John Waters' Tour of his Baltimore apartment - 1986

[@TheDorkEvilOne]

Every video of him showing his apartment is gold.

[@TodMesirow]

I didn’t know it was a whole sub genre….glad you enjoyed it!

[@raescabies]

Anytime John Waters is talking on film is gold.

[@marknewbold2583]

@@tommydurkin213 go to sleep, Tommy Tot

[@angusorvid8840]

John Waters' apartment looks exactly like you would imagine.

[@ginalugo2034]

I miss seeing him in the dive bars in Baltimore. Such an amazing human with a one of a kind aura. He gives Baltimore it's charm.

[@RobertornGar]

Did you move or did he stop going out?

[@orpheus9037]

Waters has a house in Baltimore now. According to an article that appeared in the New York Times a few years back, Waters devoted one of the rooms in the house to an art installation he calls "The Bomb Room" - actually, it's a full-room installation by artist Gregory Green (who called it “Work Table #7”) that depicts the den of a mad bomber/terrorist, with a work bench strewn with paraphernalia resembling an in-progress explosive device, along with Christmas cards, junk food wrappers, etc, etc - basically all the crap and detritus that people typically litter their desks with. How's that for cheeky?

[@peka__]

"Don't worry, officer. This is just an... art... yeah and art installation. Absolutely just for art!"

[@orpheus9037]

@@peka__ Actually, you're right on the mark, because that's exactly what Waters goes through every time he has a big party - usually there are politicians from DC attending - and security has to do a sweep of the house first.

[@peka__]

@@orpheus9037 I love the man - and I constantly wish for another movie to come.

[@tommydurkin213]

@@peka__ is it peka or p3do what movie are you waiting for exactly. Just wondering if I can get a hold of it for evidence.

[@peka__]

@@tommydurkin213 Awww... don't know what you're dreaming of, little troll. You seem so eager to share some of your personal fantasies with us. I love all of his movies and he is one of the few artists who managed to become even better when he switched from underground to mainstream.

[@abraxasjinx5207]

When I am struggling to think of anything that makes America great, John Waters comes to mind. He is a national treasure.

[@lockandloadlikehell]

The Bill of Rights And Danny McBride Right off the top of my head

[@sexobscura]

@@lockandloadlikehell * The *John* of Rights

[@popeyedoyle6360]

The Billy Jean of Rights

[@ligiv]

Well said.Totally agree all of his work gives me 100% entertainment one of our greatest american directors

[@dlane7539]

So this makes you realize is one of most free country no matter your sex, race or religion? I'd go read the Constitution & Bill of Rights if you don't understand.

[@traceydelfs2657]

I too have a weird affection for fake food. In the tattoo shop I’ve worked at for 20+ years, i have systematically placed plastic sandwiches to confuse my clients.

[@TodMesirow]

perfect. what's your favorite plastic sandwich?

[@callmehplus]

I hope you have real sandwiches too 😉

[@r.edward5701]

"systematically". Moves from one shelf to the other...

[@blazefairchild465]

Wow clutter 😂

[@lilivonshtup3808]

He is so fun and entertaining. It's never boring when John Waters is involved.

[@Meridian24]

'Liberace the personification of everything I believed in as a young man.' Classic.

[@zookytar]

Just came here from a video of Werner Herzog saying (paraphrasing), "After knowing John Waters for 35 years, I turned to my wife and said, I think he might be gay"

[@sovtek]

That was brilliant! Possibly the fastest 7 minutes of my life so far.

[@TodMesirow]

thanks for watching!

[@0_________________]

the og home tour. 30 years ahead of time.

[@TodMesirow]

well said. thanks for checking it out!

[@marsduke8244]

i'm moving into a new apartment in a couple months so i'm watching this for decorating tips

[@TodMesirow]

JW chic style. nice.

[@Alltoofinite]

This man is a national treasure… He’s one of the few good things about this country anymore

[@TheSerpentsEye]

I just want Buscemi to play John Waters before it's too late.

