I don't know, I had some good shows, but I felt like a lot of the venues around my hometown, same kind of, they were all, it was all not good. And I was always just doing okay. And I just wanted. Well, the story you tell about your dad coming to see you and I think Columbus, Georgia. It really hits with me because I feel it. That was a hard one. Was that his first time to see you?

No, but what it was, was I was doing some jokes that were a little dirtier for me, at least at the time. And the first time he came, the show was sold out. It was still, it was me and Chris Killian doing these shows. I was opening for Chris Killian. And, you know, the first one were packed. My dad couldn't even get into the room. He showed up, he couldn't get in.

So they let him just kind of walk off, come into the side and just peep in. And he came in about the time I was doing these dirty jokes, which involve him sort of. Yeah, yeah. But it crushed and he loved the jokes. He was like, oh yeah, because it crushed. And then the next year, by the time he comes back the next year, I've perfected these jokes. Now these jokes are really good. And he brought, my dad came with his wife and,

and then his cousin and his cousin's wife, and then people from their church,

And then like so much so that this lady, Lil Bit, that used to host, probably still does if it's still going. Oh yeah, she hosted for me. She would always do this thing where she goes, I want to do a toast. She's real country. I want to do a toast. Do you want to hear a clean toast or a dirty toast? And every time people yell dirty. Of course. But this night, I think there was enough of my family in there that they go clean. And she didn't know what to do.

I think she had never heard people yell clean. Yeah, yeah. And so then I come out and I'm like the dirtiest I've ever been, which is still not even that dirty. Yeah. But it was the dirtiest I've ever been. And I was doing these jokes and man, they were bombing so hard. Same jokes, but they're actually better now. I perfected them. Right, right. But they bombed. And then my dad hated them. My dad yelled at me on the phone. And- Oh.

I think my dad was ready for me to quit comedy. Yeah. Yeah. And there's still time. Yeah. And I did not bring him back to see me until I did the Opry. That was probably 2015. And then I did the Opry in 2018. So it was three years before I would bring him back to the show. Well, you redeemed yourself. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

So I did that last weekend. This past Sunday, I hosted Nate Land Presents The Showcase Season 3. Nice. It was great. Great show. Great comics. Great audience. Aaron came down, closed it out. I think they were just tired. Oh, come on. But overall, the show was good. It was just a long show, Aaron. That's all. Now, Aaron killed at the end, so it was just a great night all around. It's hot. You know, it's hot. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's a real wet heat outside. Yeah, yeah. So that's what I did. What about you, Aaron? I was in New York City this past weekend. Last minute gig. I got hired to film some content at Fanatics Fest in New York City, which is the world's largest sports and trading card convention. Kind of up my alley. Oh, yeah. If you watched any sports media,

from this past weekend, chances are you saw something about fanatics fest. It was the headline generator. I saw Tom Brady ripping up at Eli Manning Jersey. Yeah. We saw, I mean, anybody you can name. I was within 10 feet of him, Tom. I got, I got Tom Brady, 10 feet to my left, Mark Wahlberg, 10 feet to my right. James Harden walked right by me. I saw wrestlers and, uh, just like wrestlers. Um, yeah.

I wish I could remember the name. They're like the defending American champion. Oh, new stuff. Yeah. Some newer stuff. Now some of the older guys were there, but they're a little more, they're not walking through the crowd. Yeah. Yeah. Crowd. Like the, the newer guys are Wemby. Well,

I saw Victor women, Yama up close. That guy, he cannot hide from a mob because he's a foot and a half taller than everybody else. He's like seven foot five. Wow. Oh, Wimby. I'm thinking about Giannis. Yeah. Wimby is like seven. Yeah. And he, I saw him hug LeBron. He made LeBron look like a little kid. Wow. So, uh, it was pretty great. I talked to Gary V. I got to talk to that guy. I don't know if you've seen him on Instagram. He's pretty intense. Uh,

But it was just a fun time. I had maybe the worst travel day of my life getting out there. I traveled in the night before. I had a 5 a.m. flight. I woke up at 530 in my bed. Oh, no. And I was like, oh, no. I've never overstepped a flight in my life. So I'm traveling with a buddy, and I wake up, and I have like 10 missed calls from him. He's just at the airport.

So I call him. I go, look, just get on the plane. I'll see you in New York. I had Yankees tickets that I bought on SeatGeek. He went to the game alone. Oh, no. Just to New York. I just go have fun in New York for a day, dude. I can't get there till later. So I booked a Southwest flight.

at like 11 it's supposed to be supposed to get there at 2 30 in the afternoon yeah i'm on the plane it's like three o'clock i go what's happening i pull up the flight map you know where you can see the plane and the plane is just doing little circles so i'm like something's going on pilot comes on and goes well we're gonna land in baltimore everyone's like oh god so we land in baltimore

At like three 15, three 30. And they go LaGuardia is closed. There's bad weather up there. We're probably not going to get going until about eight 30 tonight. So they just walk around. So I walk all the way. I go, I might as well just walk around. I walked to the other end of the Baltimore airport and there's an announcement over loudspeaker that,

Scratch that. We're taking off from Baltimore. Get here now. So I sprint through the airport. I've never run through the airport before. I sprint all the way across the airport. I get there. I get to the gate. They go false alarm. We're not going anywhere. I'm just furious. I'm drenched in sweat. I'm mad for you. It's so embarrassing. So then nobody will give me a straight answer on when the plane's taking off. We don't have a gate. So I'm just sitting around waiting to find out.

um we finally get on the plane and then we sit on the runway i guess i don't know where we're sitting but we're waiting for a spot to take off we sit there for three hours before we're allowed to take off so i got into new york around the hour around i was supposed to leave at 5 a.m i didn't get into new york till about midnight oh that night so it was just a long day at the airport now

I posted this video, but we're on the plane for three hours just sitting there. Yeah. You know, nothing to do. The pilot keeps coming on and going, you know, we're just waiting. They go, we're waiting on a little more information. And then the Southwest flight attendants, they played a game I'd never seen before. I'm sitting. Well, you'll just see. We got a relay race going. Hold on.

If you're listening, they are passing toilet paper roll one behind the other. We did a toilet paper relay race. Each side of the plane had a roll of toilet paper, and we had to pass it over our heads from the front of the plane to the back and the back of the plane back to the front. I have never seen this kind of stuff happen. Yeah, I'm furious on this plane.

Were they mad at you for filming it while you were trying to win? No, I think everybody reckoned. Well, I mean, I probably had the best performance in this. Oh, you helped you win. I got a little competitive. Our side did win, if it means anything to you. Well, I can tell from the video you did. You're in a huge league there. Look, everybody's filming. Everybody knows this is absurd. And I'll admit, there's been plenty of times in my life where I would be

so mad that this is happening so annoyed but i heard a flight attendant say her day started at 2 a.m so i had a moment where i was like you know what dude they're not enjoying this either this probably stinks worse for them it's out of their control it's as it's not a southwest issue it's a la guardia issue so we're just sitting around waiting so and also the people around me were being so annoying complaining out loud that i chose to enjoy it i chose to just go let's just

We'll just have fun and just recognize the absurdity of it. The guy, when they started doing this relay race, the guy behind me goes, you can't force us to do this. You're like, Dusty? Yeah. And this guy, this dude behind me,

so annoying, dude. He kept going, at least bring us some shots. Oh, Jesus. And that got a laugh the first time, and then he kept saying it, and I wanted to be like, dude, shut up. Oh, yeah. Like, we're not getting shots, you know? Yeah, it's like...

there's something about other people complaining that make you go you know what this is okay dude if everybody else on the plane were like this is awesome i would have been that guy i would have been like oh you just take it oh everything's okay huh it's just you got nothing to do huh yeah uh but the people around me stunk that that whole flight but um it was just a crazy long day dude and and and then uh

Anyway, then the whole weekend in New York was fun. I got to do some spots around New York City. Chappelle did. I was at the stand. Chappelle did a pop-up show there. Oh, wow. Dave Chappelle. It's a secret smoking headliner. Okay. And it was like clearly him in the silhouette on the website. So I saw him walk through the hallway. It's kind of cool. Yeah. I saw him in a hallway at the comedy store one time, but yeah, it didn't seem approachable.

Yeah, I get that. Yeah. But fun weekend in New York and a shout out to Southwest. Yeah. Airlines for getting us through, getting us through a long day. What about you, Dusty?

I was off. I got really the month of June off for the most part, just trying to not travel. But I went to McMinnville, went out to the cabin, and cut grass on a zero turn. Took my kids walking in the creek. Went to the Chattanooga Aquarium. That's a good aquarium. Yeah, it's only an hour from McMinnville, so we went down there to that. That was fun. Just a relaxing week. I mean, I cut a lot of grass recently.

But riding a zero turn is very relaxing. It is. I could just do it all day. Yeah. I listen to music while you do it. No, I just soak up the sounds of. Yeah. I love it. I could do it all day. I love riding a lawnmower. That's great. I'm jealous. All right. You were getting these comments. Let's do it. I say that. But if my job was to cut grass, I would hate it. That's true. I was actually thinking that. There's a baseball stadium. I think I could. That's because you're doing it when you want to. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

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Feels like progress. All right. Comments come from Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Apple Podcast Reviews, and Nateland at natbargatze.com. Melissa Lewis says,

This is the best episode ever. Dusty's story is unbelievable. That's insane. I would have never taken Christian Bale as a Dusty fan. Love it. I'm glad Brian was there, too. Definitely makes the story even better. I'm going to say, Melissa, I agree with you that I couldn't see him as a Dusty fan, but also, why couldn't you see him as a Dusty fan? You know what I mean? I can agree with you and also question why you don't think he'd be a fan of just great comedy. I'll...

