HR:
Smoje se rodio u ribarskoj obitelji u Splitu. Djed i otac su mu bili ribari. Odrastao je u četvrti Varoš.
Godine 1941. završio je gimnaziju, a nedugo zatim je u travanjskom ratu pala Kraljevina Jugoslavija, a Split okupiran i anektiran od fašističke Italije. Smoje se nakon toga priključio antifašističkom pokretu otpora, kao i Komunističkoj partiji Jugoslavije. Međutim, njegova buntovna priroda ga je dovela do toga da vrlo brzo bude isključen iz Partije.
Nakon rata Smoje je kraće vrijeme radio kao učitelj, da bi od 1950. godine počeo raditi kao novinar u splitskom dnevnom listu Slobodna Dalmacija. Vrlo brzo je na vidjelo izašao njegov talent za pisanje reportaža u kojima bi, uz veliku dozu humora, vješto koristio čakavski dijalekt. U svojim putopisima (koji su u biti bili i novinski članci i intervjui s mještanima i opis mjesta), objavljivanim u "Slobodnoj Dalmaciji" (veličine cijele stranice ili cijele dvije stranice) je novinarskim neformalnim pristupom pisao o dalmatinskim malim mjestima. Pokrenuo je humoristički list Pomet koji je poslije postao tjedni prilog u Slobodnoj Dalmaciji.[1]
Smoje je postao jedan od najuglednijih novinara tadašnje Hrvatske i Jugoslavije, ali je njegovoj slavi ipak najviše doprinio rad na humorističkoj TV-seriji Naše malo misto iz 1970. godine, koja je burne ekonomske, političke i kulturne promjene prije, za vrijeme i poslije drugog svjetskog rata pokazala kroz prizmu malih ljudi u dalmatinskom gradiću. Serija je 1982. godine dobila i filmski nastavak u obliku igranog filma Servantes iz Malog mista.
Smoje je 1979. godine otišao u mirovinu, ali je za Slobodnu Dalmaciju nastavio pisati kolumnu Dnevnik jednog penzionera.
Godinu dana kasnije je prema vlastitoj knjizi napisao scenarij za Velo misto, TV-seriju koja je obrađivala povijest Splita od 1910. do 1947. godine. Iako je serija bila predmetom snažne cenzure od tadašnjih komunističkih vlasti, doživjela je veliku popularnost i kultni status koji traje do danas.
Osamdesetih godina , pa i nakon njegove smrti od strane javnosti okarakteriziran je vrlo loše i neopravdano optuživan za jugonostalgičara[2], no Smoje nije bio političar, a njegov rad velik je doprinos hrvatskoj komediografiji. Nakon što je Slobodna Dalmacija godine 1993. kontroverznom privatizacijom prešla u ruke Tuđmanovog pristaše Miroslava Kutle, Smoje je postao kolumnist satiričnog tjednika Feral Tribune gdje je pisao sve do svoje smrti.
Miljenko Smoje je pokopan u Žrnovnici, pokraj Splita.
EN:
Smoje was born in Split, at the time in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, in a family of poor labourers. The neighbourhood where he grew up was known for its support for anarchism, socialism and other left-wing ideologies. This would later influence Smoje's work and help him develop a strong dislike of authorities and the establishment.
Smoje finished high school in Split in 1941, but his further education was interrupted by the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia and Split being occupied by Italy. Smoje joined Communist Party of Yugoslavia and took part in local resistance movement. However, due to his rebellious nature, he was expelled from the Party, but he survived that, as well as brief incarceration by Italian authorities. After the end of the war he finished college and worked as a teacher. In 1950 he took a job as a reporter for the Split daily newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija, where he would write until his formal retirement in 1979.
As a reporter, Smoje developed a specific style that included use of Čakavština dialect in his articles. His specialty was articles about ordinary people and through the decades he travelled over Dalmatia chronicling many aspects of its life. Later he used many of those experiences as the basis for his short stories, plays and novels. He liked to inject all of his work with a strong dose of humour, laced with elements of every-day tragedy. All this helped Smoje become one of the most respected and more popular writers of former Yugoslavia, as well as arguably the greatest humourist of Croatian literature.
It was the medium of television which helped Smoje become famous. In 1970 he wrote the script for Naše malo misto (also known as Malo misto), a mini-series chronicling three decades of life in small Dalmatian coastal town. The series featured many memorable characters that would later become part of local culture. Smoje also showed ability to use broad comedy as a way to criticise aspects of Communism. The series nevertheless became an instant hit and grew in popularity through the decades.
In 1980 Smoje tried to repeat the success with Velo misto, a more ambitious project chronicling life in Split between 1910 and 1947. Velo misto became very popular and developed cult status of its own.
After his retirement Smoje continued to write for Slobodna Dalmacija and Nedjeljna Dalmacija weekly. In the late 1980s and early 1990s he opposed Croatian nationalism and for that reason he was snubbed by the media controlled by Franjo Tuđman and his ruling Croatian Democratic Union. When Tuđman's supporter Miroslav Kutle took over Slobodna Dalmacija in 1993, Smoje began to write for the satirical weekly Feral Tribune.
Semi-official snub of Miljenko Smoje ended in late 1990s when his shows were allowed to be aired on Croatian Radiotelevision.
Smoje was married twice. He is buried in Žrnovnica near Split.