[@TodMesirow]

maybe they could be in a film together, playing brothers....

[@windmaze8735]

Well he hasn't played him yet, but he has posed as him on one of John's christmas cards!

[@tobinharris8107]

What a genius! Love the fake food and his wonderful sense of humor.

[@TodMesirow]

thanks for watching!

[@tomdadada]

And its all over the house!

[@justindawson5930]

I think there is a psychological reason for collecting fake food, but I’m not a psychiatrist so I can’t really say what that reason is

[@dontbefatuousjeffrey2494]

@@justindawson5930 Well, in the profession we diagnose it as... ... loving fake food 🙂

[@justindawson5930]

@@dontbefatuousjeffrey2494 you should call it, “Waters’ Syndrome”

[@peterjonas4971]

What a gem. I'm so grateful to have met him on many occasions at the Club Charles. Thanks for posting this!

[@tommydurkin213]

Ok this guy buggers young boys.

[@tommydurkin213]

You are a gem dude. You disgust me.

[@peterjonas4971]

@@tommydurkin213 troll

[@peterjonas4971]

@@tommydurkin213 proof? What are you doing here, then?

[@EastSide-qc5oy]

@@tommydurkin213 QAnon isn’t real

[@altohippiegabber]

He actually lives more modest than i expected as i assumed he had a nice big house somewhere in a Baltimore suburb. Reminds me of an old MTV Cribs episode showing Moby's N.Y. apartment

[@jeffb587]

This recording is quite old, from before he found massive commercial success. He now owns a home in a Baltimore neighborhood called Tuscany Canterbury, which is about as suburban as you can get while still living in the city bounds, and as the name suggests it is a very nice neighborhood. He also owns properties in San Francisco and Provincetown I believe. So yea, definitely living that life now. Good for him! He is the GOAT!!!

[@bekadid]

That Moby episode was my favorite.

[@NormAppleton]

Nah, he's a city boy through and through

[@NormAppleton]

The point I wanted to make was that he isn't ostentatious. He wants comfortable place to live but he's so not Beverly Hills. He did write a book about himself hitchhiking across America and he did that well past his success. He roughed it.

[@erinolsen8062]

@@jeffb587 well obviously he needed more room for his books, the shelves in his apartment in this video were already overloaded

[@georgeriley4818]

It was exactly how I expected his apartment to look like

[@TodMesirow]

thanks for watching!

[@aallerton]

I expected nothing less. I wish I had so much cool stuff in my apartment and enough space for it.

[@TodMesirow]

thanks for watching!

[@Valkonnen]

Start going to flea markets and you'll amass a collection in no time, for very little money. Although everything there has some value as collectibles, the audience for that type of thing will die with this generation, and prices will get lower and lower. Do you really think that modern kids care about kitsch and vintage collectibles?

[@MrUndersolo]

Read most of his books and seen most of his films, and I needed this more than I thought... 🎥 🎞 🎦 🎬 📽 📚 📖

[@TodMesirow]

thanks, that's a really great comment.

[@mediaenjoyer2]

he might actually be the coolest person ever

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

A guy with more weird books than I have - whew! I thought I was nuts, though he is John Waters. It reminds me of how desperately I need a bookshelf, I've been using tables - shelving was easier to find in the good ol' days. Now it's cheap and expensive all at the same time.

[@Andy_Tx]

This is the best video I’ve ever seen

[@TodMesirow]

glad you enjoyed it!

[@texas1949]

Always a fan of his wit, talent and style. A story of art everywhere! ❤

[@fuferito]

Wow. Years after watching _Once Upon a Time In Hollywood,_ 1980s John Waters tells me Spahn Ranch has been turned into condos.

[@pleiades.puppets]

Thanks for this! John, his apartment and all his wonderful quirkiness!

[@TodMesirow]

thanks for watching!

[@boyroyboy226]

Thank you for sharing this!

[@TodMesirow]

My pleasure!

[@Dalekzilla]

And I'm thinking the whole time I was watching this....."Divine was still alive at this time". Always love watching and listening to John.