My answer for Melissa. Okay. I mean, where do I start? He's British, first of all. Yeah, I see he was Australian, but he's British, and he just doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would follow any stand-up comedy, much less a Southern. Yeah, he just seems so serious in everything he does. He's a very serious actor. Intense. It's tough. I do have a hard time picturing Christian Bale just at home, kicking back, watching Netflix. In his mansion, watching Working Man.

Yeah. Making that fudge. Yeah. Now he's been watching wet. But I was already a fan of his and now a much bigger fan. So, yeah. What do you think would have been a better story if he, if you went up and talked to him and then he spotted Brian and was a huge fan of Brian? Yeah. I mean, not for me, but it would be, I would be happy for Brian. Yeah. It would be a better story even for everyone. Did you ever consider once saying, Hey,

Can you take a picture with my buddy Brian? Honestly, I'm surprised I even got any words out. I was really like, this is amazing. He forgot you were there, though. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It changed the whole course of my day. Oh, I know. I was with you. Christian Bell, he looked at me when I said, can we get a picture? Like, dude, we're two celebrities here talking. Just back off, back off. It was pretty awesome, though.

Doug Brouillette. I think that's how you say it. Brouillet, maybe? I'm thinking Brouillet. Brouillet. That's a fancy last name for a Doug. Yeah, that's crazy. He's probably Douglas. Douglas Brouillet, yeah. I got to go by Doug. He probably went by Dougie as a kid just to balance it out.

If Christian Bell recognizes and speaks to you in an airport, you are certified public figure. All right. I'll give it to you. Well, that is true. I said public figure long ago, and it got such a big reaction from the room. But I knew it was true then. Okay. Christian Bell proved it. Yeah. Brett Pardon. I think you got that right? Yeah. Imagine my shock and surprise to be filling in at my sister's business and see two of my favorite podcasters walking across the street.

I completely fangirled and ran outside to make sure it was them. Thank you both for chatting and taking the time for a selfie. I smiled the rest of the day. I'll say this. You know what? We didn't talk about this last week. No, I meant to. But we were walking across the street. Right after Christian Bale. Britt yelled, breakfast! Yeah. Wow. Yeah, and she come running over. Y'all were walking into the Skin Society? Yeah. I was getting a facial. Yeah.

I think that's where she works. How about that? Y'all are her Christian Bale. Yeah. Well, I thought, because she did your breakfast, and I thought, oh, if she knows me...

Then we're tied 1-1 for the day. Yeah, that's right. Even though this is Christian Bale, mine's better looking. Well, Christian Bale's British. Her name's Britt. There you go. You know what I mean? But then I should have known if she's going to yell breakfast, she knows me from the podcast. So of course she's going to know Dusty. She was excited. So Dusty beat me 2-1, but it was pretty cool. She still yelled your name from across the street, though. She did. Well, she yelled breakfast. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

So she was very nice. It was nice to meet her. Yeah. Adrian Mathena. Mathena? I think that's right. Mathenia? Mathenia? Yeah. Anybody else feel secondhand nerves for the guys hanging out with these celebrities? Like watching your friend sit down with Mandy Moore and thinking, don't say anything weird. Well, I'll say this. People commented like, oh, they seem nervous talking to Mandy Moore. Yeah.

I don't think that was the case. What they don't know is we shot these out of order. Many more was the very first thing we did all day. Yeah, we sat down, hadn't seen Nate in six months or however long, and then that was the first thing we shot.

Mandy Moore was just there. So that's how we started. It's like the beginning of the episode awkwardness plus Mandy Moore sitting between us. I'll be honest. I know the name Mandy Moore, but I don't. I never watched Entourage. Yeah. And I just don't know Mandy Moore stuff. So I know the name. And obviously she was very nice. Yeah. But I didn't feel any kind of like.

you know celebrity sure uh shock with her she's just like a pop icon of my of my generation at least yeah like uh hillary duff or somebody like that yeah that's how i thought of her yeah throw christina aguilera in there and you know that's more my era yeah it was just a few more if you came a few more years later yeah that would have been mandy moore yeah yeah madonna

That's more your speaking. Share. She said share. Although you like young share. Judy Garland. Yeah. I was trying to think of someone alive. Mandy Moore was very nice, though. They were all very nice. She was. Yeah, they were super nice. We had breakfast. I don't know if you... Me and Breakfast had breakfast with... Martin. Martin. Oh, really? The next morning? The next morning we were at the Atlanta airport. And I...

In a TGI Friday, I'm telling, I'm like, I'm like to Brian. I'm like, I never sit, come in one of these restaurants in the airport. I never go to a chain restaurant in the airport and sit down. And then we're there. Here comes Martin. Yeah. He joined us. We yelled at him from across the restaurant and forced him to sit with us. Yeah. I don't think he wanted to, but he had no choice. Martin. And then we left him. Yeah. Oh, he's a nice guy. He was very nice. I'll say this about the movie too.

We get to do this podcast together, but we never get to travel together. We're always different parts of the country doing shows. So I got to go down, shoot the scene with Aaron, hang out with him a couple of days, fly down with you to do the podcast. So it was just fun hanging out with you guys on the road. Yeah. Yeah, it was awesome. It was awesome. Yeah. Dirk Globke. These are some tough names. Oh, yeah.

I've been watching this podcast regularly and really enjoy the bond you all share. Oh, boy. You all seem to appreciate each other and are very supportive of the successes you all enjoy. On camera. Yeah. These guys are so jealous of me off camera. I love the Dusty Aaron exchange regarding seeking employment in the dessert industry, and Aaron comes back with, it's not too late for a pivot. It's clear how much you all enjoy each other's company, and it's fun to go along for the ride. Well, thank you, Dirk. Appreciate that, Dirk.

Yeah, look, we're all riding a wave, but it could all come crashing down at any moment. So you never know. We're all well aware. Yeah, yeah. I could be working at a gelato spot next week. And enjoying yourself. Yeah, and really enjoying it. But I have always been curious about the samples thing when I asked Martin because I get so annoyed when I'm in line and people keep asking for samples. I'm like, it's ice cream, okay? It's all going to be good.

You get two samples. That's it. Hot take. I don't think you should get any samples. Okay. No other restaurant works like that. That's true. You don't go to McDonald's and go, let me try a chicken nugget before I order. Yeah. It's like part of ordering food. Part of a restaurant is you order it. It's a little roll of the dice.

Also, can you not look at the name of these things and just guess how it's going to taste? Yeah, you got an idea. You're like, what is cookies and cream going to taste like? Probably cookies and cream. Yeah, exactly. I think no samples. I think you get it. All sales are final. Leave the store. Don't say anything. Well, I'm with you, but I'm going to get, I'm saying. Never seen you so fired up. At best, I give you two samples. That's it. You don't get. What are you sampling? I would have thought you went the opposite direction.

Okay, here we go. Endless samples for everything. Two samples and only for kids. Adults don't get a sample. Why only ice cream places do we do this?

Well, it's a different thing. All the flavors. It's already 31 flavors at a restaurant. Even if you get like a flight of beer at a, you know, or like at a nice brewery or something that costs money. I like that. Who's giving up? We'll give you a flight of ice cream. I never heard that term, but I'll give you a flight of samples. But that costs money. That would be great. A little spoonful of everything. Yeah, I'd much rather do that. But yeah, it's not free.

I don't know why we expect these ice cream places to do that for us. You get one sample for every scoop that you buy. You go, I want two scoops, and I'll give you two samples just to see what scoops you want to get. That's it, though. There you go. But you got to pay for it. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to skip ahead to the last comment. All right. Sorry. Well, I'm trying to be respectful to Yakov. Uh-huh. It's Yakov, by the way.

I'm not being very respectful, am I? That's what I'm saying. Let's go ahead and iron that out before we bring him in here. Now I'm confused. Emily Wells. Brian's impressions are my new favorite segment on the podcast. Though I don't know if it's the impression itself or Aaron's laugh and Dusty's response that makes it so great. I was laughing so hard I was crying at his impression of Arnold Schwarzenegger. I nailed it. What's funny about it? You're good. You got great impressions. Did you see the one of him doing...

uh like uh well who was it who'd you do lawrence fishburne denzel washington yeah no i'd love to see a quick sample if you don't mind just two samples you can watch the podcast he's not watching the guys he's barely here for the ones he's on i don't know why i got a lidless cup by the way yeah you got water on your mustache there i got the one open air cup out here

Let's just see Denzel. Hold on. Let's give him a new one. Can you do Morgan Freeman? We've already done that, haven't we? I mean, I did a Morgan Freeman. I think you danced around it. I tried. No, I tried it because I said. We're just looking for a black guy. Will Smith. 100%. 100%. Okay. All right. Will Smith. You beat Chris Rock. Okay. It's two types. Will Smith. Yep.

This is going to be a punch. I got this punched alien. Okay. Welcome to Earth. That's what I call a close encounter. That's not bad. Boom. That's not bad. I did it again. Dang. That's Independence Day if anybody was wondering. Wow, that is good. Yeah. That is really good. See? Everybody's impressed. Yeah. Should we get Yakov Yakov in here? Let's get Mr. Smirnoff in here. We're going to get, ladies and gentlemen, after a quick commercial break, you won't feel a thing.

