Daily Inspiration: Meet Mark Miller

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Miller. 

Hi Mark, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my comedy career in the San Francisco stand-up comedy scene, where I wrote and performed my own stand-up act, sharing the comedy club stages and often doing improvisational comedy with Dana Carvey and Robin Williams. Encouraged by Jay Leno to move to Los Angeles, 

I became a stand-up fixture at the Comedy Store and Improvisation nightclubs. TV soon beckoned, and I became the first 4.0 perfect-score-from-all-three-judges winner on “Star Search.” Several TV talk show appearances followed. At the same time, I created special stand-up comedy material for Roseanne, Rodney Dangerfield, Joan Rivers, Jimmie Walker, Gallagher, Jay Leno, Garry Shandling, Jim Carrey, Dana Carvey, and many others. 

This was followed by a series of sit-com staff positions, ranging from staff writer to story editor to an executive script consultant, to the producer, on such shows as “The New Odd Couple,” “Diff’rent Strokes,” “She’s The Sheriff,” “The Munsters Today,” “The Carol Burnett Show,” (her more recent comeback attempt), “Living Dolls,” “Together We Stand,” “What A Dummy,” “The New Hollywood Squares,” and Dana Carvey’s HBO Special. 

I have been a nationally syndicated humor columnist for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. My humor essays have also appeared in “Playboy” and “Penthouse” magazines, and in “The Jewish Journal” and Jewlarious.com among others. I have contributed radio comedy sketches and original material to Premiere Radio Syndicate and to the Jack FM series of CBS Radio stations nationwide. I have contributed comedy material to Showtime, the Playboy Channel, America Online, “Weekly World News,” and to nationally syndicated cartoonists including “Bizarro”’s Dan Piraro. 

My first book, a collection of my humor essays on dating and romance, is 500 Coffee Dates: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the Online Dating Wars, and is now available at Amazon.com and wherever fine books dealing with my failed attempts at romance are sold. I’m also working for The Huffington Post on a series of interviews with people doing truly unique jobs. They can be viewed here. 

I’m currently developing an edgy new children’s sitcom called “Brokeback Daycare Center,” and sincerely hope both for world peace and for Salma Hayek to respect my restraining order. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Anyone who chooses a career in show business, the arts, writing, stand-up comedy, etc., should have a mind, stomach, and heart for obstacles, challenges, rejection, and failure. 

It took years of practice before I was paid as a comedian or writer. I played more small clubs with small audiences than I can count. Wrote numerous sample scripts. And even after I became a working comedian and working comedy writer, there were countless instances of rejection, silence, and failure upon applying for numerous positions. And that is because these are highly competitive fields and we’re constantly up against the best for a limited amount of jobs. Realizing that helps. And realizing that one’s peers are going through the same obstacles and challenges. But most helpful is a positive attitude, being goal-oriented, and loving the process of the work itself. 

And finally, when the work dried up, I was forced to embark upon a whole other career, as a marketing writer (copywriter) to keep paying the bills. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’ve had several different arenas of work and I’m proud of them all. They include: 

1. Ten years of stand-up comedy, including work in nightclubs, on radio, and on TV talk shows.

2. Ten years of sitcom, TV variety show, and game show staff writing, both with writing partners and on my own.

3. Syndicated humor columnist for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

4. Creating specialized comedy material for numerous celebrities including Roseanne Barr, Rodney Dangerfield, Joan Rivers, Jimmie Walker, Gallagher, Jay Leno, Garry Shandling, Jim Carrey, Dana Carvey, and many others. 

5. Over 10 years of copywriting experience, on both a full-time and consulting basis, in numerous industries including professional service firms, retail businesses, direct mail, nonprofit, and startups. 

6. Having a collection of my published humor essays published as a book by a traditional publishing house. (https://www.amazon.com/500-Dates-Dispatches-Online-Dating/dp/1629144665/?)

7. A labor of love for me has been my series of interviews on The Huffington Post and Medium.com with people who have unique jobs.

https://www.huffpost.com/author/mark-writer-841 

https://medium.com/@mark-writer 

Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
I love Tim Ferriss’s books and podcasts. He interviews people in various fields at high levels of achievement. https://tim.blog/ 

I’m constantly listening to Terry Gross’s interviews with experts and achievers in various fields, on her Fresh Air radio show and podcast. 

https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/ 

I find Marc Maron’s WTF podcast interviews illuminating about comedy and show biz achievers. 

http://www.wtfpod.com/ 

And in terms of keeping my body at its peak, I follow a vegan diet and do regular cardio, yoga, bicycling, and meditation. 

Contact Info:

• Email: mark.writer@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.markmillerhumorist.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markwriter/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markmiller.writer/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkMiller123
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxCO3nTQi-aTH3WzVpwYDUQ
• Other: https://www.huffpost.com/author/mark-writer-841