[@ioannulamusic]

I would like to see the 2023 tour. Wonder how his collection expanded

[@watercolornyc]

Has anyone mentioned the many hilarious books John has written? The man really is multi-talented.

[@suzy3899]

He did, three times to make his publicist happy!! 😂

[@hanschristianbrando5588]

"Hairspray," which wasn't too far into the future from this point, made John Waters mainstream. It's almost a shame; he was kind of more fun before. I'd forgotten how cute he was when he was younger.

[@TodMesirow]

such a tough issue. thanks for watching!

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

He seems like a good guy, Great personality

[@Bat_Boy]

Best cribs tour ever (only second to Redmans apartment tour on MTV. Must locate).

[@colinbradfield72]

I love how this video came up after I was watching a clip from Fargo because he looks exactly like Steve buscemi here

[@gutez]

In my world, he is considered Sir John Waters! He's got to be one of the most coolest and real entertainment behind the scenes people around and think-out-of-the-box filmmaker artist.

[@marshhen]

Wow what a time to be alive. People lived interesting lives and passionately persued their interests without any though of promoting themselves by taking photos of their breakfast or showing off their boring vacations on social media. There were lots of exceptional people, so only the most exceptional among them were deemed worthy of celebrity. Now it is the opposite. Now influencers would only have that many books if it was for a decorative wall.

[@bluewren65]

And they would be arranged by the colour of their spines.

[@HOTD108_]

Ok boomer.

[@mandadick7093]

​​@@HOTD108_ oof... Even the gen z comebacks are generic and uninspired.

[@tperson8347]

@@mandadick7093 Yes. :)

[@rainynightz7573]

He keeps you on your toes for sure

[@syntheticsilkwood2206]

I don't know who he is but my recommendation page sure does know me

[@TodMesirow]

that's great.

[@sleepysteev2735]

This whole video was simply hypnotic.

[@TodMesirow]

thanks so much. it was a treat to have the opportunity.

[@cj22cj]

i LOVE it! thanks for posting!!! 😍😍😍

[@TodMesirow]

my pleasure glad you enjoyed it.

[@edshoaff3055]

Prison Trivia: The average age of corrections officers when they die is 59.

[@NormAppleton]

Good

[@Jemar_Blount-Golden]

I loved his role in The Seed of Chucky as the Paparazzi guy. 😂 loved it!

[@newsnewsroom4920]

Hi Tod. This is WJZ-TV here in Baltimore. We saw your hilarious posting with John Waters touring his home in 1986. Is that your footage? We were hoping to use some of that in a story we are doing with him and didn't know who owned it and if we could use it with courtesy?

[@TodMesirow]

Thanks for watching and I’m glad you enjoyed the piece! I was working for what is now WUSA, and was at the time WTOP, the CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C. as a director/writer/producer on a weekly series called Capital Edition, that aired on Sunday mornings after the CBS News series Sunday Morning, then hosted by Charles Kuralt. My guess is that the station owns the copyright on the story, unless the host of the show, John Goldsmith, bought the series from them. I’m not monetizing the piece, and I don’t claim any rights to it - I put it up because I always enjoyed the opportunity to meet and film John Waters, and I’m happy it’s been up thus far without issue. That’s all I know about the rights and ownership.

[@Melissa0774]

I'm surprised he didn't have a lot more video tapes.

[@nightstalkerck]

Videos were very expensive in the late 80's

[@Melissa0774]

@@nightstalkerck Yeah, but you'd think a guy like him would've spent the money. Plus I don't think they were really that prohibitively expensive, anyway.

[@nightstalkerck]

@@Melissa0774 Believe me, someone who's always collected many films, they were very expensive, I had two vcrs which cost me around $450 apiece just so I could rent and copy them, movies didn't start getting cheaper until the early 90's.

[@readdeeply9278]

I was hoping he would have one of the scratch n sniff strips from Polyester lol I kept mine for years and mourn its loss. Sheer genius.