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Yes. Well, welcome. Welcome. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. I've been watching you guys from afar and enjoying the podcast very much. So I'm happy to be a part of it. And when you say afar, you mean Branson, Missouri? Yeah. Well, it's another world. It's a different world. Yes. Yeah. We have internet, by the way. Just got it. In Branson? You just got it? Yeah, I just got it. You're getting to Walmart soon, I think. No, it's there. That's where it started. Yeah.

Yeah, Branson. Yeah, Branson. That Walmart's got to be good in Branson. It's good. Yeah, it's a good Walmart. Yeah, it's good. Yeah. You and I talked on the phone because I tried to do your podcast, but first time I met you in person was for the Nashville Comedy Festival a couple months ago. Yes, yes. I was on Dusty's show at Zany's. You came by, watched the show. Yeah. Then he went over to the Ryman. Yeah. And did a set on that Nate Land show. Yeah. And I came over later, and Aaron said, Yakov killed. Oh.

Standing ovation at the Ryman Auditorium. I mean, it was a very cool moment in the show. And I was thinking, I was so, I don't know if jealous is the word, but it got to me. It's like to get to a level where you show up at any show and they're like, obviously put him on the show. Like Yakov's backstage. Yeah, see if he wants to do a spot. It wasn't that. I mean, it's just Brian Dorfman, who you well know. He just saw me and he goes, you want to go up?

And I didn't even know where I am. I had no idea. And so I go, okay, what do I do? Just do 15. I go, okay. And that's how it was. But it was a very...

important moment for me because I've been in Branson bubble kind of a, for the last 32 years, entertain over 6 million people. So I, I, I, I had a really, I have 2000 seat theater. So I'm, I'm in a good spot. Yeah. Um, but lately, and I think the person who is responsible for this chair or wherever he sits, um,

That's normally Brian's chair. You're talking about that chair. That chair is responsible for me kind of coming out of semi-retirement or whatever. I was just phoning it in, basically. The show has been going on for years and people coming and it's wonderful. However,

He kind of woke me up saying, this is what I used to do in the 80s. And at that time, there was no arenas for clean comedy. And he kind of paved the way. And it was like I couldn't believe it. I mean, I was blown away. So when I saw that he was coming to Springfield, Missouri, and he sold out this –

arena and I wanted to be in the proximity. So I, I bought, I bought two tickets, $500 each to sit right in the front. And he told you the story that it happened to be at the right place at the right time that they lit up the whole thing. You're the only person he could see in the audience. He's spinning around in the round going, is that Yacov Smirnov?

Exactly. So what an honor, you know, I mean, I believe in that power of proximity when you're close to something. And I was just doing my podcast next door to you guys here. I'm like going, this feels so good. So the Ryman experience is,

was kind of awakening for me because as I was flying to Nashville, I called my wife from Dallas or wherever I was connecting. And I said, you know, I'm really nervous. And she goes, why? I go, I don't know.

I feel like I'm an ugly duckling who kind of been hiding in Branson for years and doesn't really know where I belong. And I don't know. I've been to LA. I've been to New York. I did a Broadway show. I didn't feel like I was – it was not part of where I was supposed to be.

And I'm going to a next place, which is Nashville, and I have no idea what's going to happen there. And then, well, I think it was next day that Ryman experience happened. And Dorfman said, come on, go up and say, and getting a standing ovation that all of a sudden I literally felt like that ugly duckling.

the swans, which you guys are. And I didn't realize that that's where they hang out. And I didn't even realize that I belonged there or not. But once I heard that laughter and I saw these people stand up and going, I'm here. I got to be here. Right.

These guys have been hoping for that laughter for a while. Yeah, what's it like? What's it like? Well, you're going to be making your grand old Opry debut later this month, right? The day this comes out. Yeah. Oh, wow. After tomorrow. Yeah, Wednesday. Yeah, so that's another experience that I don't have a clue what I'm walking into.

I don't have a clue. They're so nice at the opera. You're going to love the opera. They're the nicest people. Gary Mildred just texted me saying, we're very excited having you here. And so I'm going into another place where I'm hoping that they'll like me. Oh, you're going to do so great there. They're going to love you. Yeah. So I'm excited. I love that your jacket –

Class Reunion, 1988. That was 1988. Yeah, that's the one that I was doing with Robin Williams and Richard Pryor and all of these big guys that I'm like... Who else was it? Howie Mandel? Howie Mandel, Paul Rodriguez, David...

David Letterman. Yeah. Yeah, I forgot that. Yeah. You think about the group of comics we started with, like Your Little Class. That one's pretty crazy. Yeah, that was crazy. To be on the same show with them was amazing, too. So you started when you moved to America. Was it Los Angeles first? No, no, New York. New York was first. I didn't speak English, so that...

But I wanted to do comedy because I was a comedian in the Soviet Union. Yeah. So I got a taste of laughter, but I didn't know if I'll ever be able to actually get on stage because I didn't speak English. And so that was...

beginning of my routine started with misunderstandings and all of those things. And I got a job as a bar boy in Catskill Mountains. And there are a lot of vaudeville comedians were there.

And so I kind of was watching them and learning English from them. And then I became a bartender, and I would start telling jokes in the bar to the customers. And I knew if I'm funny, then I get tips. Yeah, sure. So that was my gauge. I didn't, you know. And so that's how it started. And then- When did you move to New York? What year? New York is 77. Okay.

Okay. 77. I read on your Wikipedia page that you almost got sent back because you registered as comedian, which they translated to party organizer. Yeah.

It was exactly what happened. Walking for the immigration office and get an interpreter who's kind of like speak some of both languages, whatever. And so they're asking me, what do you want to do? And I said, I want to be a comedian. And he didn't know how to.

translated. So he said, party organizer. And I see officers there in the walkie talkies now surrounding me. We got one, we got a commie here or whatever. And so I'm like, what did you say? And he said,

So he started backpacking. I said, no, it's like birthday party. And they go, oh, okay. Yeah, birthday party. Then they started laughing. So it was a good thing because otherwise you're not in a good place. Yeah. And then when did you move to L.A.? L.A. was pretty soon, 78. Yeah.

Um, when I, uh, moved to LA and I didn't know again where I'm going, um, I just, uh, there's some of our friends said that they, they know a person who, um,

he was an executive three's company, executive producer. Okay. And so I, I was massive show at the time. Yeah. Huge. And I watched that show and I was like, if, if, if he, he can make me a star. I mean, so I, I took a 10 minute, a 10 day, a pound. I just, I bought the ticket for 10 days. So I had a plan that in 10 days I become a star and,

And then I go to, I know some guys with plans like this. I still have that ticket. I still have it. And so I, I go there, uh, and I'm thinking 10 days. Uh, then I come back to New York and I'll buy my parents fifth Avenue apartment. That was part of the plan. Okay. So I go there and, and, uh, Ted Bergman is the guy's name. And he says, well, you know, I need to see you perform.

And so I go, where do I? And he said, well, there's a comedy store. There's improv. So I went to a comedy store and got the spot. I think it was a Sunday open mic. And then I get a message that he can't make it.

And I'm like, I'm bombed. I'm like, day four, I'm nowhere. I'm like, I'm kind of- You only got six days left to be a star. I know, I know. And I'm dead serious. I'm like, how am I going to tell my parents that they're holding no Fifth Avenue apartment? Yeah.

four days in and you got a spot at the comedy. Yeah. That's already, that's very good. Unbelievable trajectory already. Yeah. So there are guys that live their years and they can't get a spot. Right. So I, but I don't know. I mean, I literally don't know if it's good, bad and whatever. Yeah. So I go there and, and I did my set and I did about five minutes.

And got laughs. It was, you know, pretty good. But I'm leaving and I'm going, man, I need to figure something else. I'm walking on Sunset and I'm bummed. And Mitzi had the secretary...

Chrissy, and she was a British girl, and she runs after me, and she goes, Yakov, Yakov, congratulations. And I go, for what? And she goes, because she knew that I'm expecting this guy, and he didn't make it.

And I go, he didn't come. And he said, no, no, no. Mitzi liked you. And I go, who is Mitzi? And she goes, she's the owner of the comedy store. Go talk to her. She's sitting there. So I go sit down and Mitzi and her, you know, she goes, you were good. You should stick around because there's always place for good and different. Good and different. Yeah. Yeah.

And I don't know who I'm talking to, right? And she goes, I go, Mitzi, you know, I got to go back. My parents are in New York. And she goes, what does your dad do? And I said, he is a building construction engineer. And she goes, well...

Can he be a carpenter? I go, yeah, I think he's really good at that. She goes, bring him here. I'll give him a job. Wow. Wow. Right. And then she goes, where do you live? And I go, I'm staying with some friends. And she goes...

I have a house above the comedy store and you can rent a room for $120 a month. And so, and there are other comedians will live there. And I go, okay. So all of a sudden I got my dad a job. And then the last thing she goes and come back tomorrow and see a regular show.

So I come back tomorrow at day five, and I'm sitting on the back of the original room, and first person on stage is Robin Williams, second, followed by Billy Crystal, followed by David Letterman, followed by Richard Pryor. Wow. Yeah.

And I'm sitting there and I'm going, I'm ahead of schedule. If she likes me and she likes those guys, I'm sticking around. Did you know who those guys were? Yeah. Okay. I watched them on TV. I mean, I was so wanted to do comedy, but I didn't know if I can because of my English.

