John Waters - Details

Biography

Born in Baltimore, MD in 1946, JOHN WATERS was drawn to movies at an early age, particularly exploitation movies with lurid ad campaigns. He subscribed to "Variety" at the age of twelve, absorbing the magazines factual information and its lexicon of insider lingo. This early education would prove useful as the future director began his career giving puppet shows for children's birthday parties. As a teen-ager, Waters began making 8-mm underground movies influenced by the likes of Godard, Walt Disney, Andy Warhol, Russ Meyer, Ingmar Bergman, and Herschell Gordon Lewis.

Using Baltimore, which he fondly dubbed the "Hairdo Capitol of the World," as the setting for all his films, Waters assembled a cast of ensemble players, mostly native Baltimoreans and friends of long standing: Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole and Edith Massey. Waters also established lasting relationships with key production people, such as art/production designer Vincent Peranio, costume designer Van Smith and casting director/jack-of-all trades Pat Moran, helping to give his films that trademark John Waters "look."

Waters made his first film, an 8-mm short, Hag In a Black Leather Jacket in 1964 starring Mary Vivian Pearce. Waters followed with ‘Roman Candles in 1966, the first of his films to star Divine and Mink Stole. In 1967, he made his first 16-mm film in 1967 with Eat Your Makeup, the story of a deranged governess and her lover who kidnap fashion models and force them to model themselves to death. Mondo Trasho, Waters’ first feature length film, was completed in 1969 despite the fact that the production ground to a halt when the director and two actors were arrested for "participating in a misdemeanor, to wit: indecent exposure."

In Hairspray (1988), Waters created "an almost big-budget comedy extravaganza about star-struck teen-age celebrities in 1962, their stage mothers and their quest for mental health." The film was a boxoffice and critical success and starred the then unknown Ricki Lake, Deborah Harry, the late Sonny Bono, Jerry Stiller, Pia Zadora and Ric Ocasek.

The success of Hairspray brought Waters major Hollywood backing for his next feature, Cry-Baby (1990), a juvenile delinquent musical comedy satire, starring Johnny Depp. In 1994, Waters released Serial Mom, the well reviewed socially un-redeeming comedy starring Kathleen Turner and Sam Waterston, which was the closing night attraction at that year's Cannes Film Festival.

Events

  • 29th April 1946 - Birth