Ross was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. on September 7, 1923. He was drafted into the Korean War, and would be stationed in Japan, where he fell in love with the country. Ross would subsequently move to Tokyo with intentions of joining the Japanese State Department. Instead, he ended up becoming involved in the film industry, and would go on to appear in more than 80 Japanese films and Television shows.

In 1959, Ross got into the dubbing industry upon recommendation by Japanese actor So Yamamura. He showed such a talent for the industry, that the Japanese dubbing director quit and left Ross in charge on the first day. Soon thereafter, he would hired as a director by Asian Films.