Stephen Hillenburg

If you were looking for the article about the storyboard artist, then see Stephen Herczeg.

If you were looking for the article about the comic book artist, then see Stephen Destefano.

Person

Credits

Stephen Hillenburg
General Information
Birth:	Stephen McDannell Hillenburg August 21, 1961 Fort Sill, Oklahoma, U.S.
Death:	November 26, 2018 (aged 57) Southern California, U.S.
Gender:	Male
Series Information
Credits:	Creator Writer Executive producer Storyboard director
Portrays:	Potty the Parrot (2000-2004) Dover Sole Baby in stroller Man inside the treasure chest
Years:	1999-2004; 2015-2018

Stephen McDannell Hillenburg (August 21, 1961 - November 26, 2018; aged 57) was an American marine biologist, animator, and the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants. He left production shortly after the first movie was completed, and returned upon creation of the second, continuing to be the executive producer from then, until his death in 2018.

Other than behind-the-scenes work, he voiced Potty the Parrot from 2000 to 2004 and was a ukulele player for some songs, including "Best Day Ever."

It was announced he was diagnosed with ALS on March 13, 2017, but he still continued working on the show, despite his deteriorating health.

Unfortunately, Hillenburg passed away on November 26, 2018, due to complications linked to ALS. 

Life

In 1984, Hillenburg graduated from Humboldt State University with a bachelor's degree in Natural Resource Planning and Interpretation, with an emphasis on Marine Resources. He became a marine biology teacher at the Orange County Marine Institute--now known as the Ocean Institute--in Dana Point, California. Hillenburg's love for the sea and its creatures inspired him to create teaching tools for his students with characters that would later become the main characters of SpongeBob SquarePants.

In 1987, Hillenburg pursued a degree in Experimental Animation at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia and earned his Master of Fine Arts in 1992. Also in 1992, he won an award for Best Animated Concept at the Ottawa International Animation Festival for his animated short "Wormholes," which was shown at several international animation festivals. From 1993 to 1996, he worked on Nickelodeon's animated series Rocko's Modern Life; during this time, he continued to fine-tune the aquatic series concept that he had begun in the 1980s. It would eventually be pitched to Nickelodeon as SpongeBoy Ahoy! and subsequently renamed SpongeBob SquarePants.

In 2007, a frivolous lawsuit, claiming that a toy inventor named Troy Walker came up with the SpongeBob concept, was filed against Nickelodeon and Hillenburg by a complainant wanting a "ridiculous" total of $1.6 billion from Nickelodeon. The claimant, Troy Walker, did not do enough research on his claims before making them, setting his implausible story in 1991, years after Hillenburg had started work on his concept. A summary judgment quickly ruled in Viacom's favor over the flimsy claims.

In March 2017, Hillenburg revealed that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a terminal illness that affects and causes the death of neurons that control the brain and the spinal cord. He tried his best to work on the series as best he could from then on.

On November 26, 2018, Hillenburg passed away from ALS-related complications. The day after he died, he was cremated and his ashes were scattered across the coast of California, close to where Bikini Bottom resides. The future of the show is currently in doubt, though Vincent Waller has stated that the show would still continue.

