John Waters Hospitalized, Set To Receive Writers Guild Lifetime Achievement Award In February

The iconic filmmaker and author John Waters, who once said, “Without obsession, life is nothing,” was hospitalized for a brief spell on December 23 and missed his own traditional Christmas party which he holds each year. He is reported to now be home and healing well after suffering from kidney stones.

The Baltimore Fishbowl has said that after guests arrived two days early at John Waters’ North Baltimore home, they discovered that Waters would not be there as he had been admitted to the hospital. However, guests did partake in Christmas festivities, although one who attended admitted that it was “a very weird Friday evening, a John Waters party without John.”

John Waters did send partygoers an email to explain his stint in the hospital, however, and to let them know that there was no cause for concern.

“Since my party has always been private and off the record I think I’ll just keep it that way. I am fine and it’s a new concept in home entertainment, the host doesn’t show up. All is well. JW.”

While being recently interviewed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the host asked John Waters what he most loved about Christmas, to which Waters replied, “I love it’s so extreme. It’s extreme. It’s coming at you. You can’t change it. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

John Waters has had an extremely busy year, having just finished his comedy tour A John Waters Christmas, which played in 18 cities, including the December 21 sold-out performance in Baltimore.

Fans of John Waters have been very excited to learn that he is also set to receive a Writers Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, as The Baltimore Sun reports. The award will be given to Waters on February 19, 2017, in New York City and will be presented by fellow Baltimore writer David Simon. John is extremely pleased that he will be the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

“This really is an honor, because it’s coming from my peers. My main career is as a writer. I think if I had to put something on my income tax, it would be ‘Writer.'”

“Those aren’t the right kind. I told you cha-cha heels! Black ones.” #Divine (as Dawn Davenport), #JohnWaters‘ #FemaleTrouble???????????? #christmas pic.twitter.com/cksA5bLqi0

— Divine (@DivineOfficial) December 25, 2016

Presenter David Simon is also pleased to be presenting John Waters with this award and describes how Waters’ work has captivated audiences by redefining what it means to be normal.

“Time and again, on film and in prose and eventually on Broadway, Waters has celebrated the very American notion that there is, in fact, no normal. That we are all, if we are honest, at least two standard deviations from the mean. I am proud that I share a city with this fine storyteller.”

John Waters’ recommendation for this award came from a WGAE committee and was quickly approved by the Writers Guild board of directors. The WGAE’s Director of Communications, Jason Gordon, has described how different Waters’ films are from others with such a unique perspective and said that John has always been “ahead of the curve.” Gordon has also noted that John Waters’ films continue to hold up over time, with many being referenced in popular culture.

To add to this, Waters himself has said that he gets calls from people all the time when he is walking around and stopped by members of the public.

“The people still yell out to me on the streets dialogue from ‘Multiple Maniacs’ and “Pink Flamingos. That’s an honor, too.”

John Waters has been busy making films since the 1960s with Pink Flamingos, Hairspray, and Polyester probably being three of his most well-known, but he has also had numerous art installations exhibited in various galleries and has a long list of accomplishments that he can claim as his own. Now, with the Writers Guild Lifetime Achievement Award being given to him in February 2017, he will have another thing to add to that list of accomplishments.

[Featured Image by John Shearer/AP Images]