Bob Ross 1942 – 1995

Biography

Bob Ross turned painting into the calmest show on television. A former Air Force master sergeant, he created and hosted The Joy of Painting on PBS from 1983 to 1994, talking millions of viewers through misty mountains and “happy little trees” in half an hour, always insisting that anyone could paint and that there were no mistakes, only happy accidents. His gentle voice, permed hair, and wet-on-wet technique made him a folk hero in his lifetime and a streaming-age icon after it. He died of lymphoma on July 4, 1995, at 52, and is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Gotha, Florida — still telling anyone who will listen that they can do this. The Joy of Painting aired on PBS in the United States and CBC in Canada, and his soft-spoken lessons turned a generation of viewers who had never picked up a brush into painters. His image — the afro, the denim shirt, the whisper-soft voice — became as famous as the landscapes themselves.