And so, but I was glued to TV and watching Johnny Carson, whatever I could watch and learn. That was my whole thing. And

And so then the rest, this history, I, you know, Mitzi, just by being there, she gave me, basically she gave a job to my dad. She did not put me on stage for like two years. I was just helping my dad do carpentry. But I was in the best school of comedy. I could watch comedians for free and, you know.

And it was amazing. And that's how I got the movie with Robin Williams, Moscow and the Hudson. And then I got a movie with Tom Hanks. Those are things were happening before I even became a regular. Yeah. But I was just hanging around the right place, right time. Yeah.

What did your dad say when you called home and said, I don't have you a place on Fifth Avenue, but you have to quit your job and move to L.A.? He didn't have a job. So he was an engineer, but he... He was an engineer in the Soviet Union. He came here. He didn't speak English. They're older...

you know, and so they were not employed. Yeah. Okay. So son said, let's go to LA. So they, they came and, and he was able to do a couple of years at least of work there. I'll help. I was helping him, but that was, you know, it was good. And we, we, we did a lot of good things in the comedy store. So a lot of legends are going around that,

You know, Jakob build this and Jakob build that. I go, I don't remember that. Okay. Yeah. You know. So, but it's been, you know, it's been a blessing in disguise there. Not in disguise, for real. Yeah.

So that's how my career took off. - I also read on Wikipedia that there's a style of joke that kind of developed from you, the whole in this country and then in Russia. - Yeah, yeah, they call it the reversal jokes and they attribute it to me.

um i don't know i i'd say i'll take the credit but it was the commercial that i did a miller light commercial was in america you can always find a party in russia party always finds you and that was very successful and so that and then after that jay lennar picked it up and going in russia car drives you etc you know so so it was uh it was uh

It was significant. Actually, having a commercial probably was the most impactful in my career. Out of all the things that I've done, people would just start recognizing me because it wasn't during Super Bowl and I was in everybody's living room. And so that was a big break. And a Miller Lite one too. I mean, that's a big...

That's a big thing. That's a good beer. Well, I'm a little bit older than these guys, so I remember you on Night Court. Yes. That was a big deal. I remember a little Night Court. Okay. I couldn't tell you any characters, but I do remember Night Court. Yakov. I was one of them. Yeah. I was one of them. I did seven episodes.

It was very, a great show. And Harry Anderson and I worked in a club together with Jerry Seinfeld one time. And I was opener. Harry was middle and I was, Jerry was the headliner. And after when he got the show, Harry Anderson, then he brought me up to producers and they brought me in and it

it they liked it and it kept bringing me back which was wonderful you know this is really the dream that every comic has that they just go to la and people go you know what i like you i'm gonna i'm gonna put you in some stuff i mean what a country what a country but you know you know to be honest i was so in i mean i was in it and i i only until it kind of

ended, the career kind of went down. I didn't realize I was so busy doing it that I thought every immigrant gets that opportunity. Yeah. Which is kind of

But I just happened to be at the right place with the right set of skills. Yeah, I mean, it's your story is what everybody thinks can happen to them. Everybody thinks, I'm going to go to LA and they're going to see me and I'm going to be a star. And it does happen. Obviously, it happened to you. It happens to other people, but-

It's an amazing story. Yeah. But I got to tell you what I learned later on as I was getting into my education later in life, getting my master's and a doctorate degree, all of those things. I was trying to understand what's the secret, what was happening because my talent was obviously part of it.

But there was something bigger than that, way bigger than that. And I didn't know what it was. And it was that the Soviet Union was a major threat to America to the point that people had to get under...

desks in school and wait for a nuclear attack. I mean, that's, so I met the needs of America. They saw a human. They saw the Russian person that is not threatening. It's not banging shoe on

The United Nations say, "We will bury you," you know, whatever. And I was like, I came in, this innocent guy, and they're going like, "We're afraid of this? "Are you kidding me?" And that's what America needed. And when you meet, if you can figure out what is the need that, whether it's a country, whether it's a group of people have, and you can meet that need,

You can do well. And I think it worked for you, obviously, because you sincerely... You weren't playing a character you...

did love this country and still love this country. I still do. It was a fake thing. It would have eventually came through. Eventually there was, well, Robin Williams used to do a lot of, uh, Soviet impressions. So I think he was calling them Soviet suppressions. And, uh, and then, and that was right before I came on the scene. Yeah. So people who thought I, they thought I was playing a character. Right. And then there was, um,

A guy, his name was Morris Moskovitz. And at the time when I was still bartending in the Catskills,

my lead bartender said, oh, you know, I know you were a comedian, but that place is already taken because this guy, and there was a huge New York Times article about this guy, how he immigrated from the Soviet Union and how he started doing comedy. And I'm going, yeah, I guess I'm too late, you know? And then about,

Two months later passed, 60 Minutes did an expose on this guy and exposed him right in front of the whole country that he was just a guy from New Jersey that took this. He knew probably some people who immigrated and decided, I'm going to do that gig.

And I, honestly, I went to see him in Greenwich Village in New York, and I thought he was for real. Really? I had no idea. Yeah. Wow. So the accent, everything was perfect. It was perfect. Stories he was telling was similar to my story. So it was like- We need more exposés like that. There's a lot of that going on, I think. Is that guy still around? I don't know. I think it was the end of his comedy career. I don't know what happened to him after that.

It's tough when the whole media comes after your character. You're like, I'm just doing a joke thing here, guys. Right. And they took it. It worked out for you, though. Yeah. Well, but then he didn't. Then he didn't because once the Soviet Union collapsed, I realized that, you know, I'd

Leatherman had a top 10 list of things that will now change. And I made number one on the list, Yakov Smirnov will be out of work. - Oh, wow. - And I thought it was kind of funny. I'm going, I'm still, you know, I have contracts in Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno, Tahoe. I got this, no problem. Six months later, none of those contracts were renewed, none. And we live in Pacific Palisades.

next to Tom Hanks, next to Goldie Hawn, next to like Arnold Schwarzenegger. And we're like, we can't afford the mortgage. There's no money coming in anymore.

So it was scary. And so I started looking for a place where they did not know that the Soviet Union collapsed. You got it, right? I ended up in Branson, Missouri, and I got 32 years out of that. They still don't know, and I'm not about to tell them. So this gig is working. Yeah, it doesn't broadcast in Branson.

No, they don't. But to your point that it works for you or it can work against you. If you canceled and that was original version of that in 1991, I was canceled basically because we don't need...

The Soviet Union was like a pain in the butt and I was like, my jokes were like Preparation H. So all of a sudden we don't need that anymore and I'm like, what do I do? So thank God for Branson. It turned out to be- - That's so shocking to me that it would just end like that. - Me too. - I would think the jokes are still funny. It feels like David Letterman ruined your career.

I wish I could blame him personally, but I think it was the industry that kind of pigeonholed me as a Soviet comedian. And then when there was no need for that,

You know, burning and itching went away. So we don't need that anymore. Happiest guy during that time, that guy in New Jersey. Probably, yes. Yes, probably, probably, finally, finally. Yeah. I am so excited. This is Aaron Weber talking, by the way. I am so excited to tell you about our new sponsor, our next sponsor. We've had him for a while. We love him for a while. Chubby's.

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of your order with our code nate at chubby shorts.com that's code nate at chubby shorts.com support our show tell them we sent you summers here dress like it in chubbies i've always loved chubbies um ronald reagan loved you right he did he did that was uh a very uh interesting uh

a very special relationship because he, I mean, the way I met him, he was very much into like Soviet humor. He was, you know, I didn't know that at that point, but he,

So he, I was performing in Washington, D.C. Now I see why you don't take the cap off because there's ice in there. Oh, yeah. They don't even let me have a cap. They don't even let me have a cap. We had to give ours to Yakov. Yeah. Come on.

So I was at the Comedy Cafe, it was called, in Washington, D.C. And after the show, this guy comes over and he said, you know, I'm hosting, I'll have President Reagan and Nancy Reagan in my house for dinner.

Would you like to join us? I'm not exaggerating. And I'm thinking, this guy is off the rocker. It's like, who are you talking? But he was chief editor of Washington Times. And I didn't know. And so he calls me a couple of weeks later, says, here's a ticket for you to come to join us. And so...

So I'm flying there and we're in the car and we're pulling into this neighborhood. And then, and there is like two helicopters are hovering over the neighborhood. And then there is like barricades and the guys in bulletproof vests and with machine guns and

And I'm going, there's no way they're going to let me into this. So they get Arno, the bargeograph, his name, and he get him out of the car and they frisk him and they ask for one ID. He said, I'm hosting, I'm the owner of the house that the president is coming to. And he said, we don't care. Yeah.

And so finally, and then now I'm sitting next to him and the guy's putting flashlight on me and I'm going, I'm dead meat. They're going, we got the party organized. Finally. We got him. So I'm sliding into this chair and he goes,

Miller Lite commercial, right? I go, yes. And he goes, go in. Oh, that's awesome. Wow. So it opened that. I mean, look at that. So I go there and there was only like 18 people, dinner party. And this is the night when President Reagan sent military helicopters to Libya to scare Gaddafi.

