Saturday night at Monster Bash I went dressed up as the legendary Bob Ross. I was saddened by how many people had no idea who I was. (Not the ones that just didn't recognize what I was dressed as, but the ones who had the reaction of, "Bob who?"

He might have been that happiest man to ever live, at least that's what it appeared on his PBS television show, 'The Joy Of Painting.' Ross passed away of lymphoma in 1995 at the age of 52. Today would have been the iconic painter's 70th birthday.From Biography.com:

Bob Ross, born in Florida on October 29, 1942, discovered oil painting while he was enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in the early 1960s. He studied the "wet-on-wet" technique, which allowed him to produce complete paintings in less than an hour. He then became an instructor himself, eventually teaching a TV audience of millions on the PBS show The Joy of Painting.

"The Joy of Painting" debuted in 1983 and was on the air for over a decade and was carried by more than 275 television stations. I can remember always being able to turn on Bob Ross and be entertained. All he did was teach people how to paint "happy little trees" and scenery, but he told jokes and had this, gentle, calm, soothing demeanor that made it feel like he was your best friend.

Rest in peace Bob. You are missed.

His legacy still lives on, there are lots of Bob Ross branded and inspired products out there, the Bob Ross website,  and even a Twitter account dedicated to the painting legend. (Go check out their tweets and you can relive some classic Bob one-liners.)

Ross was remixed in a great video last year when PBS started releasing songs by Symphony of Science‘s John D. Boswell. Ross was the second video released in the remix series.

And, for nostalgia's sake, here is a clip from Bob's actual show.

Evan Google paid homage today, as their Google Doodle featured that of Bob Ross.

Bob Ross Google Doodle
Google.com
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