+
Culture

Don't worry, the new Netflix Bob Ross documentary doesn't ruin Bob Ross for us

Don't worry, the new Netflix Bob Ross documentary doesn't ruin Bob Ross for us

Few people in the public eye have been as universally beloved as Bob Ross, especially across multiple generations. The first time my husband and I shared "The Joy of Painting" with our kids, they were almost instantly mesmerized. Just as I had remembered from my own childhood, Ross's calm voice and "happy little trees" commentary as he painted felt almost like a form of therapy.

So naturally, when Netflix announced the release of a new documentary titled "Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal and Greed," people (me, I am people) freaked out a bit.

With a title like that, how could you not? Bob Ross is up there with Fred Rogers and Steve Irwin in the "pure, wholesome, and untouchable" category, and even just seeing the words "betrayal" and "greed" so close to his name is enough to make a fan plug their ears and yell, "Na na na na, I can't hear youuuuu!"


But fans needn't worry. The betrayal and greed referred to in the title aren't about Bob Ross himself, but rather the key players in the management of his business after his death.

If you're looking for a purely feel-good film about Bob Ross, this isn't really it. Thankfully, you won't walk away with a tarnished view of the man himself—the most "scandalous" thing you might learn is that he permed his hair to get that famous 'fro. But many people are walking away feeling angry and frustrated over the way his art and name have been handled by the Kowalski family who manages them. You'll still love Bob Ross as much as ever, but you might feel some not-so-happy little feelings about Bob Ross, Inc.

The documentary was produced by actress Melissa McCarthy and her filmmaker husband Ben Falcone, and the couple spoke with NPR about some of the making the film and some of the legal perils they faced.

Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed | Official Trailer | Netflixwww.youtube.com

"Bob certainly wanted it to go to — most of the business — to his son," McCarthy said. "He left it to his son and his brother. And very quickly, that was kind of taken through litigation. And because at the time [Bob's son] Steve was so young, Bob thought, you know, let's have an adult still guiding him with where he's going to take this company. ... But he didn't get to take hold of it at all."

The crux of the film is how Ross's business partners, the Kowalskis, have held a tight grip on Bob Ross, Inc. and how Ross's son, Steve, has allegedly been shut out of his father's business. Getting to the bottom of it all posed a challenge, however, as apparently few of the people involved wanted to speak to the filmmakers.

"Everyone's afraid of getting sued," Falcone said. So that's neat.

Now the Kowalskis have responded to the accusations in the film with a statement defending their role in the business they started in partnership with Bob Ross. They wrote, in part:

Bob Ross Inc. never pursued or threatened legal action against Steve Ross, and, in fact, no one at Bob Ross Inc. heard from Steve Ross for almost twenty years, until 2017 when Steve filed suit against the company without any prior communication.
Bob Ross may not have shared the inherent structural features of his company with family and friends – which are very common in small private companies – resulting in many of the unsubstantiated accusations made in the film.

They also claim that the merchandise they sell with Bob Ross's image on it is meant as a way to share the late painter's message of positivity. "Bob Ross Inc.'s hope is that items bearing Bob's likeness and messages prompt smiles as they remind people of the love of painting Bob shared with all," they wrote.

At the very least, we can all still agree that Bob Ross himself was a national treasure whose love of painting and positive outlook were genuine. Nobody mess with the legacy of the man himself, please. None of us could handle that. Let us keep our happy little memories of him pure and untarnished.


All photos courtesy of The Coca-Cola Company

Behind the Scenes Making Recycled Records with Mark Ronson

True

You’re walking down the sidewalk, earbuds in, listening to your favorite hip-hop beats. As your head bobs to the sounds, the sun warms your back. It’s a perfect day.

When the chorus hits, the empty Sprite bottle in your hand becomes a drumstick, passing traffic becomes a sea of concertgoers, and the concrete beneath your feet is suddenly a stage. Spinning on your heels, you close out the song with your face to the sky and hands in the air.

Keep ReadingShow less
@penslucero/TikTok

Pency Lucero taking in the Northern Lights

Seeing the northern lights is a common bucket list adventure for many people. After all, it ticks a lot of boxes—being a dazzling light show, rich historical experience and scientific phenomenon all rolled into one. Plus there’s the uncertainty of it all, never quite knowing if you’ll witness a vivid streak of otherworldly colors dance across the sky…or simply see an oddly colored cloud. It’s nature’s slot machine, if you will.

Traveler and content creator Pency Lucero was willing to take that gamble. After thorough research, she stumbled upon an Airbnb in Rörbäck, Sweden with an actual picture of the northern lights shining above the cabin in the listing. With that kind of photo evidence, she felt good about her odds.

