Bob Ross Career and Net Worth

Sometimes, all one needs in this life is that someone who believes in their dream enough to give them that push. Learn about Bob Ross Career and Net Worth, Who inherited Bob Ross’s money? and more facts in this article. It sheds more light on how a woman from nowhere was instrumental in shaping the life and history of Bob.
Bob Ross was an American painter, art instructor, and television host. Bob had about $1 million at the time of his death in 1995. This figure excludes the value of his brand, likeness and collection of artwork. The rights to his name and likeness later proved to be worth many millions of dollars. Unfortunately his estate has been fought over bitterly in the last decade. More on that later in this article.

Bob Ross Early Life
Bob Ross was born Robert Norman Ross on October 29, 1942, in Daytona Beach, Florida. He was born to His Ollie (mother, waitress) Jack (father, carpenter). Bob grew up in Orlando. He cared for injured animals during his youth. Bob had a half-brother named Jim, who he mentioned on “The Joy of Painting”. He abandoned school in ninth grade and began working with his father. While working as a carpenter, Bob lost part of the index finger on his left hand in a “freak saw accident.” Bob enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1961 and was assigned the position of medical records technician. He eventually became a master sergeant, and at Alaska’s Eielson Air Force Base, he was the first sergeant of the clinic. He enjoyed painting during his breaks, and during his time in the Air Force, he developed the quick wet-on-wet painting technique he became famous for. While serving in the military, Bob was “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,” so when he left in 1981, he vowed to no longer raise his voice.

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Bob Ross Career
During his days as a bartender, he discovered German painter Bill Alexander’s television show “The Magic of Oil Painting”. Courtesy the series, he was introduced to the wet-on-wet style known as alla prima (which translates to “first attempt”) that made it possible to create a painting in just 30 minutes. After Ross mastered that technique, he began painting Alaskan landscapes on novelty gold-mining pans, eventually making more money from his art than from his Air Force career. After Bob moved back to Florida, he studied with Alexander and became a tutor and traveling salesman for the Alexander Magic Art Supplies Company. Annette Kowalski, a woman who attended one of Ross’ sessions, made Bob believe that he was talented enough to succeed without Alexander, and she, Ross, and Bob’s wife, Jane, pooled their money to together to create Bob Ross Inc. “The Joy of Painting” premiered on January 11, 1983, and it went on to air 403 episodes over 31 seasons. Bob created an estimated 30,000 paintings before his death at age 52, and the Bob Ross Workshop and Gallery in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, offers classes on his famous technique for fans who want to become Certified Ross Instructors. Bob Ross Inc. also offers painting classes in cities all over the U.S., and the official website states that “more than 1500 Bob Ross Teachers [hold] local workshops every day”. One particularly well-known Certified Ross Instructor is actor David Arquette.

Bob Ross Personal Life
On May 28, 1965, Bob married Vivian Ridge. The couple welcomed son Steve before they divorced in 1977. Steve sporadically featured on his father’s show, and he is a Certified Ross Instructor. He tried his luck at love for the second. On April 22, 1977, he got married to Jane. The lovers remained married until Jane’s death from cancer in 1992. Ross then wed Lynda Brown on April 7, 1995, three months before his death. Bob had many pet squirrels, including Bobette, Peapod, and Peapod Jr., and several of them appeared on “The Joy of Painting”.

Bob Ross Death and Legacy
Bob was a heavy smoker of cigarettes for the majority of his life. He died of complications from lymphoma, in Orlando, Florida on July 4, 1995. Bob was buried next to his parents at Woodlawn Memorial Park. His plaque is marked “Bob Ross, Television Artist”. Who inherited Bob Ross’s money? Bob set up the Bob Ross Trust in 1994, assigning 51% of the interest in all intellectual property to his brother, Jimmie Cox, and 49% to his son, Steve Ross.