As a youth, he made as much as $50 a week doing puppet shows for the neighborhood children, and was often hired to entertain at birthday parties. He stated that many of his puppet shows were inspired by the gimmick-heavy films of William Castle.

Subscribes to more than 80 magazines. Also goes to see just about every movie that comes out and hardly ever rents movies.

He is obsessed with true-crime and regularly attends gory trials all over the US, where he often sees the same faces in the public galleries.

Has taught classes at the Patuxent Institution, a correctional facility located halfway between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The classes are meant as rehabilitation therapy for convicted killers, in which they learn to write about their violent fantasies rather than act them out.

Bears such a strong resemblance to actor Steve Buscemi that as a joke, John Waters sent out cards with a photo of Buscemi made up to look like Waters.

As a youth he would watch adult-only films at the local drive-in, with binoculars.

His favorite childhood memory was seeing real blood on the seat of a wrecked car when visiting a scrap yard and fantasizing about lethal car crashes.

One of his closest friends is Baltimore based casting director Pat Moran.

Waters originally wanted a man named "Mr. Ray" to be the narrator of Pink Flamingos (1972). Mr. Ray was famous for his hair-weave radio ads and for his Baltimore accent. Mr. Ray refused, so Waters recorded the voice-over himself, imitating Mr. Ray's voice as "Mr. J."

Was supposed to have a cameo in American Splendor (2003), as the David Letterman guest holding a alligator.

Waters has always been very gracious in acknowledging his creative influences, such as Russ Meyer, Otto Preminger, Liberace, William Castle, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Jayne Mansfield, Robert Bresson, and Pier Paolo Pasolini.

Maintains a home in the Tuscany-Canterbury section of Baltimore, Maryland.

Attended Calvert Hall College High School in Towson, Maryland.

Brother of Steve Waters.

Was member of the dramatic jury at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002.

There is a special section of his immense book collection devoted to Liberace.

Grew his thin pencil-line mustache in honor of Little Richard.

Big fan of 1950s director Douglas Sirk and actually got to meet him while in Europe.

Member of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995.