Trivia

• Stephen Hillenburg drew inspiration from his own life while designing the main characters. Mr. Krabs was based on Hillenburg's former manager at a sea-themed restaurant. Pearl was inspired by his regular supervision of whale watches while working as a marine science educator. SpongeBob's design was influenced by Hillenburg's appearance as a young child, with "nerdy gapped teeth."
• On May 25, 2012, Hillenburg announced that he would be writing The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.
• Sometimes, he is referred to as "Steven or Steve Hillenburg."
• After The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie came out, Hillenburg left the show, because he wanted it to end. However, Hillenburg did not leave the show entirely; he still served as an executive producer during his lifetime.
• According to Paul Tibbitt's Twitter feed, Hillenburg came back to work on the series in January 2015. This was proven true as he produced some episodes from season 9.
  • He served as executive producer of the show from 2015 to 2018, after being absent from the position for 10 years and 2 months.
• According to Vincent Waller, he was about 5'8 feet tall.
• Stephen Hillenburg is the first creator of an animated Nickelodeon series to pass away.
• When the Bikini Atoll island is shown at night, a human finger is visible in the water to portray a reflection of the moon. According to the "Christmas Who?" audio commentary, Stephen Hillenburg filmed the Bikini Atoll island at Steve Belfer's house in his friend's pool in California.
• He named Karen Plankton after his wife, Karen Hillenburg.
• He is against revealing the identity of Mrs. Krabs and has kept it a secret throughout the series.
• According to Vincent Waller on Twitter, it is known that Stephen himself said he hated the idea of SpongeBob having a crossover with another cartoon, and it's unknown why he dislikes crossovers, probably because he finds them pointless, or he is against the idea of SpongeBob getting a crossover despite SpongeBob being in crossover video games, online games, books, and shorts. However, Patchy the Pirate appeared in a Big Time Rush episode only once, meaning Patchy was the only live-action character of the series to appear in another show during his lifetime.
• Season 11 is the last season to end before Hillenburg's passing.
  • "Goons on the Moon" is the last episode to air in airing order before Hillenburg's passing.
• Season 12 is the last season to premiere before Hillenburg's passing.
  • "FarmerBob" is the last episode to air in production order before Hillenburg's passing.
• The SpongeBob Movie: The Sponge Out of Water is the last entry of the SpongeBob SquarePants film trilogy to be produced during Stephen Hillenburg's lifetime.
  • The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water: The Junior Novelization, Plank-Ton to the Rescue!, Plank-ton's Big Plan!, Krabby Patty Caper, The Good, The Bad, and the Krabby! were the last SpongeBob movie books based on a film to be released during Stephen Hillenburg's lifetime.
    • SpongeBob HeroPants was the last SpongeBob movie based video game based on a film to be released during Stephen Hillenburg's lifetime.
• The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom DVD, Big Hits: Volume 1, The First & Second Seasons and SpongeBob SquarePants Holiday Collection were the last SpongeBob DVDs to be released during Stephen Hillenburg's lifetime.
  • The Complete Ninth Season was also the last SpongeBob season DVD to be released during Stephen Hillenburg's lifetime.
    • The SpongeBob Movie Collection (Blu-ray) was the last SpongeBob Blu-ray to be released during Stephen Hillenburg's lifetime.
• "The Nitwitting" is the first episode to premiere after Stephen Hillenburg's death.
• SpongeBob Comics No. 85, SpongeBob Freestyle Funnies 2018 and SpongeBob Comics Annual Super-Giant Swimtacular No. 6 were the last SpongeBob comic books to be released during Stephen Hillenburg's lifetime.
• "Truth or Square" is the SpongeBob last TV movie to air during Stephen Hillenburg's lifetime.
• Nickelodeon Kart Racers was the last SpongeBob video game that is a crossover with other franchises by Nickelodeon to be released during Stephen Hillenburg's lifetime.
• Nickelodeon Thanksgiving Weekends was the last SpongeBob event to happen during Stephen Hillenburg's lifetime.
• The SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge is the first entry of the SpongeBob SquarePants film trilogy to be released during Stephen Hillenburg's lifetime so far.
• Super Brawl Universe and Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated are the first SpongeBob video games to be released after Stephen Hillenburg's lifetime so far.
• Movies & TV Collection, The Third & Fourth Seasons, The Next 100 Episodes and The Best 200 Episodes Ever are the first SpongeBob SquarePants DVDs to be released after Stephen Hillenburg's lifetime so far.
• "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout" is the first SpongeBob TV movie to be made after Stephen Hillenburg's lifetime so far.

Errors

Should be written as "Stephen Hillenburg"

• In "Help Wanted," Stephen Hillenburg's name is misspelled as "Stephen Hilleburg," missing the "N" in his surname.

Video

References

External links

Wikipedia may have more biographical information on this person. Please see Wikipedia's article here.