[@NormAppleton]

I saw that in a theater with 500 people in like 81-82. They had scratch and sniff cards for everyone. When number 2 flashed on the screen, you could HEAR all the scratching of the whole audience, then 500 people sniffing deeply, followed by groans and shrieks. I've only once in my life been in such a crowd that collectively smelled a sulphurous rotten egg fart at the same instant. It was hilarious, vile and glorious at the same time. Plus It only cost me 99 cents. Waters totally gets what's behind the facade of the American dream like nobody else.

[@ComplexionofFantasies]

Thanks for this!

[@TodMesirow]

thanks for watching.

[@Audunforgard]

I love how he stella his new book to the audience. Learned something new there 😅👍

[@hendo337]

I hope that one day he makes a video with Scott Michaels they're definitely two of a kind with their dark showbiz and crime obsessions.

[@Studeb]

Surprisingly good image quality for 1986, especially compared the sound.

[@bullittvolante8215]

Brilliant! Love John Waters.

[@edshoaff3055]

John is living proof that you cannot consider yourself as being gay unless you own multiple candelabras !

[@MelancoliaI]

Posters and art on the walls, plenty of interesting books and tchotchke, yeah. About what I was expecting.

[@Elena-er7zp]

so impressive that you spelled “tchotchke” correctly

[@FilleDesSoucoupesVolantes]

I'm in love. He's so DADA. Would have totally married him. Books, research, and tongue-in-cheek design. YES. That's me as a man. Style, dear sir. STYLE.

[@deewesthill1213]

Maybe that old movie about the woman giving birth was one my mother mentioned watching and she got faint at the sight of blood and had to be carried out of the theater.

[@behemoth5344]

Thanks for sharing, but now I'm jealous.

[@Dr-Stu]

My God he's fantastic.

[@lianalonge1984]

His Waters still living in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood? That’s a very nice area.

[@bluegypsy71]

This. Is. AWESOME!!!!😃❤❤❤

[@TodMesirow]

thanks for watching!

[@paulamiles9559]

I actually have a copy of Crackpot and it's one of my favorite books.

[@millsykooksy4863]

He’s hilarious, I love him ❤

[@AmosAmerica]

Love ya John! Thanks Tod!

[@chesterthawkins7510]

John is a gem!!

[@ghettofam360100]

He's so smart. I love him!

[@savethezombies]

How can we not have a shot of his wardrobe? Or is that like a whole 'nother video?

[@sourbaileys]

"I have fake meat. I collect fake meat." Me trying to explain my collection of shitty "movie" video games I've collected since I was four. A Bugs Life, Dinosaur (2000), The Matrix etc.

[@dunbarnoon9872]

The book he promotes, "Crackpot", is actually sitting on my desk as I watch this

[@halitosis75]

Waters drinking water hahha. He was so handsome ❤❤. Are there anymore devine movies coming out please?

[@TodMesirow]

@@halitosis75 glad you enjoyed it! That’s all I have sadly, and I have no inside information on more Devine movies.

[@shaunbolton4662]

I love John Waters! Odd, offbeat, eccentric, funny... just wonderful. That apartment could belong to no-one else!

[@tommydurkin213]

This is not funny. I know funny. This is deprived.

[@marknewbold2583]

@@tommydurkin213 deprived? You are deprived of grey matter

[@BalCleric]

Never clicked so freaking fast.

[@nelsonnoname001]

I'd chill with JW seems like a cool dude

[@DylanBelievesInTheNet]

One of the best of all time.

[@MyTimeOutt]

I have to admit, I thought John Waters just might have decorated one part of a wall with self adhesive shelf lining paper from the late 1960s. I need to get more therapy to navigate this disappointment, or a shipment of Dolls.

[@TodMesirow]

I like to think of it as understated otherness. it's the provenance of a lot of the items that struck me. yes it's just a broom. but not ANY broom....

[@robmausser]

"I only collect books" continues to show entire house filled with other things he collects

[@troysierra5228]

This was filmed 2 yrs before Devine died. I guess she was sending John Waters little shoes.

