Stephen Hillenburg with the animated character who brought him to life, SpongeBob
Photo: Mark Mainz/Getty Images
Four years have passed since the death of Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the famous Nickealodeon animated character, Sponge Bob.
Hillenburg passed away on November 27, 2018, when he was 57 years old. His death was due to a neurodegenerative disease progressive, called ALS.
“Steve designed Sponge Bob Square Pants with a unique sense of humor and innocence that has brought joy to generations of children and families everywhere,” said Nickelodeon in a statement, after his death.
“Its totally original characters and the world of Bikini Bottom will remain as a reminder of the value of optimism, friendship and the limitless power of imagination,” text continued.
His life
This animator and producer also shared his passion upon graduating as a biologist and tried to capture his love for the marine world in SpongeBob.
Hillenburg was marine biology teacher at the Orange County Ocean Institute. He worked as a marine biologist starting in 1984.
By 1987 he decided to dedicate himself to animation, which was his other passion. He made several short films, including The Green Beret in 1991 and Wormholes a year later.
In 1992 he received an invitation from Joe Murray, creator of the Rocko’s Modern Lifeto be part of the team of the series.
It was then that he entered to Nickelodeon.
sponge Bob
In 1998 Hillenburg produced the SpongeBob pilot episode, called Help Wanted. The main character’s name was originally “Sponge Boy”; however, it was one that was already registered.
As a result of this he decided to change it to SpongeBob and the premiere of the series took place on May 1, 1999.
Years passed and in 2004 hillenburg He decides to leave the executive production of said series to get involved in other projects.
In charge of SpongeBob, the series, was left Paul Tibbitt, who served as one of his colleagues for the production of it.
However, and as a result of the two films he made of Bob in 2004 and the second in 2015, called A Hero Out of Water, the biologist returned to his post as series producer.
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