Stephen Hillenburg
American marine science educator and artist (1961-2018) · United States · Artists · Died at 57
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Something wrong?He taught marine biology with homemade picture books about tide-pool creatures, then turned those drawings into a yellow sponge who lives in a pineapple - and built the fourth longest-running American animated series.
A life in dates
Also in Deutsch
Photos 7
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In their own words 3
, People have to come together and realize how important our oceans are.
I think we all thought the show would be good, but I didn't ever assume it would catch on in a mass audience sort of way, that's unexpected, and we're flattered and relieved.
It finally dawned on me that if I was going to do my own show, all those things I lectured about and obsessed about would make for an interesting world.
Awards
Family
Stephen HillenburgPartners
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Stephen Hillenburg grew up in Anaheim fascinated by the ocean and began teaching marine biology at the Orange County Marine Institute in 1984, where he wrote and illustrated The Intertidal Zone to explain tide-pool animals to students. After two years he enrolled at CalArts in 1989 to study animation, and his student short films earned him a job on Rocko's Modern Life in 1993. In 1994 he started adapting his Intertidal Zone characters into SpongeBob SquarePants, which Nickelodeon launched in 1999 and has aired continuously since. He directed the 2004 movie intending it as a finale, then stepped back as showrunner but stayed on as executive producer. Diagnosed with ALS in 2017, he kept working until he died the following November at 57, leaving behind two Emmys, six Annies, and a sponge that outlived him.
In common with Stephen
Ricky GervaisAlso in SpongeBob's Truth or Square (2009)
Dan PovenmireAlso in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Seascape Capers (2004)
Tim ConwayAlso in SpongeBob SquarePants: Sea Side Story (2017)
Alec BaldwinAlso in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)
Antonio BanderasAlso in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015)
Eric BauzaAlso in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015)Fame.am measures public visibility signals. It does not measure human value, talent, morality, or credibility.