--- description: The Welsh writer, raconteur and former drug smuggler was suffering from cancer. He was 70. title: 'Mr. Nice' Author Howard Marks Dies At 70 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8212365181c177cb/69888e750b72e3124e6e8e40/gettyimages-111979761.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Drug Smuggler and Author Howard Marks, Famous for His Memoir _Mr. Nice_, Dies Aged 70 by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 11, 2016 6:24 AM CUT  Wales writer and actor Howard Marks poses in Paris on the sidelines of the French book fair, March 16, 2011. Wales writer and actor Howard Marks poses in Paris on the sidelines of the French book fair, March 16, 2011.Francois Guillot—AFP/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 11, 2016 6:24 AM CUT Howard Marks, the Welsh author, raconteur and former drug smuggler, who rose to fame after releasing his autobiography _Mr. Nice_, in 1996, has [died](http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/10/howard-marks-dies-aged-70 "undefined") following a battle with cancer. He was 70. News of Marks’ death broke on Sunday, with many describing him as a “truly lovely, entertaining and inspiring man,” the _Guardian_ reported. Marks released his memoirs soon after being released from a U.S. prison, where he had been incarcerated for drug offenses in 1988 but from which he was released on parole after serving seven years of a 25-year sentence. He later briefly worked in the music industry, heading a record label and becoming a DJ. He also gave talks about his life across the U.K. and performed a one-man comedy show called _An Audience with Mr. Nice_. A movie on his autobiography was released in 2006, featuring actor Rhys Ifans in the lead role. Marks had done “so many funny, shocking, illegal things,” James Brown, founder of _Loaded_ magazine, for which Marks wrote a weekly column in the 1990s, told the _Guardian_. “He stood for everything we loved,” Brown added, calling Marks a “true modern-day folk hero.” \[[_Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/10/howard-marks-dies-aged-70 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4288145/howard-marks-author-drug-smuggler-author-marijuana-cannabis-died/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4288145/howard-marks-author-drug-smuggler-author-marijuana-cannabis-died/"},"headline":"Drug Smuggler and Author Howard Marks, Famous for His Memoir Mr. Nice, Dies Aged 70","datePublished":"2016-04-11T06:24:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:36:54.770Z","description":"Marks parlayed a career as a drug smuggler into a best-selling autobiography and road show","url":"https://time.com/4288145/howard-marks-author-drug-smuggler-author-marijuana-cannabis-died/","keywords":["Books","Cancer","author","Movie","Writer"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8212365181c177cb/69888e750b72e3124e6e8e40/gettyimages-111979761.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8212365181c177cb/69888e750b72e3124e6e8e40/gettyimages-111979761.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Wales writer and actor Howard Marks pose","caption":"Wales writer and actor Howard Marks poses in Paris on the sidelines of the French book fair, March 16, 2011.","creditText":"Francois Guillot—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4288145/howard-marks-author-drug-smuggler-author-marijuana-cannabis-died/","name":"Drug Smuggler and Author Howard Marks, Famous for His Memoir Mr. Nice, Dies Aged 70"}}]}] ```