Mark Hugh Miller

Mark Hugh Miller, a gentleman in the truest sense, passed away on October 19, 2025. An award-winning writer whose style was classic and whose optimism was unwavering, he will be remembered as much for his literary achievements as for his kindness and incisive advice.

Mark was born in Mitchell, South Dakota, on September 25, 1945 to Melvin and Evelyn Miller and was raised in San Jose, California, after his family moved there in 1953. A graduate of Stanford University in 1968, he began his career at the Associated Press, briefly enrolled in law school, wrote for National Geographic, then purchased San Francisco's iconic Tosca Café. There he enjoyed late-night jazz, many a dirty martini, and made even more friends. Not among those friends were the two con men who bankrupted the business and vanished abroad, forcing him to sell the café to cover their debts.

Undeterred, he moved to Los Angeles, where he continued writing for National Geographic, became a screenwriter for Universal Pictures, served as a Michelin Guide editor, and wrote a column for the San Francisco Examiner. For fifteen years, he was a writer and producer for CBS Radio Los Angeles.

He attended countless Dodgers games and loved baseball the way certain people love the ocean—for its poetry, its endless stories, and the profound connection he felt simply being near it. He wrote the original script for the 1992 film Mr. Baseball and in 2007 helped produce Cooperstown: Jazz Opera in Nine Innings (coined Baseball, the Opera), which was performed during Hall of Fame weekend.
Mark always managed to meet people and develop relationships that lasted a lifetime including his three childhood friends, Tom, Bill, and John. They affectionately called themselves the Waffle and Crow Society, for they would either waffle or crow about life. As Mark would say, with his trademark humility, they crowed about "things of import"—how to improve the world and serve the highest ideals of their country. He was a proud American who believed in service and compassion, quoting from The Cider House Rules to remind others to "be of use."

In 2003, his writing won the grand prize in the International Imitation Hemingway Contest, judged by literary giants including George Plimpton and Ray Bradbury. Over the years, he often corresponded with his literary heroes John le Carré and Thomas McGuane, exchanging letters with them and many others. He constantly wrote friends; in a practice few could match, each letter arrived on a new personalized letterhead, complete with original cover art.

Back in San Francisco, his final few years were spent completing his "great American novel," as yet unpublished, and taking care of his wife, Barbara Smeltzer, whom he described as "my greatest source of gratitude for this life." She passed a month after Mark.

Mark is survived by his brother Guy Miller, sister and brother in law Susie and Red Adams, sister in law Diana Smeltzer, nephews Rob (Catherine) Miller, Tim (Lara) Miller and niece Meg (Jeff) Thomas.

In lieu of flowers, next time you have a gin martini, raise it to Mark. If he were there, glass in hand, he would offer a kind word and gently nudge you toward compassion, curiosity, and service. Like the best ballgames, his presence will be remembered long after the final pitch.