R.I.P Stephen Hillenburg · 1:46am Nov 28th, 2018
It is a sad today for fans of a certain yellow sponge that lives in a pineapple under the sea. Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of Spongebob Squarepants died today due to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. He was 57 years old.
Originally graduating in 1984 with a degree in natural resource planning, he went on to pursue a career in animation and graduated with a degree in 1992. Stephen originally got his start writing for Rocko's Modern Life (which coincidentally starred Tom Kenny as the voice of the main character), before he launched Spongebob Squarepants in 1999 with the show becoming an overnight sensation and the biggest hit on Nickelodeon.
Stephen was involved with the show through the first three seasons and the 2004 movie, before he stepped down. The show would continue without him beginning in Season 4, and fans eventually noticed a decline in quality somewhere around the show's fifth or sixth season. Stephen eventually returned to the show around roughly Season 9, and worked on the second movie Sponge Out of Water. Just months ago it was announced that he was suffering from ALS and that he would be stepping down from the show for good.
Though I haven't gotten back into Spongebob, I have heard good things about some of the recent seasons. Stephen's legacy will live on in the chipper yellow sponge he created.
A toast and a tear, for the man who introduced us to a chipper yellow sea sponge that looks like he should be in someone's kitchen nearly 20 years ago!🍷😢 R.I.H Stephen.
He truly was a legend of animation, as well as a true creative mind.
I hate SpongeBob, but I know everyone else loves it, and this guy inspired many people, so RIP Hillenburg. :(
We'll miss him....