1942–1995
Who Was Bob Ross?
Bob Ross discovered oil painting while he was enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in the early 1960s. He studied the “wet-on-wet” technique, which allowed him to produce complete paintings in less than an hour. After becoming an instructor himself, Ross launched the PBS television series The Joy of Painting, where he taught his technique to millions of viewers. Ross became beloved for his light humor, gentle demeanor, and distinctive look and hairstyle. Following his death in 1995 from lymphoma, Ross has remained a household name and generated a new following on digital media platforms like YouTube and Twitch.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Robert Norman Ross
BORN: October 29, 1942
DIED: July 4, 1995
BIRTHPLACE: Daytona Beach, Florida
SPOUSES: Vivian Ridge (1965-1977), Jane Lee Zanardelli (1977-1992), Lynda Brown (1995)
CHILDREN: Jimmie and Steve
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Scorpio
Early Life
Bob Ross was born Robert Norman Ross in Daytona, Florida, on October 29, 1942. His father, Jack, was a carpenter, and his mother, Ollie, was a waitress. Raised in Orlando, Ross dropped out of high school in the ninth grade. While working with his father as a carpenter in his youth, Bob lost part of his left index finger in a saw accident, but it did not affect his future painting ability.
Ross enrolled in the U.S. Air Force in 1961 and served for 20 years. Due to his 6-foot-2 height and flat feet he did not train as as pilot or work on planes, but instead had a desk job as a medical records technician. Upon reaching the rank of first sergeant, Ross described himself as “the guy who makes you scrub the latrine, the guy who makes you make your bed, the guy who screams at you for being late to work.” This role earned him the nickname “Bust ’Em Up Bobby,” but he disliked the disciplinarian role and promised himself he would have a gentler personality after leaving the military.
First Steps as an Artist
Ross fell in love with Alaskan mountains during his time in the Air Force and began his journey as an artist during a painting class at a U.S.O. club. He loved the art form and continued taking classes. Ross supplemented his Air Force income by working shifts at a tavern, where he sold tourists landscapes he’d painted on gold-panning tins. This helped Ross learn how to paint extremely quickly, according to the Orlando Sentinel: “I used to go home at lunch and do a couple while I had my sandwich. I’d take them back that afternoon and sell them.”
Around 1975, while still working for the military, he saw the show, The Magic of Oil Painting, hosted by the German painter William Alexander. Alexander utilized alla prima, or the “wet-on-wet” technique, in which paintings could be completed very quickly, with different layers of oil paints applied immediately instead of having to wait for layers to dry. Soon, Ross was making more money from his paintings than from his military position, according to the Sentinel. He retired from the Air Force in 1981 with the rank of master sergeant.
Early Painting Career
Ross attended various art schools after leaving the Air Force. He studied the wet-on-wet technique under William Alexander by joining his Alexander Magic Art Supplies Company and working as a traveling salesman and painting tutor. Ross taught wet-on-wet to several friends and colleagues, including Annette Kowalski, who Ross met during one of his sessions in Florida. Kowalski had recently lost a son in a traffic accident, and Ross’ kind personality and calming demeanor “lifted me up out of that depression. ... I said, ‘Let’s put it in a bottle and sell it.’”
Kowalski convinced Ross to strike out on his own. They pooled their savings and created their own company, with Kowalski working as Ross’ manager. Although Ross publicly credited Alexander with teaching him the wet-on-wet technique, Alexander later accused Ross of betraying and copying him, telling The New York Times: “What bothers me is not just that he betrayed me, but that he thinks he can do it better.”
Although Ross’ perm is one of his most recognizable characteristics, he did not actually like the hairdo. His hair had usually been straight, but he tried a perm so he could let his hair grow longer and save money on fewer haircuts. When the perm became integrated into the company logo, he was unable to change it, much to his frustration.
"The Joy of Painting"
After some initial struggles with the company, Ross launched the television series The Joy of Painting, which premiered in 1983 on PBS, where it would run for more than a decade and attract millions of viewers. As a TV painting instructor, Ross became known for his light humor and gentle demeanor, as well as his ability to complete a painting in 30 minutes. He became well known for his mannerisms and oft-used quotations, including his love of “happy little trees,” and his uplifting catchphrase: “We don’t make mistakes—we just have happy accidents.”
The Joy of Painting would eventually be carried by more than 275 stations. With help from Kowalski and her husband, Walt, Ross spawned an empire that would include videos, how-to books, art supplies, and certified Bob Ross instructors. Bob Ross Inc. grew into a $15 million business, and Ross made an estimated 30,000 paintings during his lifetime. He prepared three versions of almost every painting he made: one created before taping, one painted on-screen during the show, and a more detailed version after filming for inclusion in his instructional books.
Health Problems and Death
The Joy of Painting was canceled in 1994 so Ross could focus on his health. A longtime cigarette smoker, Ross always expected to die young and had long experienced health problems, including two heart attacks and two bouts of cancer by his 40s. The second was an aggressive type of lymphoma, which caused Ross’ death on July 4, 1995, at the age of 52. He died at his home in Orlando.
The majority of his original oil paintings were donated to charities or to PBS stations. Ross himself opposed using his paintings for financial gain, so most were never sold in major auction houses. The few that found their way onto the market sometimes sold for more than $10,000.
Prior to his death, the Kowalskis reportedly tried to pressure Ross into signing rights to his estate over to them. Ross instead wrote the Kowalskis out of his will, leaving his estate and rights to his likeness to his family, but the Kowalskis took control of the company following several successful lawsuits. They were primarily interested in using Ross’ name for the sale of painting supplies, but after Annette and Walt retired, their daughter Joan took over the company in the 2010s and established a settlement with Ross’ family, opening a wider use of the marketing his name, according to The Daily Beast.
Legacy
Today, Ross remains one of the best-known and highest-paid American painters. His show has since found a new generation of fans in the digital age. His old television episodes remain popular on YouTube, and his official account on the live streaming service Twitch has more than 2 million followers.
Netflix released a documentary in 2021 called Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed, which explored Ross’ life and the legal disputes with the Kowalski family. Owen Wilson portrayed a painter with a similar style, voice, and mannerisms as Ross in the 2023 film Paint, though the story of the movie is not based upon Ross’ real life.
Personal Life
Ross married three times and had two children. He married Vivian Ridge in 1965, and they had a son named Steve Ross the next year. Steve became a painter, too, and appeared with his father on The Joy of Painting several times. Bob also had another son, Steve’s half-brother Jimmie, who was born before Ross’ first marriage. Bob and Vivian divorced in 1977, the same year that Bob married his second wife, Jane Lee Zanardelli, who died of cancer in 1992. Ross married his third wife, Lynda Brown, two months before his death.
Quotes
- We don’t make mistakes, we just have happy accidents.
- Any way you want it to be, that’s just right.
- That’s a crooked tree. We’ll send him to Washington.
- Look around. Look at what we have. Beauty is everywhere—you only have to look to see it.
- In your world, you can do anything you want.
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Colin McEvoy joined the Biography.com staff in 2023, and before that had spent 16 years as a journalist, writer, and communications professional. He is the author of two true crime books: Love Me or Else and Fatal Jealousy. He is also an avid film buff, reader, and lover of great stories.
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