However, as soon as she landed, snow began falling so hard that the entire sky was “barely visible,” she told Upworthy. Martin, the Airbnb host, was nonetheless determined to do everything he could to ensure his guests got to see the spectacle, even offering to wake Lucero up in the middle of the night if he saw anything.

Then one night, the knock came.

Keep ReadingShow less
Democracy

Reporter reveals she's a school shooting survivor on air and offers advice to Covenant parents

Even while struggling through her own grief, she was able to provide guidance to parents.

Photo by Heather Mount on Unsplash

Tennessee reporter and school shooting survivor gives advice to parents.

On March 27, the Covenant School, a private elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, experienced a school shooting where three 9-year-old children and three staff members lost their lives. The news of the event took over the airwaves as more details were released.

But for one reporter covering the shooting live, the event hit close to home in more than one way. Joylyn Bukovac, a local reporter for WSMV 4, was reporting live from the scene at the Covenant School when she revealed that she was a survivor of a school shooting herself. Bukovac explained that when she was in the eighth grade, someone opened fire at her school.

"About 380 school shootings have happened since Columbine, my middle school being one of them, this school being one of them," she said. "Some people have been reaching out to me saying, 'Enough's enough. When is all of this gun violence going to change?'"

Keep ReadingShow less
Image by sasint/Canva

Surgeons prepared to separate 3-year-old conjoined twins in Brazil using virtual reality.

The things human beings have figured out how to do boggles the mind sometimes, especially in the realm of medicine.

It wasn't terribly long ago that people with a severe injury had to liquor up, bite a stick, have a body part sewn up or sawed off and hope for the best. (Sorry for the visual, but it's true.) The discoveries of antibiotics and anesthesia alone have completely revolutionized human existence, but we've gone well beyond that with what our best surgeons can accomplish.

Surgeries can range from fairly simple to incredibly complex, but few surgeries are more complicated than separating conjoined twins with combined major organs. That's why the recent surgical separation of conjoined twin boys with fused brains in Brazil is so incredible.

Keep ReadingShow less
Education

Germany's most famous castle isn't a real castle. It's an elaborate 'work of fan fiction.'

Though it looks medieval, it was built in the 19th century by an eccentric "fairy tale king" who spent much of his life constructing his own elaborate fantasy world.

Neuschwanstein Castle sits atop a rock ledge in the Bavarian Alps.

Even if you haven't heard of Neuschwanstein Castle, there's a good chance you've at least seen pictures of it. Set atop a tree-covered rock ledge in the Bavarian Alps, the picturesque castle looks like it was conjured straight out of a fairy tale. In fact, it served as inspiration for Disney Imagineers as they designed "Sleeping Beauty's Castle" in Disneyland, and it's regularly named the top castle to visit in Germany.

There are estimated to be around 25,000 castles in Germany, but Neuschwanstein is unique among them. Most notably, it's not a real castle and never was. While it bears the look and feel of a well-preserved medieval castle, it was actually built in the 19th century, and rather than serving as a fortress, it served as the fantasy castle of an eccentric king obsessed with Richard Wagner's operas and medieval mythology.

Ludwig II came to the Bavarian throne in 1864 at age 18 with no experience in government or politics. Two years later, Prussia conquered Austria and Bavaria, and Ludwig's powerful status as king was greatly diminished. Not that he was particularly interested in governance anyway; he was more drawn to the romantic idea of having his own kingdom.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

People share the 18 things that are a 'subtle sign' someone is really smart

"They effortlessly communicate complex concepts in a simple way."

Albert Einstein

One of the strangest things about being human is that people of lesser intelligence tend to overestimate how smart they are and people who are highly intelligent tend to underestimate how smart they are.

This is called the Dunning-Kruger effect and it’s proven every time you log onto Facebook and see someone from high school who thinks they know more about vaccines than a doctor.

The interesting thing is that even though people are poor judges of their own smarts, we’ve evolved to be pretty good at judging the intelligence of others.

Keep ReadingShow less

A father tries on a shirt that his 9-year-old son sewed for him.

There's always something very touching about receiving a gift from your child, especially when you know it's something that they really put their heart into creating. A video posted to TikTok by Aaron Gouveia shows that sometimes a child can give a gift that’s so surprising it’s almost too much to handle.

Gouveia, 43, is a Massachusetts father of three who posts videos as “Daddy Files” on TikTok about the joys and challenges of family life. On March 26, he posted a video featuring his son Sam, 9, that was so heartwarming it has received over 12.4 million views.

Keep ReadingShow less