In California, at 58, died animator Stephen Hillenburgwho rose to fame after the creation of the cartoon «spongebob Squarepants» («SpongeBob SquarePants»), which since 1999 is broadcast on the TV channel Nickelodeon.
In 2017 Hillenburg was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease — an incurable degenerative disease of the Central nervous system, which leads to paralysis and muscle atrophy. After that, the multiplier issued a statement for publication in which he said that he will continue to work on SpongeBob SquarePants, while he has the opportunity.
26 Nov 2018 Hillenburg died from complications of this disease. Yesterday, November 27, Nickelodeon confirmed the news about the death of celebrities in Twitter.
«We are sad to share news of the passing of Stephen Hillenburg, the Creator of «SpongeBob SquarePants»,— wrote the press service of the channel. — Today we want to honor his memory and work with a moment of silence».
💛 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. 💛
— Nickelodeon (@Nickelodeon) November 27, 2018
Stephen Hillenburg was born in Oklahoma. From childhood he loved to read about the accomplishments of the oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, which led him to study marine biology in College.
Also at school he started drawing. In the 3rd class during the Vietnam war he painted of the military, who embrace and kiss. The picture struck both teachers and his family. According to Hillenburg, it was then that he realized that he has some creativity.
After College he worked as a teacher in the Orange County Marine Institute. There he was first asked to make a comic about the underwater world. In 1989, Hillenburg accepted into the experimental animation program at CalArts.
Of Nickelodeon first he worked on the animated series «New life Rocco» and then one of the authors told him to create a television series with a similar concept. So there was the world-famous character Sponge Bob.
At the moment, out of 11 full seasons of the cartoon, which has been translated into more than 50 languages and comes out in more than 200 countries.
This year Hillenburg won the second prize «Emmy» for outstanding achievements in the field of animation.
