Bob Ross Documentary: Revelations About the Vicious, Secret Battle of the Painter and the Cause of His Death

The new Netflix documentary "Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed," which premiered on Friday, looks at Ross' humble beginnings in show business, his surprising journey to stardom, and the individuals who wanted to profit from his talents. Artist Bob Ross and his TV show "The Joy of Painting" were an unusual source of peace and inspiration for millions of viewers in the 1980s and 1990s.

The calm, bushy-haired painter would produce a magnificent work of art in half an hour from start to finish during the more than 400 episodes recorded in a humble studio in Muncie, Indiana. He created his sceneries while gently offering life advice and sensual phrases like "caress the cloud" and "happy little trees," among others.

Netflix's 'Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed'

Little did his followers realize that behind the scenes of the peaceful show, a vicious battle for control of his firm was raging until only three years ago, more than two decades after his death. Bob Ross served in the Air Force in the 1960s, and he and his first wife, Vicky, were stationed in Alaska with their young son Steve. It was at the "Last Frontier" that he developed a love for nature, as per the NY Times.

Bob Ross had a stunning head of hair. Regis Philbin taunted Ross about his Afro on "Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee," which Ross graciously confessed was more nurture than nature. Ross always enjoyed a good do, as seen by photographs of him as a teenager and subsequently as a young airman sporting a pompadour.

This is one of the more upbeat sequences in director Joshua Rofé's documentary "Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed," which is less about Ross' life and more about what happened to his brand in the years after he died. Ross' business partners Annette and Walt Kowalski are not depicted positively. The pair turned down the opportunity to appear in the film.

From 1983 until 1994, Ross hosted a television show called "The Joy of Painting." The title also alludes to the way Bob Ross taught pupils, and then an ever-growing audience, to regard a mistake as a "happy accident." Nonetheless, sadness pervades the picture, as much as happiness was Ross' touchstone word.

How did Bob Ross die?

The painter died in 1995 from lymphoma. He was 52 years old at the time. The narration here is carried by his only son, Steven, as well as friends and fellow artists John Thamm and Dana Jester.

If we are to believe the film - and given that it deals with estate issues, this is a reasonable concern - then heartbreak set the basis for Ross' connection with the Kowalskis. When Annette Kowalski attended a course with Ross in 1982, she had recently lost her son. The picture is infused with an even deeper sadness. Steven Ross states early on, "I've wanted to get this story out for all these years. What they did was shameful, and people should know that."

With a sparkling, then ominous score, the documentary nudges us toward the darkness from the start. The darker elements of Steven Ross' recollections are highlighted with illustrations with the texture of a paint-by-numbers kit. The depiction of what the Kowalskis did to own Ross' name after he fell ill in the film is gruesome, but not a surprise considering that the parties were embroiled in a court battle following Bob Ross' death.

Bob Ross died from cancer after a second fight with lymphoma. His death sparked a court fight that would last more than two decades, until his son, Steve Ross, lost the rights to his father's intellectual property.

When Steve Ross filed a lawsuit in federal court in 2018, the struggle over Bob Ross Inc., the namesake company that was founded to sell painting materials in the 1980s, came to light. According to the Daily Beast, even though Ross selected his son as an heir to the intellectual property in his will, the judge decided that he could not lawfully designate his son as the owner.

Bob Ross, the gentle painter famed for "happy little trees," was confronted with court paperwork shortly before his death, requesting that he transfer over his firm, Bob Ross Inc., to Annette and Walt Kowalski. Ross, who had already been diagnosed with lymphoma, declined the request. Instead, he changed his will to say that his name, likeness, and intellectual property would belong to Steve Ross and one of his half-brothers.

However, a judge ruled that Steve Ross did not own the rights since the intellectual property in question belonged to Bob Ross Inc. at the time the will was modified. Ross was buried in a "gleaming aluminum coffin" alongside his mother and father. A short funeral was held at a chapel with approximately 25 family members and close friends before being buried at the cemetery, as per HEAVY.