He reached his biggest success in the mid-to-late 1980s, appearing in several films which include Moscow on the Hudson with Robin Williams, The Money Pit with Tom Hanks, Heartburn with Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, and Brewster's Millions with Richard Pryor.

and was a recurring guest star on NBC's hit television series Night Court playing the part of Yakov Korolenko.

His comic persona was of a naive immigrant from the Soviet Union who was perpetually confused and delighted by life in the United States.

The Fall of Communism starting in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought an end to Smirnoff's widespread popularity, although he continued to perform.

[5] Smirnoff spent a portion of his early days in the United States working as a busboy and bartender at Grossingers Hotel in the Catskill Mountains of New York and living in the employee dormitory.

After achieving some level of fame, Smirnoff got his first break with a small role in the 1984 film Moscow on the Hudson; on the set, he helped star Robin Williams with his Russian dialogue.

[8] In 1987, Smirnoff was invited to a party hosted by Washington Times editor-in-chief Arnaud de Borchgrave which featured President Ronald Reagan as the guest of honor.

[10] In 1988, Smirnoff was the featured entertainer at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner and he appeared in some commercials for hotel chain Best Western.

In 2003, he appeared on Broadway in a one-man show, As Long As We Both Shall Laugh, deemed by Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times as "warmhearted", "delightful" and "splendidly funny".

After a successful career in television, movies and Broadway, Smirnoff received a master's degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

[25] One example occurs in a 1985 Miller Lite commercial, in which Smirnoff states, "In America, there is plenty of light beer and you can always find a party.

"[21] Despite Smirnoff rarely using the joke format himself, he has often been directly associated with it throughout pop culture, including episodes of both Family Guy[27] and The Simpsons.

On the night of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he started a painting inspired by his feelings about the event, based on an image of the Statue of Liberty.

Sixty volunteers from the Sheet Metal Workers Union erected the mural on a damaged skyscraper overlooking the ruins of the World Trade Center.

[35][36] Among his film credits, Smirnoff has co-starred in movies with Robin Williams (Moscow on the Hudson, 1984), Tom Hanks (The Money Pit, 1986), and Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep (Heartburn, 1986), in addition to single episodes of several TV series.