Ambassador Tefft’s Farewell Appearance Closes Season of Popular Georgian Comedy Show (July 31, 2009)
Ambassador Tefft stressed the importance of friendship and
partnership between the United States and Georgia on Georgia's top-rated comedy
show - The Vano Show. Ambassador Tefft‘s
elegant and well-thought-out humor resonated strongly with the studio audience,
even leading to a standing ovation by the studio audience. He adroitly and delicately handled a series
of leading questions on the refusal rate for U.S. visas, the $1 billion in U.S.
assistance to Georgia, and his fondest memories of Georgian food. Known for his large hat collection, he
modeled a series of Georgian hats from the different regions of Georgia, and performed
an impromptu version of Luis Armstrong's "What a Beautiful World" with the Vano
Show Band. The Vano Show is the first ever nighttime
comedy program in Georgia carried on the nationwide television network,
Rustavi2. (The show is modeled on The
Tonight Show and was started by Muskie alumnus, David Gogichaishvili.)