NEW ORLEANS — Bob Ross, the art instructor and popular TV host of “The Joy of Painting” on PBS, was best known in his day for his full head of hair, quirky catchphrases, and mellow manner.
Indeed, so mellow was his manner and soothing his voice that 23 years after his death, three classic episodes of his old show are being revived and re-purposed as calming bedtime stories for grown-ups.
Calm.com, the popular meditation and sleep app, is bringing back the episodes of the long-running PBS show and turning them into “Sleep Stories” designed to lull restless adults to sleep.
“We’ve had so many Calm users asking us for a Sleep Story with Bob Ross,” Alex Tew, co-founder of Calm, said. “He was and still is a hero to the hard of sleeping.”
Calm’s first such Bob Ross Sleep Story, called simply “Painting With Bob Ross,” just launched, with two more stories to follow later this summer.
The choice of Bob Ross to host three of Calm’s popular Sleep Stories reflects his reputation as a sort of accidental human sleep aid, whose chill vibe and baritone voice that barely rose above a whisper has lulled many a restless soul to sleep.
A survey of 1,004 Americans commissioned by Calm and conducted by pollsters eNation revealed the top ten quotes of the icon:
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“It’s hard to see things when you are too close. Take a step back and look.”
“We don’t laugh because we feel good, we feel good because we laugh.”
“There are no mistakes, just happy accidents.”
“You can do anything you want. This is your world.”
“Talent is a pursued interest. Anything you’re willing to practice, you can do.”
“Go out on limb. That’s where the fruit is.”
“We want happy paintings. Happy paintings. If you want sad things, watch the news.”
“Ever make mistakes in life? Let’s make them birds. Yeah, they’re birds now.”
“There’s nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend.”
“I really believe that if you practice enough, you could paint The Mona Lisa with a two-inch brush.”
You can listen to an audio clip of Calm’s first Bob Ross Sleep Story here.