And so behind him, so this was a big deal to have like a hospital set up in a guest bedroom with all the operation. If there's a need to be, all the windows are blocked with like, you know, some special plywood, whatever. And so I'm sitting there. Oh my God, this is not, this is, I don't know where it's going. And the president walks in and he just,

he just uh they said this uh yakov smirnov he's a russian comedian he's he just smiled and he said have you heard this joke and he proceeds to tell me a joke and people now they are looking at me and i'm now telling him a joke so 18 people like this and him and i are sitting across from each other and just telling jokes yeah that was amazing what a moment and

Behind him, there's a guy with the football, which is a briefcase with all the nuclear codes. And he's a Marine. And he's not supposed to smile. And I have a goal to just crack him up. So a couple of times I did. But I was nervous. You put our country at risk. I know. For your old ego. Yeah.

I did. I did. Pretty crazy to move to America knowing no English, and within a few years, you're going joke for joke with Ronald Reagan at a dinner party. I mean, that's crazy. It is. It is. And it continued. I mean, I felt like after that, he just, you know, when he was going to the Soviet Union to meet with Gorbachev for the first time, I get a call from...

Dana Rohrabacher, who was his head speechwriter. And he said, this confidential President Reagan is going to go to Russia to meet with Gorbachev for the first time. It's a big deal. So he, not only he wants to meet with him, but he wants to do a speech in the Kremlin in front of all the Russian politicians. So President Reagan asked if you were to write jokes for his speech. Wow.

And I'm thinking, if this doesn't work, I don't have any countries to go. Where am I going after this, right? But I was honored. I wrote some jokes. They put them in a speech. But then they go, do you mind reading the speech and seeing if we have a right tone? And I'm going, am I the most qualified person to do this? Yakov, you're the most important person in the world right now. It sounds like it.

So I go, okay. And I read it and I didn't care for it that much because I thought they were talking down to the Soviet government, which not a good idea. And so I said, I think you should probably change the tone a little bit. And they go, why don't you rewrite it?

And I go, this is not getting any better. This is going to be. And so I, I did and, and they liked it and they, it wasn't a lot of changes, but just a little bit to make it look, make them look more important. And, and it worked, you know, and they had a great summit and, and,

After that, the Berlin Wall came down and I was... Responsible. No, but I was chiseling it literally. Chiseling it. And with Bob Hope on the USO tour, we went to Germany. Oh, wow. And we chiseled that wall. But there was a writing on the wall that I just didn't think of reading. And it says, Jakob, get a day job. Yeah.

But I didn't even suspect that anything like that could happen.

And then- Well, how did the jokes go in the speech? Did the jokes hit? Yeah. Yeah. Well, yes. And it was nerve wracking because I was watching it at my home in Hollywood and it was satellite broadcast. And first joke that he opened with, the joke was that

I know you've been having some challenges with old politicians because they've been sitting in one place for so many years, they don't wanna leave. But I heard this tale that in Russia, when a child is born, an angel comes down from the skies

and kiss that child. If the child is kissed on his forehead, he's gonna be ingenious. If he is kissed on his lips, he's gonna be incredible speaker. If he is kissed on his hand, he's gonna be amazing artist.

I don't know what place this angel kissed those politicians that they will not give up their seat. No one laughed. That's a good joke. They should have had air. No one laughed. That's a good joke. Well, but the reason. And then he goes, Yakov wrote that joke. I was stunned. He was stunned, I'm sure. But I forgot those days, none of the Russian politicians spoke English. Ah.

So they were waiting for the translation for this little headset. It was the longest 30 seconds of my life. And then the crowd went crazy. And I went and changed my pants, basically. That's what happened. Yeah. But it was an honor to be there. And then I kind of became a supplier of jokes to Reagan. I was like official...

dealer joke dealer you know for the white house you know that's amazing yeah so then when did you pivot into getting a master's and a doctorate in psychology that was way later that was um i need to do something with this cord because it's kind of yeah it it happened later in life i um

I went, so I moved to Branson and then I went for a divorce.

And the divorce was pretty painful because my parents were married 52 years. I didn't know people that... So all of a sudden, I'm getting divorced and I didn't understand it. And then I started trying to figure out why it happened. And then it was what I noticed and I started asking my audience. I said, there was laughter in the beginning of the relationship.

And in the end, the only people who are laughing are attorneys. What happened to laughter? So as a comedian, and my dad was an engineer and very much into inventing things and reverse engineering stuff. So my brain was like going, something happening in the beginning and something happening in the end. And I didn't know what it was.

And so I started asking audiences, I said, do you, how many of you remember laughter being part of this honeymoon stage of the relationship? And everybody's just so much into it. And then I would say,

How many of you would go on a second date if you didn't have laughter? And no one of us, right? So it was like, oh, there is something here that I want to research. So that's kind of where I went. At first, I was trying to do kind of my own, trying to understand it.

and make sense out of this. And my kids were little. My son was five and my daughter was seven. And I was trying to explain to them. So I actually brought this little thing that I put here earlier that it's just how I explain my children divorce, okay? So I got magnets. I got magnets from the store that sells like,

equipment for teachers. And I figured, well, maybe they'll understand this. Okay, so I took two magnets and I'm like going, okay, so in the beginning of the relationship...

it's work somehow, something works. And because we attract each other and then love and laughter live in this space. So that's how I was explaining it to my kids. And I'm going, okay. And, and then, you know, something happens and, and I didn't know what it was. And then they start repelling each other.

I'm telling my kids, this is what's happening. And then not to repel each other, they want to fight so they meet their own needs somehow and they no longer repel.

which was kind of mesmerizing for the kids. So I said, so if, if I can figure out what that was, then maybe I can have a good relationship somehow that I can predict something. So I, um, I, I worked on this for, and I would do that as part of my show. I was so into it. Um, and, um,

I want to understand it. So then I start playing with those magnets and this is what would happen. So when you understand what to give, and later on it happened that I realized one is giving, one is receiving, both of us can do that. But if both people give the same things,

then it's going to repel. But if they do the right things for each other, then love and laughter lives in this space.

Yeah, so that was the beginning of that educational kind of process. I'm going, there is a law of nature. Here it's magnetism, and in relationship there's something else, but I didn't know what it was. So that's when it was I got my master's at UPenn.

And that wasn't enough. I didn't feel like my dissertation wasn't as good as I wanted it to be.

Uh, so I went to Pepperdine and got a doctorate degree there. And that was the dissertation was called law of laughter, LOL. That was the only joke. The original LOL. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. They, they let me keep that joke. The rest, 190 pages of no jokes, nothing, just straight research.

And so I was able to prove that it's basically meeting each other's needs is that's a setup. If you look at that as a laughter, like when you're telling a joke, you have a setup, you have a punchline, and then you have a laugh. Meeting the needs is the setup.

Your humor is the punchline. Laughter is a result of that. That's what this helped me figure out. And this is a very Branson thing, these matches. It is. Very much so. Very much. Easy to understand. Yes.

We sell them in the gift shop. It's all good. It's all good. Great margins on it. Absolutely. Made in China. It's all good. Summer is in full swing. Yeah, it is. More sun?

Dusty, do you like summer? I love summer. You love the sun? The wet heat. That's what I'm into. Yeah. Well, there's more things to do outside, and we get a lot busier. So summer has so many activities you don't want to miss out on. Number one thing you should do for the summer, cook. Oh, yeah. Spending hours cooking inside is what you don't want to do. That's where Factor comes in. Factor's chef-crafted, dietician-approved meals are ready in just two minutes, taking the hassle out of eating well.

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Yeah, I haven't been that diligent about it, but when I do it, I see results. Factor is good. It is. Great endorsements from both of you. I started trying it out, and I love it, and you will too. And that is true. My family loves it.

Okay. Well, I like the breakfast option, obviously, because I'm breakfast. But on-the-go lunches, they're super helpful, too. My wife's out of town. She's in California this week. So I'm a stay-at-home dad, and Factor is going to be a big factor in my life this week. So get started at factormills.com slash nate50off and use code nate50off to get 50% off plus free shipping on your first box.

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Well, I did a little research on psychology when I found out we had an expert coming on. You're the most educated person we've ever had on the podcast. Do you ever go by Dr. Smirnoff? Do you ever want to? Yeah, sometimes. I sign my emails, Dr. Smirnoff. Otherwise, Dr. Yakov. Dr. Yakov. But that's it. Yeah, I don't. Nobody calls me. Not on stage or anything. I tried it for a little while. It didn't meet. A rebrand. A rebrand. Yeah.

I tried it, but I actually walked out after my graduation in a robe. And it went well, but it wasn't like something, yeah, we want to see more of that. Yeah, so that didn't go.

You know, Aaron, we did this about four years ago. One of the live tapings is Zany's. We talked a little bit about psychology. Yeah, but it was a little bit over Nate's head. So we thought, since he's not here, we'll do it again. Nate, I have nothing to do with this. It's their setup. Okay. I'm walking into something. I don't know anything about it. Okay. Well, you'll find this interesting, I think.

I want to hear your opinion on this. So psychology is the scientific study of the human mind, especially those affecting behavior. And I read an article that said comedians are the closest thing to psychologists because we do experiments, we give a scenario that we think will have a certain reaction, and we get immediate feedback. That's correct. And that's what psychologists do. Would you say that? I would say it's close. That's why my podcast is called Comedy Couch.

And the reason I called it that, because it's kind of a mixture. We're having good time. However, the more... That's his catchphrase. We're having good time. Oh, sorry. Sorry. Trademarked it. What a country. You get it. You get it. I got it. I got it. So, yeah, I agree with you on that.

