John Waters

John Waters

b. 1946 (age 80) Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Actor Director Writer

Growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s, John Waters was not like other children; he was obsessed by violence and gore, both real and on the screen. With his weird counter-culture friends as his cast, he began making silent 8mm and 16mm films in the mid-'60s; he screened these in rented Baltimore church halls to underground audiences drawn by word of mouth and street leafleting campaigns. As his filmmaking grew more polished and his subject matter more shocking, his audiences grew bigger, and his write-ups in the Baltimore papers more outraged. By the early 1970s he was making features, which he managed to get shown in midnight screenings in art cinemas by sheer perseverance. Success came when Pink Flamingos (1972) - a deliberate exercise in ultra-bad taste - took off in 1973, helped no doubt by lead actor Divine's infamous dog-crap eating scene. Waters continued to make low-budget shocking movies with his Dreamland repertory company until Hollywood crossover success came with Hairspray (1988), and although his movies nowadays might now appear cleaned up and professional, they retain Waters' playfulness, and reflect his lifelong obsessions.

Known For

Pink Flamingos

Hairspray

Pecker

Seed of Chucky

Filmography

Kevin

New Line: Independent Legacies

Sarah Squirm: Live + in the Flesh

Sarah Squirm: Live + in the Flesh

Kicking Against the Pricks - John Waters on Cecil B. Demented

Velvet Vision: The Story of James Bidgood and the Making of Pink Narcissus

Velvet Vision: The Story of James Bidgood and the Making of Pink Narcissus

A Summer with Joe, Liz & Richard

Tura!

Saint Laurent: Time

Orville Peck's 6th Annual Rodeo

Chucky Be Demented - John Waters on Seed of Chucky

Boomslang 3: Your Future

Franck Boomslang

Lynch/Oz

Host (Chapter 3: 'Kindred')

Fragments of Paradise

Fragments of Paradise

The Book of Harth

The Book of Harth

Pride

Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time, Parts 1-3

Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time, Parts 1-3

30/30 Vision: 3 Decades of Strand Releasing

30/30 Vision: 3 Decades of Strand Releasing

Sickies Making Films

Sickies Making Films

Mugworth

Queercore: How To Punk A Revolution

Queercore: How To Punk A Revolution

Hairspray Live!

Hairspray Live!

Wall Writers

The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Maddin

The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Maddin

Whatever Happened to Gelitin

Whatever Happened to Gelitin

Beyond the Beyond

Tab Hunter Confidential

Tab Hunter Confidential

Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story

Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story

Sympathy for the Devil: The True Story of the Process Church of the Final Judgment

Sympathy for the Devil: The True Story of the Process Church of the Final Judgment

Enjoy Your Intermission

John Waters: An IU Cinema Exclusive

Suburban Gothic

Suburban Gothic

I Am Divine

A Life in Dirty Movies

A Life in Dirty Movies

The Last Impresario

The Last Impresario

Mansome

Of Dolls and Murder

Of Dolls and Murder

The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia

Smut Capital of America

Beautiful Darling

Beautiful Darling

The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: In 3-D! On Ice!

The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: In 3-D! On Ice!

Festivals SUNcovered

Ron Russell's Set the Record Straight

Sex: The Revolution

Guest of Cindy Sherman

Guest of Cindy Sherman

The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels

The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels

Starz Inside: Ladies or Gentlemen

Starz Inside: Ladies or Gentlemen

Hairspray

Here's Looking at You, Boy

Here's Looking at You, Boy

Jessica the Hippo

Jessica the Hippo

This Filthy World

This Filthy World

2006 Self Writer

Love You to Death

Love You to Death

The Groom Reaper

I Love the '70s: Volume 2

I Love the '70s: Volume 2

John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You

John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You

2006 Self Writer

Inside Deep Throat

Inside Deep Throat

Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream

Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream

That Man: Peter Berlin

That Man: Peter Berlin

Seed of Chucky

A Dirty Shame

2004 Director Writer

Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea

Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea

The 2004 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards

Blondie: Live by Request

A History of Sex

A History of Sex

Larry Clark, Great American Rebel

The 2003 IFP Independent Spirit Awards

2003 Self Writer

The 2002 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards

Indie Sex: Taboos

Indie Sex: Taboos

The 2001 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards

Memories of Oz

Cecil B. Demented

Cecil B. Demented

2000 Director Writer

In Bad Taste

Pecker

1998 Director Writer

Divine Trash

Home Movie on John Waters

Anthem

Split Screen

Serial Mom

1994 Director Writer

Cry-Baby

1990 Director Writer

Homer and Eddie

Homer and Eddie

The 4th Annual IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards

Hotels - Geschichte und Geschichten

Hairspray

1988 Director Writer

The Incredibly Strange Film Show

The Incredibly Strange Film Show

Divine Waters

Polyester

1981 Director Writer

John Waters in Charm City

People Are Talking

Desperate Living

Desperate Living

1977 Director Writer Cinematographer

Edith's Shopping Bag

Edith's Shopping Bag

Love Letter to Edie

Love Letter to Edie

Female Trouble

1974 Director Writer Cinematographer

Pink Flamingos

1972 Director Writer Cinematographer

Multiple Maniacs

Multiple Maniacs

1970 Director Writer Cinematographer

The Diane Linkletter Story

The Diane Linkletter Story

1970 Director Writer Cinematographer

Mondo Trasho

1969 Director Writer Cinematographer

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