Bob Ross never appeared on TV.
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 television personality in the 1980s and 1990s to an Internet celebrity popular with fans on YouTube and many other websites .