Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the megahit Nickelodeon
cartoon series "SpongeBob SquarePants," died on Monday. He was 57.
The cause of death was ALS, which Hillenburg revealed he had
been diagnosed with in March of last year.
"We are incredibly saddened by the news that Steve
Hillenburg has passed away following a battle with ALS," Nickelodeon said
in a statement. "He was a beloved friend and long-time creative partner to
everyone at Nickelodeon, and our hearts go out to his entire family. Steve
imbued 'SpongeBob SquarePants' with a unique sense of humor and innocence that
has brought joy to generations of kids and families everywhere. His utterly
original characters and the world of Bikini Bottom will long stand as a
reminder of the value of optimism, friendship and the limitless power of
imagination."
Hillenburg graduated from Humboldt State University in 1984
with a bachelor's degree in Natural Resource Planning and Interpretation, with
an emphasis on marine resources. He then became a marine biology teacher at the
Orange County Marine Institute (now the Ocean Institute) in Dana Point,
California. This interest, combined with his artistic talent and love of the
sea and its creatures, led him to write and illustrate stories as teaching
tools with characters that would later become the denizens of SpongeBob's home,
Bikini Bottom.
We are sad to
share the news of the passing of Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob
SquarePants. Today, we are observing a moment of silence to honor his life and
work.
— Nickelodeon
(@Nickelodeon) November 27, 2018
He began his animation career in 1987, pursuing a degree in
Experimental Animation at the California Institute of Arts in Valencia and
earning his Master of Fine Arts in 1992.
That same year he won an award for Best Animated Concept at
the Ottawa International Animation Festival for his animated short
"Wormholes", which went on to be shown at various international
animation festivals. From 1993 to 1996 he would pursue work in television as a
director and writer on Nickelodeon's series "Rocko's Modern Life."
From there, he began to work full-time on writing producing,
and directing on the animated series that would eventually become
"SpongeBob SquarePants." The first episode aired on Nickelodeon on
May 1, 1999, and the series commenced its full run on July 17 of that year. The
series has aired nearly 250 episodes to date. It appealed not only to children
but older viewers as well, with college students even organizing viewing
parties for the show.
The series has won both U.S. and British Emmy Awards, Annie
Awards, and ASACP Awards and has been dubbed or sub-titled in more than 60
languages, including Urdu, Azerbaijani and Maori.
Hillenburg also wrote, produced, and directed "The
SpongeBob SquarePants Movie," which was released in 2004 and went on to
gross over $140 million worldwide. Hillenburg then wrote the story for and was
the executive producer of the sequel, "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of
Water," in 2015.
Hillenburg — or Steve as he was known to family, friends,
and fans — was born Aug. 21, 1961, at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma. After
leaving the military, his father, Kelly N. Hillenburg, Jr., became a draftsman
and designer for aerospace companies. His mother Nancy taught visually impaired
students.
He is survived by his wife of 20 years Karen Hillenburg, son
Clay, mother Nancy Hillenburg and brother Brian Kelly Hillenburg, his wife
Isabel, and nieces Emma and Haze
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