Stephen McDonnell Hillenburg (August 21, 1961 – November 26, 2018) was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor, and marine biology teacher. he was the creator of the Nickelodeon animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants (1999–2018), which he also directed, produced, and wrote. it has gone on to become the fifth longest-running American animated series.
born in Lawton, Oklahoma, and raised in Anaheim, California, Hillenburg became fascinated with the ocean as a child and developed an interest in art. he started his professional career in 1984, instructing marine biology, at the orange county marine institute, where he wrote the intertidal zone, an informative comic book about tide-pool animals, which he used to educate his students. in 1989, two years after leaving teaching, Hillenburg enrolled at the California Institute of the arts to pursue a career in animation. he was later offered a job on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rocko's modern life (1993–1996) after his success with short films the green beret and wormholes (both 1992), which he made while studying animation.
in 1994, Hillenburg began developing the intertidal zone characters and concepts for what became Spongebob SquarePants. the show premiered in 1999 and has aired since then. he also directed the SpongeBob Squarepants movie (2004), which he originally intended to be the series finale. however, Nickelodeon wanted to produce more episodes, so Hillenburg resigned as the showrunner. he went back to making short films, with Hollywood blvd., USA (2013). in 2015, the SpongeBob movie: sponge out of the water was released; the sequel to the 2004 film, it marked Hillenburg's return to the franchise, after he co-wrote the story and acted as an executive producer on the project.
Besides his two Emmy awards and six Annie awards for Spongebob SquarePants, Hillenburg also received other recognition, such as an accolade from healing the bay for his efforts on elevating marine life awareness, and the television animation award from the national cartoonist's society. despite this, he was involved in public controversies, including one that centered on speculation over the SpongeBob character's intended sexual orientation, and a lawsuit that was filed against him. hillenburg was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2017 but stated he would continue to work on his show as long as possible. he died on November 26, 2018, a year and a half after his diagnosis.
In the statement, the company said that Hillenburg's died due to motor neuron disease a condition he revealed he had been diagnosed within March 2017 the BBC reported.he not only create the character but Hillenburg also directed the 2004 "the SpongeBob Squarepants movie"
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.
"SpongeBob" is nickelodeon's all-time biggest hit and has aired for nearly two decades since its premiere on may 1 1999 bringing characters SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, sandy cheeks, plankton, pearl krabs, Mrs puff and larry the lobster to life.
