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
Serial Mom
(1994)
Director
Pink Flamingos
(1972)
Director
A Dirty Shame
(2004)
Director
Cry-Baby
(1990)
Director
Hairspray
(1988)
Director
Desperate Living
(1977)
Director
Pecker
(1998)
Director
Multiple Maniacs
(1970)
Director
Female Trouble
(1974)
Director
Cecil B. Demented
(2000)
Director
Polyester
(1981)
Director
Full Filmography
Directing
Hag in a Black Leather Jacket
(1964)
Director
Roman Candles
(1967)
Director
Eat Your Makeup
(1968)
Director
Mondo Trasho
(1969)
Director
The Diane Linkletter Story
(1970)
Director
Multiple Maniacs
(1970)
Director
Pink Flamingos
(1972)
Director
Female Trouble
(1974)
Director
Desperate Living
(1977)
Director
Polyester
(1981)
Director
Hairspray
(1988)
Director
Cry-Baby
(1990)
Director
Serial Mom
(1994)
Director
Pecker
(1998)
Director
Cecil B. Demented
(2000)
Director
A Dirty Shame
(2004)
Director
Kiddie Flamingos
(2015)
Director
30/30 Vision: Three Decades of Strand Releasing
(2019)
Director
Acting
Mondo Trasho
(1969)
Reporter (voice) (uncredited)
Pink Flamingos
(1972)
Mr. J (voice) (uncredited)
Love Letter to Edie
(1975)
Himself
Edith's Shopping Bag
(1976)
Himself
No Smoking in This Theater
(1982)
Himself
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency
(1985)
Divine Waters
(1985)
Self
Something Wild
(1986)
Used Car Guy
Way USA!
(1988)
Hairspray
(1988)
Dr. Fredrickson
The Incredibly Strange Film Show: John Waters
(1988)
Self
The Incredibly Strange Film Show: Herschell Gordon Lewis
(1988)
Self
Homer and Eddie
(1989)
Robber #1
Gastronomic Getaway
(1991)
Growing Up with John Waters
(1993)
Himself
Serial Mom
(1994)
Ted Bundy (voice) (uncredited)
God Save the Queens
(1995)
Ballyhoo: The Hollywood Sideshow!
(1996)
Anthem
(1997)
Self
Divine Trash
(1998)
Himself
Welcome to Hollywood
(1998)
John Waters
Pecker
(1998)
Pervert on Phone (voice) (uncredited)
Anarchy TV
(1998)
Sweet and Lowdown
(1999)
Mr. Haynes
In Bad Taste
(1999)
Self
Forever Hollywood
(1999)
Self
Yesterday's Tomorrows
(1999)
Self
Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story
(2000)
Cecil B. Demented
(2000)
Reporter
Memories of Oz
(2001)
Himself
Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat
(2002)
The Reverend
The Cockettes
(2002)
Self
A History of Sex
(2003)
Himself
Abby Singer
(2003)
John Waters (uncredited)
Seed of Chucky
(2004)
Pete Peters
Thinking XXX
(2004)
Self
All the Dirt on 'A Dirty Shame'
(2005)
Himself
Inside Deep Throat
(2005)
Self
It Came from... Baltimore!!
(2005)
Self
Chucky's Family Vacation
(2005)
Pete Peters (Archive Footage)
Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea
(2006)
Self - Narrator (voice)
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream
(2006)
Himself
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
(2006)
Self - Director of 'A Dirty Shame'
This Filthy World
(2006)
Self
Busby Berkeley's Kaleidoscopic Eyes
(2006)
That Man: Peter Berlin
(2006)
Himself
The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway
(2006)
Himself
Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema
(2006)
Self
(buz'be bur'kle) n. A Study in Style
(2006)
Himself
Footlight Parade: Music for the Decades
(2006)
Jackass Number Two
(2006)
Self
Meet The Kuchar Brothers
(2006)
I, of the Cyclops
(2006)
Treasures Untold: The Making of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid'
(2006)
Self
Mommie Dearest: Joan Lives On
(2006)
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
(2006)
Self
Here’s Looking at You, Boy
(2007)
Self
Each Time I Kill
(2007)
Movie Watcher
Hairspray
(2007)
Flasher
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
(2007)
Himself
Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story
(2007)
Self
There's a Hippo in my House
(2007)
Narrator (Voice)
The Junior Defenders
(2007)
Narrator
The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels
(2008)
Narrator
Obscene
(2008)
Self
New Line Cinema: The First Generation and the Next Generation
(2008)
Self
Starz Inside: In the Gutter
(2008)
Self
Coven of the Heathenites
(2008)
Himself
It Came from Kuchar
(2009)
Self
For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism
(2009)
Self
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within
(2010)
Self
Beautiful Darling
(2010)
Self
Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore
(2010)
Uncle Bob
(2010)
Self (archiveFootage)
These Amazing Shadows
(2011)
Self
Mangus!
