Ziffs to entertain on Yakov Smirnoff show

Irma and Ray Ziff A popular Thousand Oaks couple who just celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary are now set to entertain in Branson, Mo., with comedian Yakov Smirnoff.

The Ziffs- Irma, 92, and Ray, 95- attained celebrity status with their May appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." The two are favorites at the retirement community where they live- University Village near California Lutheran University.

For 75 years they've held hands, walked arm in arm and enjoyed life together.

Now, they're following in the footsteps of George and Gracie Allen. The two tell delightful stories in a way that makes others smile.

At a University Village screening of their May 20 "Tonight Show" appearance, Ray lamented not having time to tell the couple's story at a coffee shop, when he asked the waitress for more sweetener for his coffee. She reached into her bra, took a packet out and handed it to him.

"I said, 'It's a good thing I didn't ask for cream,'" he recalled.

Yakov Smirnoff The room burst into laughter.

"That really happened. He really said that," Irma confirmed.

Well, as it turned out, the stories they told Leno were good enough to amuse Smirnoff. So much so that he called the couple and asked them to be his guests on a pilot he's shooting at his Branson theater.

"There is something so playful and sincere about them," the comedian said.

Smirnoff owns a 2,000-seat theater, where he performs and where he's making a syndicated talk show about love and laughter. He hopes the Ziffs will be his first guests.

"How many people do you know who've been married for 75 years?" Smirnoff asked with almost the same sense of wonder as he uses in his tag line, "What a country!"

"Yakov Smirnoff is so nice to talk to and was just wonderful, very gracious," Irma said.

She and Ray are very excited to accept Smirnoff's offer to fly them first class and take care of their hotel and all of their needs for a couple of days, she said.

"We're gathering stories to tell him," Ray said.

They are both thrilled to have this new experience, they said.

Smirnoff is also excited to meet them.

"They'll be a big hit. They are poster children for my project that is to help people understand how to sustain love and laughter," Smirnoff said.