Stephen Hillenburg’s work on Spongebob for almost 2 decades has been inspirational.
Stephen Hillenburg, creator of the iconic animated series Spongebob Squarepants, died Monday after a battle with ALS, which he had been diagnosed with in March 2017, Variety reports.
A former marine biology teacher, Hillenburg’s love of the ocean and all things in it manifested spectacularly in his creative career change to animation as SpongeBob SquarePants.
Many fans, including those that had gone on to work in animation themselves, also mourned Hillenburg’s loss.