Although the exact origin of the joke form is uncertain , an early example is from the 1938 Cole Porter musical '' Leave It to Me ! '' ( " In Soviet Russia , messenger tips you . " ) Bob Hope used the form at the 1958 Academy Awards . In the 1968 – 1973 television show '' Laugh-In '' , a recurring character , " Piotr Rosmenko the Eastern European Man " ( played by Arte Johnson ) , delivered short jokes such as " Here in America , is very good , everyone watch television . In old country , television watch you ! " . This joke alludes to " telescreens " from George Orwell 's dystopian novel '' Nineteen Eighty-Four '' which both reproduce images and monitor the citizenry
1958 Academy Awards
30th Academy Awards
Russian reversal