Bob Ross

Robert Norman Ross (October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995) was an American painter, art instructor, and television host. He was the creator and host of The Joy of Painting, an instructional television program that aired from 1983 to 1994 on PBS in the United States, and also aired in Canada, Latin America, and Europe. With a soft voice and a permed afro, Ross went from being a public-television personality in the 1980s and 1990s to being an Internet celebrity in the 21st century, popular with fans on YouTube and many other websites. 2Early life Ross was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, and raised in Orlando, Florida. He had a half-brother, Jim, whom he mentioned in passing on his show. While working as a carpenter with his father, Ross lost part of his left index finger, but it did not affect the way he held his palette while painting. 3Military career Ross enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1961 at 18 years old and served as a medical records technician. He eventually rose to the rank of master sergeant and served as the first sergeant of the U.S. Air Force Clinic at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, where he first saw the snow and mountains that later became recurring themes in his artwork. He developed his quick-painting technique to create art for sale during brief daily work breaks. Having held military positions that required him to be, in his own words, "tough" and "mean", "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", Ross decided that if he ever left the military, he would never scream agai