Mr Nice’ Howard Marks dies aged 70

Former drug smuggler turned writer and performer, who came to prominence following publication of his autobiography in 1996, has died of cancer.

The writer, performer and former drug smuggler Howard Marks has died, aged 70, after suffering from cancer. Marks, who said he had no regrets about his life when announcing his illness last year, was described as a “truly lovely, entertaining and inspiring man” as news of his death broke on Sunday.

He first came to the public’s attention when he published a bestselling memoir in 1996, the year after his release from a US prison, where he had been incarcerated for drug offences. Marks, known to many as Mr Nice, was a “true modern-day folk hero”, who had done “so many funny, shocking, illegal things”, his friend and former colleague James Brown – the creator and founder of Loaded magazine – told the Guardian on Sunday.

Read more at the Guardian