I think that it has to do, the comedians have that sense. I don't think we'll ever think about this, except like some weirdos like me who kind of goes, I want to understand this, why people laughing and why they're not laughing. So we also, every laugh, we're tested. Every laugh that tells you, tells me, I met their need,

I talked about what they wanted to hear from me, and then my humor triggered the laughter. Every joke, every joke. So I called the podcast Comedy Couch because, and I'm talking to comedians who obviously have some issues.

All of us have some issues. And so it's a wonderful opportunity to actually talk to younger comedians who are like, you know, might have questions about their relationship or their, you know, children or whatever. And it gives me a chance to kind of

play around with this and, and their insurance doesn't cover it, unfortunately, but, but it's still fun for me to shine some light on that. Yeah.

Here's an interesting tidbit I found. TV executives did studies on test audiences and found that canned laughter got more laughs than shows with no laugh track. People are 30 times more likely to laugh in the presence of others than alone. 100%. Well, you know this. You watch a show on TV and you just kind of go...

That's funny. Yeah. But you see the same show with a bunch of people and you just, I think it's a communication between people saying, I'm having a good time. Are you? Again, that's his phrase. You don't ask it.

You tell them. You walk out, you're having a good time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You don't ask, you tell them. Yeah. No, but that's exactly what's happening. When we're laughing together, it's like a tribal thing that we're communicating to one another. We really like this. We like that we bought the ticket to come here. We like where we are. We like that person. And this is our way to approve that or...

So the problem when I'm watching Brian specials is that I keep watching them alone. That's the problem. That's the only problem. I need more people in the room.

but but the magic the magic about your podcast also that you have four or five people right here and that's great that's a great audience you know to to be able to know if it's working or it's not and you make fun of each other which is great yeah we were talking so we just all acted a small part in nate's movie that he's filming right now so he gave us all a little part but

none of us have had that much experience filming something on that scale. Definitely not. And, you know, we're doing the scene and,

I don't know how y'all felt, but I was like, I have no idea. Is this going well? Like there's no, you know, it's just quiet. And then they cut and they go, let's do it again. And you're like, I don't know. Was that good? And I go, it's great. And they go, well, give me something here. It's only technical. Yeah. It's not you. Just keep doing it. Yeah. Yeah. But I want a crowd there to let me know if I'm bombing or not. Yeah. That's why stand up. I think for all of us.

is probably the best form that we can offer and it gives us feedback immediately so we need that as well. Because I've made movies and sometimes it takes like six months or a year to go see it. And then you go see it and...

you hope that they're laughing yeah but it's it's in the kids done obviously culture has changed since you started stand up like in america people's references are different do you think people are basically the same and laugh at the same things or do you think things have have changed at all

I think that if, like, let's use Nate as an example. His comedy comes across. A lot of other comedians have to kind of adjust because the...

the world became a lot more sensitive to some topics or things that, so, so from that perspective, definitely the audience is like, Ooh, you can't say that. I used to be able to say some things about Russian women, for example, and now, Oh no, you can't do it. They'll kick your butt. No. And so, so you have to be more, more cautious and more careful about that. And social media, I'm,

I'm kind of there on Instagram and stuff, but I was afraid of it. I was afraid of Instagram because people follow you. And in the Soviet Union, if you get followed, that's not a good thing, right? So I was- It's not a good thing in certain areas of America. Probably. Yeah.

But I don't read comments. I just kind of oblivious to this. I go, I'm just going to do what I got to do, and somebody will let me know if it's not right. I have a real comment reading problem. Do you? Yeah, I love reading the comments. He gets in there and fights with people. I love to do it. I don't fight with them. I joke fight with them, but I think they get pretty bad. Now, analyze that as a psychologist and tell us what's wrong with them. Oh, boy. Okay, well.

If we open that can of worms, man. So I guess it's a dependency for you, right? And you want the feedback, good or bad, and you want to win them over. Yeah.

Yeah, sometimes if it's all good feedback, it's a little boring. Yeah, exactly. I want a guy in there going, you know, some guy. Heckle me. Yeah, this guy sucks here. And then I like to go, yeah, I like to get in there. It's the thing when you're on stage and, you know, 500 people are laughing, but there's one guy with his arms crossed. You remember him. You focus on that. Absolutely, absolutely. But some people like it and some people like me just don't read it. You know, I don't care.

But it's in your hands. What a blessing. The phone. What a blessing to be in that place. What a country. What a country. Yeah. You can turn off that phone. You know that. I don't think so. But mine doesn't turn off. Actually, you know what? I tried to turn mine off the other day. I was like, I'm done with it. But it needs to charge. So I plugged it in, turned it back on. I'm like, I can't. Can't get it away. Too bad.

20 seconds and you're back. Yeah. You're back. Yeah. Well, they need you. They need you. But it's also, you know, you were sold out in Springfield, Missouri. It was a hot show. Hot show. But 1,200 people, really a beautiful theater. It is happening. Yeah. Yeah. I was impressed. Yeah.

Yeah. Thank you. So I guess you keep fighting with those comments. Springfield's great. I go to Springfield a lot. I love Springfield. It's great. It is. It's folks...

very down to earth and they're, they're, they, they give you, they like, if they like you, they just, but Nashville, I think this is pretty great too. I know it's the best. Yeah. So yeah, I'm, I'm happy that I'm here. Right. You know, Dusty was in a Cracker Barrel commercial, so that's kind of his Miller life.

It's not. I don't know that it's going to get me out of any presidential security. It goes to Mar-a-Lago. Oh, you're in the Cracker Barrel. Come on in. But I am in a Cracker Barrel commercial. Good for you. Is it still running? I think so. All right. It's too much, honestly. I can't get away from it. Actually, my neighbor told me that. She goes, people are going to hate you. That thing runs all the time. Yeah. Wow. Okay.

I got to look into it. I don't watch TV, so I'm like, I got to start doing that at some point. But the last 32 years, I... I'm just trying to watch sports, and then the commercial break is dusty. And then I go to the airport, and Nate's doing the announcement over the thing. I can't get away from these people. That's why I keep a low profile. I do it for these guys. You don't want to bug people. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't want to bug people.

I don't want to overexpose myself. That's very nice. Here's another psychological term, though, based on what we were just talking about, negative bias. Our brains have something called negative bias that makes us remember bad news more than good news, which is why you quickly forget someone's compliment, but remember if someone says something insulting. To feel balanced, we need at least five to one good to bad.

- 100%, right? And that's what the media is built on. The media, people, they understand our psychology. They understand that we're wired for survival, so we see danger first and they feed on that. That's why you don't, Hallmark Channel is like tiny and,

All the other channels are because it's all negative. It's all something that people crave, even though it's not healthy for them. I really believe that I feel so much healthier when I don't

pay attention to any of that stuff. Just enough to know that where I live, what year is this? And that's all. That's enough for me. And who even knows if that's real? You know, that's what I always say. The year, who knows? Yeah, as long as we know we're having a good time. Exactly. What a country. Yeah.

The two most positive catchphrases of all time. Yeah, probably. Probably. All right, Dusty, here's another one right up your alley, I think. Reactants. There's a phenomenon called reactants. When people perceive certain freedoms being taken away, they not only break that rule, but they break even more than they otherwise would have. So if they tell you like,

You've got to wear a mask on a plane. Not only are you not going to wear the mask, you're going to smoke a cigarette. Yeah, exactly. If people don't want to breathe, I'll help them not breathe. That's what I always say. You serve. You're here to serve. Exactly. That's sweet. Very nice. Beautiful.

The Pygmalion effect. Oh, I didn't know. I don't know what that is. It basically says if you tell people they're going to do well and tell other people they're not going to do well, it'll often come true. And they told a group of teachers, these students have really high IQ. And they told other teachers, these students don't. And the ones that they told that about

did do better because the teachers treated them differently. Makes a lot of sense. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like I fell into the other side, you know, when I was in school. It's like I was not getting a lot of positive feedback. I would never take an IQ test. And this is why. If I did well and scored really high, then for the rest of my life, I would think that I'm smarter and better than everyone. Right.

And if I scored bad, I wouldn't even talk anymore. I don't even think I could do a podcast. You have to say it's rigged. But deep down inside, I would go, ah, I took that test, and I have a low IQ, and I can't even face myself. I think Forrest Gump's IQ was 58 or something. Wasn't it 58? I don't know. 68 or something. He did great. Yeah. But he was a fake person. Don't listen to those guys. Don't listen to them.

No. Yeah. But I got to tell you one thing. I got to tell you one thing that people, comedians or people who are funny, not just comedians, it's researched over and over and over again. CEOs of the companies, Fortune 500, whatever, they have a good sense of humor. Yeah.

And that's a sign of higher intelligence that every person has. That's all the IQ tests I need. Isn't there also a disproportionate amount of sociopaths and stuff on that level? Probably. Yeah, probably. So it's tough to see the... I didn't read that one. I didn't want to know. Yeah.

Yeah, but the point is that once you understand that you are already, just because you can make people laugh, just because you have a good sense of humor, you already score way higher than majority of people. That's enough for me. Yeah, yeah. That's good. Yeah, the ultimate goal is to be happy, successful, and you're those things. I'd like to see the number, though. Yeah.

Yeah. I know. If it's good, I want to see it. If you want to take the test and just let me look at the results. You're the last person I would tell. He wants you to be like Forrest Gump. Yeah. Unless it were high, I would not. You would never know.

They did a conformity study to show how we can conform to certain beliefs. Students were told they were taking a vision test and were asked to identify which of these three lines was the same length as a target line. When asked alone, students were highly accurate in getting it right. But then they put in fake participants who intentionally picked the incorrect line, and the real participants started answering that way as well. Hmm.