[@Br1an.J]

That was very entertaining, he must have had the most interesting apartment in Baltimore

[@0BRAINS0]

Anything is possible in this world with determination and inspiration. John Waters is proof of this. As human beings we ALL make mistakes but we can also do amazing things, love is the most beautiful thing mankind will ever know and it is an invention that is not are own.💜

[@nickdirienzo2849]

I love that man!

[@jenniferpower981]

'The Prince of puke' Charmingly endearing in his eccentricities.

[@DarkKnightCap]

But where are the bodies? The families deserve to know sir.

[@melissaferguson9650]

Oh Johnny. We are closer than you think

[@PinkyJujubean]

John Waters is my spirit animal

[@lutello3012]

Video cropped for no good reason, only 3/4 of his apartment.

[@TodMesirow]

no cropping at all. filmed with a tube video camera, 3/4" videotape, 4/3 ratio. many many years before HD and 16/9 ratio.

[@lutello3012]

@@TodMesirow Then why is it 16x9? Doesn't look stretched. Head is chopped off in places.

[@TodMesirow]

@@lutello3012 the part with the image is 4x3; I'm guessing the KZbin system shows it with the black on either side because most things are 16x9. it's definitely not stretched. the 3/4" tape was digitized without changing the aspect ratio.

[@lutello3012]

@@TodMesirow Weird. Definitely getting widescreen in the video file itself. The only time I'm seen KZbin mess with the ratio is in thumbnails.

[@mulemule]

0:57 "We've got Anita Ekberg ... who is now very, very, fat (which is even *better!)"* God Bless you, John!😂

[@bogkitchen]

Spahn Ranch never had condos on it. There is nothing there now…

[@controlledchaos8851]

I watched this whole damn thing

[@TodMesirow]

nice to hear. thanks for watching.

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

"Here's Liberace, the personification of everything I believe in!" roflmao, he is fantastic!

[@audreyl.8366]

What fabulous taste this man has.

[@NormAppleton]

Fabulously bad taste!

[@johnsimun6533]

So, this is the MicroMachines guy, back in 1986. Cool

[@UnbornApple]

It’s too bad this was cropped to 16:9 instead of showing the full picture.

[@TodMesirow]

we recorded this on 3/4" videotape, the Sony, and the camera was a state of the art three tube beast with a zoom lens. the ratio was 4:3, long long long before HD and 16x9. I'm not sure why KZbin auto-crops - maybe it's my error in uploading it. thanks for watching.

[@UnbornApple]

@@TodMesirow ah, typical KZbin messing things up. Thanks for sharing this.

[@TodMesirow]

@@UnbornApple my pleasure, I'm glad people seem to be enjoying it.

[@gdaybae3528]

Where is this from?

[@TodMesirow]

a local Washington, D.C. television station, in those days WTOP, a CBS affiliate. I was a director/writer/producer on a weekly Sunday morning magazine show titled Capital Edition.

[@emma-zl8tu]

i need this edited into a cribs episode

[@criaturatvcine]

Is it a television segment? Or it is an independent job?

[@TodMesirow]

It was for a weekly Sunday morning magazine show for a Washington DC channel where I worked, back in the mid-80’s.

[@verytiredlol]

god he rules

[@selfishstockton6123]

Makes you wonder who has that apartment now

[@TodMesirow]

great question.

[@robertdowneypeenis6139]

John Waters was the first to do MTV Cribs

[@georgebrown2175]

Always loved him. When I was in college I did what he did.

[@AndrewsArchives]

"I tried to quit smoking. I ate a whole ashtray of butts, and then lit up another, so it didn't work..."

[@brandichelse0502]

This dude is nuts. I was laughing the entire time. When he quotes the movie part ☠️

[@joshonemoore]

this. is. amazing.

[@paulvoorhies8821]

You can’t say he doesn’t have an aesthetic.

[@TodMesirow]

agreed. one of a kind.

[@KirksCORNER1983]

Looks like a Baltimore City apt