John Waters turns 80 years old today! He was born on 22 April 1946.

It’s kind of hard not to love him because his work is all over the place. Who in the world doesn’t enjoy either Pink Flamingos or Hairspray or both? His interests are bizarre. But he weds them to a sweet temperament. So everyone should be able to find something in his catalog that they will enjoy.

And what psychotronic fan can resist Waters’ love letter to all of us, Serial Mom?

But it’s hardly surprising that Waters has given up directing. (Mostly, anyway. He may be in pre-production for a new film, “Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance.”) Waters can competently direct a standard narrative film. He has shown that a number of times. But he is not much interested in that.

In Female Trouble, far more care was taken applying the tread marks to Divine’s underwear than were applied to any shot in the film. What John Waters added to cinema was his unique interests and twisted sense of humor.

This is core to this site. If you have the money, creating a professional film is easy (as long as you are willing to let the professionals do their jobs). But what’s most interesting is when a filmmaker offers something unique. John Waters does that.

On his birthday, let’s watch Cry-Baby, John Waters’ campy love-letter to 1950s teen films.

Other 22 April Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Mark Damon (1933-2024): Actor in House of Usher and lots of Italian films like The Young, the Evil and the Savage.
• Jack Nicholson (1937-): Part of the Corman stable and much more.
• Jason Miller (1939-2001): Noted playwright and actor in The Exorcist and The Ninth Configuration.
• Marilyn Chambers (1952-2009): Star of Behind the Green Door and Rabid.
• Catherine Mary Stewart (1959-): Actor in Night of the Comet and The Last Starfighter.
• Sheryl Lee (1967-): Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks.
• Eric Mabius (1971-): Actor in Welcome to the Dollhouse and Resident Evil.
• Sarah French (1982-): Actor in Pretty Boy and Blind.
• Amber Heard (1986-): Actor in The Stepfather and The Ward.

Films:

• Invaders From Mars (1953): Martians replace humans.
• The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959): Lighthouse keeper feeds dangerous sea monster.
• Hands of a Stranger (1962): Pianist gets new hands that drive him crazy.
• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962): Western with James Stewart and John Wayne.
• Monster From a Prehistoric Planet (1967): Vaguely bird-like monster.
• Beast Must Die (1974): Bizarre werewolf film focused on a hunter.
• The Deadly Spawn (1983): Space aliens attack a small town.
• Brain Damage (1988): Comedy body horror.
• Lady in White (1988): Little boy sees a ghost starring a very young Lukas Haas.
• The Unholy (1988): A priest confronts a demon that kills sinners.
• 976-Evil II (1992): Evil teacher gets supernatural powers.
• Brainscan (1994): Evil computer game starring Edward Furlong.
• Deadly Species (2002): Monster in the jungle.
• Witchunter (2002): Witches feed monster.
• Graves End (2005): Ex-cons are disappearing.
• Earth Day (2009): Ecology-based slasher comedy.

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Image cropped from John Waters by PEN America, licensed under CC BY 2.0.