Happy 74th Birthday, John Waters! Born today in 1946 as John Samuel Waters Jr., this American visual artist, actor, cinematographer, writer, producer, director and filmmaker was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland.
In the late 1960s. Waters directed his first feature film. This was the 1969 American 16mm mondo black and white black comedy film 'Mondo Trasho'.
Waters rose to prominence in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including the 1970 American black and white independent comedy film 'Multiple Maniacs'.
Between 1972 and 1977, Waters created three of the most notorious, most noxious, and most beloved comedies ever filmed – his Trash Trilogy.
These included writing and directing the 1972 American exploitation crime comedy/cult film 'Pink Flamingos' the 1974 American dark comedy crime film 'Female Trouble' and the 1977 American comedy/fantasy film 'Desperate Living'.
'Hairspray' later became an international success and was turned into a hit Broadway musical. Even today, it has remained in almost continuous production.
In the 1990s, Waters wrote and directed the 1990 American teen musical romantic comedy film 'Cry-Baby', the 1994 American crime comedy/dark comedy film 'Serial Mom'. and the 1998 American comedy-drama film 'Pecker'.
In addition to filmmaking and acting, Waters also works as a visual artist and across different mediums such as installations, photography, and sculpture.
He has also published multiple collections of his journalistic exploits, screenplays, ruminations and artwork. Waters’ artwork exhibits regularly in galleries and museums around the world.
Waters has often worked with American singer, actor and drag queen Divine (b. Harris Glenn Milstead), and his regular cast the Dreamlanders. The term comes from the name of Waters' production company, Dreamland Productions.
Many of the original Dreamlanders were friends of Waters from his native Baltimore. They included the "bad suburban kids" he knew from Towson and Lutherville.
These included Bob Skidmore, Mark Isherwood, and American actress Mary Vivian Pearce. This crowd was drawn to downtown Baltimore by the gay scene, where Divine introduced Waters to David Lochary.
In 2015, the British Film Institute celebrated Waters’ films with a retrospective in honor of his fifty-year filmmaking career.
Later that year, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for the spoken word version of his 2014 humour autobiographical travel literature guidebook Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America.
Later that year, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for the spoken word version of his 2014 humour autobiographical travel literature guidebook Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America.
With his trademark pencil-thin moustache and camp personality, Waters' transgressive films combine outrageous subject matter with a sense of bad taste.
For his mainstream films, they satirize mid-century suburban America with a camp sense of humor, all set in his native Baltimore.
For his mainstream films, they satirize mid-century suburban America with a camp sense of humor, all set in his native Baltimore.
Also known as the Pope of Trash and the Prince of Puke, Waters has been active from 1964–present.
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