Even though they knew it probably wasn't right. Yeah. But the bias, you know. Groupthink. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I just did a couple of shows. One was here in the lab, the Story Wars. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. That went great, by the way. It was fun. Yeah. But I don't really, it's basically a liar's club, right? Yes. It's just on steroids. But I don't...

I mean, I don't...

I don't want to lie, especially when, so, but that bias, because there's two other people, actually it's four other people are convincing you that this is what you're supposed to do. This is probably the correct answer. You go with it. And then you realize I didn't even have time to really analyze it. I just went with the crowd. Yeah. So I agree with that.

There is a psychologist did a study on how we, a social experiment, how we view beauty. And they took a acclaimed violinist named Josh Bell and who had just sold out a concert hall, a hundred dollar tickets each. And they put him on the street as a street musician in Washington, DC. And no one stopped to hear. Wow. He was playing with a three and a half million dollar violin. Wow. And no one stopped to be cared about. Wow. Well, so good thing.

Good thing he doesn't have to do that. Somebody take it. Yeah. Yeah. It's not a, it's a good thing for him that he can, he has something to fall back on, on his real career. Well, that's true. Like too, it's like comedy works like that, right? It's like, you can go up, you do the Ryman. If no one knows who you are, you're at the Ryman and they go, well, this guy must be good because he's playing the Ryman. But if you're in the, you know, uh,

Doing an open mic. A coffee shop. Yeah. They go, this guy's no good. He's in a coffee shop. You might still get some laughs, but... I think about that sometimes. If you're in a bad open mic or a bad show, you're like, the best comedians in the world could be in here right now. And I don't know if they would destroy. Yeah. Especially if you didn't know who they were. Yeah, if they're just a random guy nobody heard of them, it's like...

You know, they figure it out on some level, but like sometimes the environment just doesn't lead itself. I was doing Acme downtown years ago, and these people kept talking the entire time I was on stage. I was the headliner. They kept talking the entire time. And then Ron White was in the bar. And then he comes up after me and starts doing jokes, and they're still talking. Wow. And he goes, if y'all shut up a minute, I'll do some time. And they never stopped talking. Yeah.

Does that make you feel better on some level? Yeah. Because it wasn't personal. Yes. I had a situation like that. Minneapolis, big club, like 500 people. I was probably in the 80s and packed. And there are two people up front sitting, talking to each other and would not shut up. Nobody else hears them, but you do.

And so you can't really do the heckle line because nobody understands why. What are you picking on people for? So I said to the guy, I said, you know, why don't you guys, you seem to like you're enjoying each other. So let me give you $100 so you can go home, have a bottle of wine and enjoy yourself.

They would not shut up. - Oh yeah. - And then the security start like coming to them and going, "Can you?" No, didn't show up. They had to call the police. - Wow. - The police came, they would not shut up. I said, "You know what? I'm gonna take a break

Because this is like during the show. Yeah, the police are in the room. Yeah. Yeah. I go, take a break. When they're gone, then I'll continue. And that was dangerous kind of thing because the audience could turn on you because they could go, oh, you sissy. You couldn't handle this. Right? Yeah.

And so I walked out in the hallway. They had to handcuff those people. They would not leave. They did not want to leave. Handcuffed them, took them, was taking them out. And the guy turns to me and says, can I still get that $100? Jeez. And I go, timing, timing, timing. Yeah. So. Jeez.

You know, it made a great story. Yeah. But I walked back on stage and people gave me a standing ovation. Wow. I was going to say, by the time the police are there, I bet the rest of the crowd hated those people too. Yeah. Yeah. You've seen some crazy stuff in your career. I mean, stand-up comedy is, we think of, it's only been around for like 60 years or something. You've been here for almost all of it. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, well, Vaudeville has been here a long time. Yeah, I'm thinking more like modern stand-up. Right, right, yeah. No, I was part of a lot of it from the early 80s to still doing it. So thank God for Branson to give me that place where I can continue to perform and not lose my shape and interest in it.

Right. And now you're hitting the road a bunch, right? I am. You're doing a bunch of dates all over. I'm excited about this. My wife is supportive, which is great. We're expecting a baby.

- Yeah, that's amazing. - Congrats. - Thank you, thank you so much. August 10th is like seven weeks from now. And she's still supportive of me being here and doing stuff that I'm doing. And so it will be interesting. She wants to do in-house birth. - Oh, I support it. I support it. - Did you do it for you? - I didn't do it, but I support it. - In the bathtub. - Oh, I love it.

So it's like scuba lessons instead of Lamaze. I mean, it boggles my mind. But she's like, okay, yeah, that's what I want to do. I go, okay, I'll...

I'll hang in there, you know, whatever. Yeah. Is it her first kid? Yeah. Okay. That's awesome. Congratulations. It's very exciting. She's excited. I'm excited. My kids, I have 32-year-old and 34-year-old, so they don't have kids yet. So we decide to get our own grandchild, basically. We're just skipping a generation. Yeah. You know, they're slacking off. Fine. Yeah.

We'll do it ourselves. Yeah. Yeah. So it's been, it's, it's wonderful. I'm really, I'm psyched. I'm, I'm doing Grand Ole Opry for the first time. And it's just, when are you doing the Opry for the first time? Wednesday. Oh, Wednesday. Tonight.

Oh, tonight. Tonight. All right. Tonight is the night. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. I think we looked up Charlie McCoy's on there. Charlie McCoy's great. Harmonica guy. Yep. Plays Orange Blossom Special. Yeah. It's going to be good. Yeah. Do you know a lot about country music? Yeah. Which country? Which country?

I know that it's sad. A lot of things are sad. It's sad what's happened to it these days. Is it really? No, it's more popular than ever. Yeah. Branson is the country music after you guys. This is like

a lot of country music people you probably can't get away from it out there in a lot of places yeah yeah i don't i mean i actually country music was my favorite out of all the all the other music because it's slow ronda vincent yeah del macquarie band randall king mandy barnett it's a good line right yeah it's a good lineup yeah yeah so yeah i could understand the lyrics

because it was slow. I could understand it. Other songs I couldn't understand. I still don't. I would listen to old Kenny Rogers songs just because they make sense. There's a storytelling, right?

Yeah. The Gambler. The Gambler or Lucille. I mean, it's just... Great songs. They're great songs. They have meanings. They touch you. Coward of the County. Remember that one? Yeah. A little tough scene mid-second verse, but that's good. Somebody had to do it, right? Yeah.

But yeah, I actually just, my son was going for something and I sent him that song because I said, you know, promise me, son, not to do the things I've done. And so he said, it's perfect timing, dad. Thank you. Yeah. So something cool about the Opry that I'm sure they'll tell you about when you're there. But, you know, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry was the Ryman where you performed there.

That's on the Nate land show. Yeah. So when they moved to what is now the grand old Opry, they cut a circle from the original stage.

And now when you go to the Opry stage tonight, you'll see there's a circle from the original stage. And then when you perform there, you get to step into the circle. So you stand where all the great legends have stood. Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Dusty Slay. All the legends. Brian Bates and Aaron Webber. Yeah. So yeah, that'll be awesome. Looking forward to it. And how did it feel to be back on The Tonight Show after that?

what 40 years oh yeah you were just on it i was uh it it happened here again i got this because of brian dorfman kind of squeezing me into that showcase because there was no brian dorfman a long time he's never once put me on a show

sounds like you should move to nashville yeah sounds like that's what he said he was we were just talking about this couple of days ago and he was uh um he said move to nashville this is a good day i go well would could i get 2000 seat theater in nashville i don't think so and i'm kind of feel like a big fish in the small pond i'm in branson 32 years it's like i feel like

Remember that movie, It's a Wonderful Life? Yeah. Where he was trying to get out of there every year and then he couldn't. And then, so the same way for me, I thought I'll be just for a year, just for a year, just for a year, 32 years. Let's at least advocate for direct flights. I would like that very much. Or I was actually, as I was flying here, took like 10 hours to get here.

And then I would have, if I drove, I would be here at seven. It's the Springfield airport Branson. Yeah. It's a, it's a tough connect. Right. Look how cool this is. This picture Yakov put up from 1985 Yakov with Johnny Carson. And then 40 years later, that's a night show. You sitting down with Jimmy Fallon. How cool is that? You look the same.

You do. Thank you. Yeah. I grew up in Chernobyl, so that's where it was. But it's interesting. Yeah. It was amazing, too. Jimmy was so sweet and respectful. Yeah. I did not expect that kind of welcome. Right. Because, you know, I did not have...

Jay didn't have me on and Letterman didn't have me on. So I didn't really do any of that. Letterman kind of had you on. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. And there's my wife right there. Go back. There we are. And Jamie stood there for like three minutes talking to a baby in her womb. Wow.

You know, he was like saying, Uncle Jimmy's going to cheer you up when you are not feeling good. Just let me know. I mean, it was adorable. It was adorable. He's very nice. Yeah, yeah. Lucky, lucky to be able to do this, you know. Yeah. Yeah, that's so cool, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, I mean, I'm blessed that I am still feeling good.

I feel like I'm 35. I feel like that when I was on that tonight show. And now with the new baby, I'll probably have to feel like I'm 35. Yeah. What a country. What a country, yes. This is pretty awesome because next week's Independence Day, so we have the most American...

