04-07-2025
Bob Ross' Death, 30 Years Later: What to Know About the Late Painter's Sudden Passing
Bob Ross died on July 4, 1995, a year after his series, The Joy of Painting, ended
The artist died of complications from lymphoma at 52 years old
A documentary about Ross' life and the battle over his estate was released on Netflix in 2021This summer marks 30 years since the painter and pop culture icon Bob Ross died, but like his beautiful landscapes, his legacy lives on.
Years after he had viewers embracing the "happy little accidents" of life and art, Ross' work is being embraced by a new generation. His iconic series, The Joy of Painting, aired over 400 episodes and is now available on YouTube and streaming. With his signature hair and gentle demeanor, Ross is one of the most recognizable faces of the 1980s.
In a 1988 episode of The Joy of Painting, Ross recalled a fan letter he received: "I got a letter from somebody here a while back, and they said, 'Bob, everything in your world seems to be happy.' That's for sure. That's why I paint. It's because I can create the kind of world that I want, and I can make this world as happy as I want it."
Sadly, after spending over a decade teaching audiences across the globe how to paint on television, he died at 52 from lymphoma complications on July 4, 1995.
Here's everything to know about Bob Ross' untimely death and the legacy he left behind.
Ross died of complications from lymphoma at 52 years old.
Ross had been a lifelong smoker, and he was diagnosed with the disease weeks after his second wife, Jane, also died of cancer in 1992.
In his Netflix documentary Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed, a friend speculated that prolonged exposure to paint thinner might have contributed to his illness, but Ross never spoke publicly about his health.
Ross died on July 4, 1995, over a year after The Joy of Painting's final episode aired on May 17, 1994.
Ross died in Orlando, Fla.
At the time of his death, Ross was 52 years old.
Ross had been a fixture on public television for 11 years and 31 seasons of his show, filming over 400 episodes of The Joy of Painting before he retired to focus on his health. He filmed for nearly two years after his cancer diagnosis.
"He combined television with hypnosis and craft," singer Lady Kier told PEOPLE in 1995. "You couldn't help noticing him. He became part of the pop mainstream. His nice little clouds were my favorites."
Behind the scenes, Ross was locked in a legal battle with his business partners, Annette and Walt Kowalski, over Bob Ross Inc., which had control of his likeness and work.
In 1985, Ross, his wife Jane and the Kowalskis formed Bob Ross Inc., with each person an equal shareholder in the company. When Jane died in 1992, her shares were equally distributed among the three, making Ross a minority shareholder in the company bearing his name.
Before Ross died in 1995, he amended his will to leave the intellectual property rights over his image and likeness to his son Steve Ross and half-brother Jimmie Cox — but the Kowalskis were eventually given full control of the company after countering the action and settling with Cox.
While Steve later fought a legal battle against the Kowalskis' daughter, Joan, who took over Bob Ross Inc. after her parents retired in 2012, he lost the case. Ross' journey to fame and the ongoing legal fights after his death were the subjects of the 2021 Netflix documentary Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed.
In response, Bob Ross Inc. released a statement denying the allegations.
Nearly 30 years after his death, Ross remains a fixture in popular consciousness. Fans wear shirts with his image, and he's been mentioned in pop culture phenomena like Deadpool. In 2020, The Joy of Painting became available to stream on YouTube.
His show also inspired the 2023 film Paint, in which Owen Wilson plays a popular fictional painter who closely resembles Ross — until another artist comes along and challenges his status as host of the No. 1 public-access painting show.
Read the original article on People
