As if the death of Stephen Hillenburg — the gifted animator and creator of beloved Nickelodeon series SpongeBob SquarePants — wasn’t sad enough, now there’s more.
Hillenburg had worked at the Orange County Marine Institute, and as a marine biology teacher for several years.
Hillenburg passed away last month after a battle with ALS at the way-too-young age of 57.
He then shifted to animation, directing episodes of Rocko’s Modern Life before creating SpongeBob and then working on both his TV series and films.