Creator of SpongeBob SquarePants Dies
GoLocalProv News Team
Creator of SpongeBob SquarePants Dies
He died from ALS, which he was diagnosed with in March of 2017.
“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,” said Nickelodeon in a statement on Twitter.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAbout Hillenburg
Hillenburg was a nine-time Emmy nominee for SpongeBob, however, he never won.
At the Annie Awards in February, Hillenburg was awarded a Winsor McCay honor from his career contributions to animation.
SpongeBob premiered in May of 1999 and has are more than 250 episodes during its run.
The show has been adopted on two different occasions for movies, the first coming in 2004 with The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and then again in 2015 for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.
SpongeBob also made its way to the stage with a Broadway musical that won a Tony Award.
Prior to SpongeBob, Hillenburg wrote and directed Rocko’s Modern Life and Rugrats starting in 1993.