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Poster for Bob Ross: The Happy Painter
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Released
2011 · FILM

Bob Ross: The Happy Painter

Host of television's favorite art show The Joy of Painting

Directed by
Runtime
64 min
Documentary

Synopsis

*The Happy Painter* offers a behind-the-scenes look at Bob Ross's journey from humble beginnings to becoming an American pop-culture icon. The documentary explores both the public and private aspects of Ross's life through accounts from close friends and family, childhood photographs, and rare archival footage. Interviewees describe his gentle, mild-mannered personality and his dedication to wildlife, while also sharing little-known details about his hair and his interest in fast cars. The film includes footage of Ross with his mentor, William Alexander, and the rough-cut version of the first *Joy of Painting* episode from 1982. Notable Bob Ross enthusiasts, such as Phil Donahue, Jane Seymour, Terrence Howard, Duff Goldman, Brad Paisley, and Jerrod Niemann, provide insights into Ross's life, work, and lasting influence.

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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

Principal cast & crew: 13

These are the principals we have on file — the full crew ran to the hundreds. Every film this size was made by far more hands than any credits list ever names.

Why a floor?

This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.

Craft leads on file

Edited by Alan Scherry

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