Bob Ross's Afro

October 29th marks the 74th birth anniversary of Bob Ross and his trademark afro.



For 403 episodes of the PBS classic (The Joy of Painting) Ross softly guided the viewer through the process of painting a blank canvas — his signature ‘fro making the show as much as his deft and deliberate art skills. But it turns out it was all a lie — Ross’s hair was actually stick straight.




In an interview with NPR, his business partner, Annette Kowalski, revealed that Ross initially grew out his hair and permed it to save money on haircuts when he was fresh out of the Air Force and trying to make it as a painter. But soon, he became trapped by his look.

Before he could change it back, though, the perm became his company’s logo — Ross hated it. “He could never, ever, ever change his hair, and he was so mad about that,” Kowalski says. “He got tired of that curly hair.”

Plenty of Bob Ross videos to view here.

Ross died July 4, 1995 but his afro lives on, here at The Hair Hall of Fame.