Yeah, completely. I was sworn in as an American citizen at the Statue of Liberty ceremonies. Oh, really? Yeah, on July 4th, 1986. When they initially brought it over. No, no, no. No, I'm not that old. Come on.

Chernobyl didn't even happen before that. No, but I- July 4th, what year? 1986. Oh, so you weren't American citizen when you were on Johnny Carson. Yeah, that was 1985. In the beginning, I wasn't, but then I did seven times. Wow. Yeah. He's not even an American citizen. He got on seven times. What have I got to do?

You just leave the country and try to come back in. We've been trying to get into this. I got to go to another country. I've been very blessed. And I had this vision. I mean, I literally fell in love with

with Statue of Liberty when I was a little boy. And my dad, we lived in a communal apartment. So a whole family, three of us lived in one room till I was 26. But my dad would get up in the middle of the night and quietly listen to Voice of America.

And I one time I woke up and I saw him sitting there with his ear to the radio and I go, what are you listening to? And he goes, don't let neighbors hear us because it was forbidden to to listen to. And so I sat next to him and I heard like they were obviously in Russian saying, give me your tired, your hungry and your poor. And I'm like going.

I'm, I'm qualified, you know? And, um, and my dad, you know, tired for sure. And so I'm like, uh, then, then the whole thing fades into the night because shortwave radio. And so I go, who was that? And he goes, uh,

It's statue, Lady Liberty said she is like this tall woman standing in the harbor holding a torch waiting for people like you and me and your mother who might someday go to America.

And so I literally, I had this vision. And then he told me about her. And I liked everything except she was green. I didn't know how to deal with that. But as a child, I kept drawing pictures of her. And that was very, very important to do that as a kid. You draw that?

Yeah, that was something I did at, that was a tough moment. That was when I, when 9-11 happened. Oh, okay. And this is, Paul Harvey did the story about this. Yakov stared disbelieving at the television screen, knowing he'd be held forever after in the grip of that awesome scene. But Yakov's impressions were more personal than most.

For the twin towers of lower Manhattan, now tumbling like sandcastles,

were themselves newly arrived when Yakov and his parents, near broke and speaking no English, first came to America, specifically to New York City, where icons like the Statue of Liberty and those shining towers held forth such exciting promise. And Yakov was an artist, an art professor. In his native Russia, in the days of Soviet repression, he knew the power of his craft to herald and to heal.

And so immediately, standing otherwise helpless in the shadow of his adopted homeland's darkest day, at first mainly hoping to heal himself, Yacoub began to paint. His vision was Lower Manhattan, ominously smoldering after the towers fell, as seen from behind the Statue of Liberty, symbolic of the indestructibility of American ideals.

I mean, you even mentioned you're an incredible painter. I mean, this looks unbelievable. Yeah, and it's worth probably finishing the story because your audience is going to go, wait, wait, so what's the rest of the story? Oh, sure, sure, sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because he was pretty good about... I'm going to sign the painting simply with these words.

The human spirit is not measured by the size of the act, but by the size of the heart. Oh yes, you know that painting. It was displayed as a huge mural, one as big as the building on which it was recreated, 135 feet wide and 200 feet tall, looming triumphantly over the ground, zero sight. His love letter to a city and a nation, his message of hope to the watching world.

Its display had been financed with $100,000 out of the artist's own pocket. But there had been no press conference, not even an announcement, for Yakov's solitary stipulation was that he, as the mural's benefactor, remain utterly anonymous. For since he is worldwide recognized not for his art but for his humor, Yakov Smirnoff had worried that somebody might laugh, might mentally picture the Russian-born comedian and recall his catchphrase, «Votre Contre»

But now you know how deeply he feels that exclamation now that you know the rest of the story. That's awesome. So that last picture was taking the swearing-in ceremony at the Statue of Liberty. And the reason I think I wanted to do this mural is because I... This is...

when the 9-11 happened, all the footage that we saw was coming from the same place where I was sworn in. So here's this, the most exciting moment of my life. And this is the worst moment of my life. And so I stayed up all night painting because this was my way of like, maybe I can fix it somehow. And that's, and I...

I had a vision that it needs to be a mural at the ground zero. And so I started going from Branson to New York to just kind of see if I can find a spot for it, if I was willing to pay for it. But at that time, security was so tough. Nobody would allow you anywhere. And so I went several times and then...

Finally, I decided to reach out to people who do big billboards. And I thought maybe they will help me. And it was a steel workers union. And they agreed to meet me. And I found a building where they would allow me to put it up for like 10 days.

And so I went there to meet with those guys. And they're like, you know, guys from other like Polish, Italian, cussing. You know, they're like, we hate this place. We were taking the dead bodies out of here. We don't want to be here. What do you want? I said, well, I would like to.

put up this mural and I want to do it for first anniversary memorial. And, and they're like going, there's no way I said, I'll pay for it. And they said, Donald Trump doesn't have enough money to pay for something like that. And they're leaving. And I'm like going, just, I came to New York and they're gone. They're leaving. And then I, they see, I had a mock-up of this and they said, what is that? And I said, well, this is exactly what I'm trying to put up there.

And they stopped costing and they looked at each other and the leader said, "I sell pay." And he said, "Don't worry about that." He said, "I have permits. I have a scaffolding permit." He said, "You don't have enough permits and you'll never get it, but we'll put it up anyway." And I said, "Why?"

Why did you change your mind? And the leader of this, he said, because I want to drive with my son. Sorry. I want to drive with my son and I want to show him this and I want to tell him that I helped to put this up in the sky. And they were as good as they were. I mean, 50 people came.

three days before the anniversary memorial and they worked for 12 hours did not charge me a penny to do this and and they they put it up and then it was a little bit crooked or something they went back up and they fixed it so it was just it was just that moment in life when you go

God wanted it up there and I just helped that happen. Yeah. That's wonderful. That's incredible, man. What a great story. Well, thank you for sharing that. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that's awesome. You're welcome. Well, uh,

Yeah, you're just, you're incredible, incredible story. Yeah, this is a great story. This is very fun. Yeah. Good. Yeah, thanks for sharing the story. Sure, sure. I'm happy to. So we end with promoting shows we got coming up? Yes. Tonight at the Opryland. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then it's just seeing everything I'm doing on yakov.com, Y-A-K-O-V.com, social media, all of this stuff.

that I'm scared of. Yeah. It's Yakov underscore Smirnoff. And then come to Branson. I do shows every Wednesday. So this Wednesday I took off because I needed to be at the Grand Ole Opry. Yeah, yeah. You should take off the week of August 10th.

I already did. My schedule is clear. Absolutely. And make sure you check out Comedy Couch, too. A lot of great interviews on there. I got to sit down and talk with you all for a while. Yes, that was great. There's a lot of comedians who are friends of this podcast and comedians that we know you'd like, so be sure to check that out. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, I have fun doing it.

July 6th, I will be at the Comedy Catch in Chattanooga. No, I'm sorry. July 6th, I will be at Good Night's Comedy Club in Raleigh, North Carolina. July 9th, I'll be at the Comedy Catch in Chattanooga. So that's a Sunday night and a Wednesday night. And I have a lot of church people that...

or fans of mine they're like oh it's church bring your church group it's a clean show it's a clean show from top to bottom i know the openers they're all clean so yeah bring them all bring your pastor um

And then July 18th and 19th, I'm at the Looney Bin in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And July 25th, I'm in Hattiesburg, Mississippi with Derek Stroop and Andrew Stanley doing Laugh for Life. It's an annual event they do every year to raise money for cancer research and other things. What are the other things? Yeah.

Well, I guess maybe you call me out. I don't, I don't know. I don't know, but I'll get back to you. But July 25th, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I got a bunch of dates coming up. Second half of the year, Chattanooga, Lowell, Arkansas, Phoenix, Denver, Atlanta, Huntsville, San Diego, Buffalo, Albany, Syracuse. I'm going all over Aaron Weber comedy.com. If you want to come see me, the shows are hot and wet. Well,

Wet Heat. Wet Heat. Okay. Yes. I have... I'm taking a little time off in the summer, but July 29th, new Netflix special coming out called Wet Heat. Yeah. And then...

22nd of July, I'm here at Zany's. And the 25th of July, I'm in Las Vegas. So come check those out. Where in Las Vegas? I don't know if it's in- Thank you for calling him out too. Yeah. Put it back on him. Well, I don't know. Right off hand. They'll find you. But I can tell you.

They'll look it up. But since you asked, though, I should know. So I'll pull it up. And you can pull up my website. Oh, July 20th. Also, I'll be in Winnipeg, Canada. That's cool. July 22nd, Zany's. And July 25th at the Palazzo Theater in Las Vegas. That's cool. Yeah.

Yeah. And I don't know. And I have probably a couple of, I think I'm in Lowell, Arkansas. Have you played that club? Yeah, The Grove. Yeah. We're all friends of The Grove for sure. Yeah. I'm there on September 6th and 7th.

Have you been there before? Yeah, one time. I did one nighter. I loved it because he sold it out like two weeks before. That's great. It was like, yeah, cool. I still can come out and do something out there. Yeah, big time. Not just be in Branson. Then I got a gig in Philadelphia. I don't think it's on my website yet because it just happened yesterday. So that's in October sometime, 17th and 18th of October. I'm in Philadelphia. Yeah.

Awesome. Good deal. Yaka, thank you so much for coming on, man. Thank you for having me. Appreciate it, buddy. I had a great time. Yeah, you're the man. What a country. What a country. We're having a good time. Thank you. Yes, we are.

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