(2011)
The Advocate for Fagdom
(2011)
Himself
Blank City
(2011)
Self
Excision
(2012)
William
Mansome
(2012)
Self
Frankenstein: A Modern Myth
(2012)
Self - Director
Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open
(2013)
Self
I Am Divine
(2013)
Self
The Sarnos: A Life in Dirty Movies
(2013)
Self
Jingle Bell Rocks!
(2013)
Himself
Suburban Gothic
(2014)
Cornelius
The 1000 Eyes of Dr Maddin
(2015)
Tab Hunter Confidential
(2015)
Self
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip
(2015)
First Class Passenger
Sympathy For The Devil: The True Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment
(2015)
Self
Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story
(2015)
Self
Whatever Happened to Gelitin
(2016)
Himself
In Conversation With Director John Waters, Actress Kathleen Turner and Actress Mink Stole
(2016)
himself
Weiner
(2016)
Self (archive footage)
Mansfield 66/67
(2017)
Self
Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution
(2017)
Himself
Sickies Making Films
(2018)
Self
Mugworth
(2018)
Sir Butler
Crime and Beauty: Making ‘Female Trouble’
(2018)
At the Video Store
(2019)
Self
Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn
(2019)
Self
Sniffing Out ‘Polyester’
(2019)
Self
30/30 Vision: Three Decades of Strand Releasing
(2019)
Self
The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo
(2020)
Himself
Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness
(2020)
Host
Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi
(2020)
Host
Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp
(2020)
Host
Joel Calls Indie Film Type Dudes
(2020)
The Velvet Underground
(2021)
Self
Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida
(2021)
Self [archival]
Tell Me Iggy
(2022)
Self
Living with Chucky
(2022)
Self
Fragments of Paradise
(2022)
Self
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
(2022)
Self (Archive Footage)
The Book of Harth
(2022)
Self
Lynch/Oz
(2023)
Host (Chapter 3: 'Kindred') (voice)
Little Richard: I Am Everything
(2023)
Self
Scala!!!
(2024)
Self
Writing
Hag in a Black Leather Jacket
(1964)
Writer
Roman Candles
(1967)
Writer
Eat Your Makeup
(1968)
Writer
Mondo Trasho
(1969)
Writer
The Diane Linkletter Story
(1970)
Writer
Multiple Maniacs
(1970)
Writer
Pink Flamingos
(1972)
Writer
Female Trouble
(1974)
Screenplay
Desperate Living
(1977)
Writer
Polyester
(1981)
Screenplay
Hairspray
(1988)
Screenplay
Cry-Baby
(1990)
Writer
Serial Mom
(1994)
Writer
Pecker
(1998)
Screenplay
Cecil B. Demented
(2000)
Screenplay
A Dirty Shame
(2004)
Writer
This Filthy World
(2006)
Screenplay
Hairspray
(2007)
Original Film Writer
Kiddie Flamingos
(2015)
Writer
Camera
Hag in a Black Leather Jacket
(1964)
Director of Photography
Roman Candles
(1967)
Director of Photography
Eat Your Makeup
(1968)
Director of Photography
Mondo Trasho
(1969)
Director of Photography
The Diane Linkletter Story
(1970)
Director of Photography
Multiple Maniacs
(1970)
Director of Photography
Pink Flamingos
(1972)
Director of Photography
Female Trouble
(1974)
Director of Photography
Desperate Living
(1977)
Additional Photography
Production
Hag in a Black Leather Jacket
(1964)
Producer
Roman Candles
(1967)
Producer
Eat Your Makeup
(1968)
Producer
Mondo Trasho
(1969)
Producer
The Diane Linkletter Story
(1970)
Producer
Multiple Maniacs
(1970)
Producer
Pink Flamingos
(1972)
Producer
Female Trouble
(1974)
Producer
Desperate Living
(1977)
Producer
Polyester
(1981)
Producer
Hairspray
(1988)
Co-Producer
Hairspray Live!
(2016)
Associate Producer
Editing
Hag in a Black Leather Jacket
(1964)
Editor
Roman Candles
(1967)
Editor
Eat Your Makeup
(1968)
Editor
Mondo Trasho
(1969)
Editor
The Diane Linkletter Story
(1970)
Editor
Multiple Maniacs
(1970)
Editor
Pink Flamingos
(1972)
Editor
Female Trouble
(1974)
Editor
Crew