Stephen Hillenburg (1961-2018) Creator of "Spongebob Squarepants"

[Zoneboy]

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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.

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 August 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 (nee Dufour) and brother Brian Kelly Hillenburg, his wife Isabel, and nieces Emma and Hazel.

[Svenfan1234]

What??? So sad right now!!!

[D-Dey]

I just found out about his death tonight on Wikipedia. When I first saw the cartoon, I easily detected the influence of Bob Clampett on the opening theme, even with the Jacques Cousteau-style narration in most episodes.

Don't believe me? Compare the two.

Beany and Cecil;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMdReHP9cb0

SpongeBob SquarePants:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKJD563qHfI

[PhoenixAcres]

This is very sad to hear.
I've been dreading this day since he announced his sickness several months ago.

RIP Stephen Hillenburg

[Hawkee]

I wonder how this will affect Spongebob Squarepants production of episodes on Nickelodeon? Because now that Stephen Hillenburg is now gone will Nickelodeon hire someone else to take over writing Spongebob Squarepants episodes or will Nick cancel Spongebob Squarepants for good? Because I do hope that Nickelodeon honors Stephen Hillenburg with a Spongebob Squarepants tribute episode with a message at the end of the episode that says "IN MEMORY OF STEPHEN HILLIBURG 1961-2018"
Bestie

[MA]

Loved SpongeBob growing up, so this news to me is very sad.

[DadTheKing]

Originally Posted by LaBestia

I wonder how this will affect Spongebob Squarepants production of episodes on Nickelodeon? Because now that Stephen Hillenburg is now gone will Nickelodeon hire someone else to take over writing Spongebob Squarepants episodes or will Nick cancel Spongebob Squarepants for good? Because I do hope that Nickelodeon honors Stephen Hillenburg with a Spongebob Squarepants tribute episode with a message at the end of the episode that says "IN MEMORY OF STEPHEN HILLIBURG 1961-2018"
Bestie

Hi, Bestie. I am sure they will still show the SBSP cartoons. But it is sad that a very nice man is gone too soon. Probably any new ones will not be as good. When Mel Blanc dies, thw Warner Bros cartoons were not worth watching. Probably the same thing will happen with SBSP. The soul of the cartoon will be gone. Good idea of the memorial message at the end of the tribute episode. I hope they do it.
DTK

[MrCleveland]

Originally Posted by LaBestia

I wonder how this will affect Spongebob Squarepants production of episodes on Nickelodeon? Because now that Stephen Hillenburg is now gone will Nickelodeon hire someone else to take over writing Spongebob Squarepants episodes or will Nick cancel Spongebob Squarepants for good? Because I do hope that Nickelodeon honors Stephen Hillenburg with a Spongebob Squarepants tribute episode with a message at the end of the episode that says "IN MEMORY OF STEPHEN HILLIBURG 1961-2018"
Bestie

I thought the same thing as well...but the show will never be the same for the people who LOVE SBSP...I'm not one of them, but I respect the people who love this show....