Template:CastCrew

Awards and nominations for SpongeBob SquarePants V • E Emmy Awards Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) Nominees: Sean Dempsey, Derek Drymon, Juli Murphy Hashiguchi, Sam Henderson, Stephen Hillenburg, Jay Lender, Mark O'Hare, Kent Osborne, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt, Tom Yasumi (for "New Student Starfish"/"Clams," 2003) • Derek Drymon, Juli Murphy Hashiguchi, Stephen Hillenburg, Kent Osborne, Andrew Overtoom, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt (for "Ugh," 2004) • Mike Bell, C.H. Greenblatt, Stephen Hillenburg, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt, Vincent Waller, Tom Yasumi (for "Fear of a Krabby Patty"/"Shell of a Man," 2005) • Casey Alexander, Luke Brookshier, Stephen Hillenburg, Tom King, Dani Michaeli, Chris Mitchell, Andrew Overtoom, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt and Tom Yasumi (for "Bummer Vacation"/"Wigstruck," 2007) • Steven Banks, Charlie Bean, Stephen Hillenburg, Dani Michaeli, Chris Reccardi, Alan Smart, Aaron Springer, Paul Tibbitt, Tom Yasumi (for "The Inmates of Summer"/"The Two Faces of Squidward," 2008) Outstanding Short-format Animated Program Nominees: Dina Buteyn, Stephen Hillenburg, Dani Michaeli, Alan Smart, Aaron Springer, Paul Tibbitt and Tom Yasumi (for "Dear Vikings," 2009) • Luke Brookshier, Dina Buteyn, Nate Cash, Stephen Hillenburg, Doug Lawrence, Andrew Overtoom, Alan Smart and Paul Tibbitt (for "That Sinking Feeling," 2011) • Marc Ceccarelli, Stephen Hillenburg, Kyle McCulloch, Jennie Monica, Jack Pendarvis, Alan Smart, Paul Tibbitt, Vincent Waller, Tom Yasumi (for "Company Picnic," 2016) • Luke Brookshier, Marc Ceccarelli, Stephen Hillenburg, Jennie Monica, Adam Paloian, Alan Smart, Vincent Waller, Tom Yasumi (for "Plankton Paranoia," 2019) Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program Directors: Andrew Overtoom, Andrea Romano, Alan Smart and Tom Yasumi (2010) • Casey Alexander, Luke Brookshier, Nate Cash, Zeus Cervas, Sean Charmatz, Andrew Overtoom, Andrea Romano, Alan Smart, Aaron Springer, Paul Tibbitt, Vincent Waller and Tom Yasumi (2012) Outstanding Special Class Animated Program Animators: Dina Buteyn, Stephen Hillenburg and Paul Tibbitt (2010) Outstanding Children's Animated Program Nominees: Stephen Hillenburg, Jennie Monica Hammond and Paul Tibbitt (2012) • Stephen Hillenburg, Marc Ceccarelli, Vincent Waller and Jennie Monica (2018) Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program Voice actors: Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles (2012) • Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2018) • Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2020) • Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2021) Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation Nominees: Todd Brodie, Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Chris Gresham, Matt Hall, Jeffrey Hutchins, James Lifton, Paulette Lifton, D.J. Lynch, Aran Tanchum and Kimberlee Vanek (2012) • Mishelle Fordham, Vincent Guisetti, Jeffrey Hutchins, James Lifton, Paulette Lifton, D.J. Lynch, Wes Otis, Monique Reymond and Aran Tanchum (2013) • Devon Bowman, Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Jeff Hutchins, Aran Tanchum and Vincent Guisetti (2014) Outstanding Sound Mixing for an Animated Program Nominees: D.J. Lynch, Justin Brinsfield, Ryan Greene, Manny Grijalva, Jeff Hutchins and Aran Tanchum (2020) Outstanding Voice Directing for an Animated Series Nominees: Tom Kenny (2021) Children's and Family Emmy Awards Outstanding Voice Performance in an Animated Program Voice actors: Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2022) • Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (2023) Individual Achievement in Animation - Storyboard Nominees: Benjamin Arcand (for "SpongeBob's Road to Christmas," 2022) Golden Reel Awards Best Sound Editing in Television Animation – Music Nominees: Stephen Hillenburg, Donna Castricone, Nicholas R. Jennings, Alan Smart, Peter Burns, Doug Lawrence, Derek Drymon, Alex Gordon, Donna Grillo, Jennie Monica, Krandal Crews, Jim Leber, Justin Brinsfield, Tony Ostyn, Nicolas Carr (for "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy"/"Pickles;" 2000) • Nicolas Carr (for "Fools in April"/"Neptune's Spatula" in 2001; for "Jellyfish Hunter"/"The Fry Cook Games" in 2002; for "Wet Painters"/"Krusty Krab Training Video" in 2003; for "The Great Snail Race"/"Mid-Life Crustacean" in 2004) • Jimmy Lifton, D.J. Lynch, Jeff Hutchins, Tony Ostyn and Paulette Lifton (for "Mid-Life Crustacean;" 2004) Best Sound Editing in Television Animation – Sound Nominees: Nicolas Carr (for "Karate Choppers;" 2000) • Andrea Anderson, Jimmy Lifton, Monette Holderer, D.J. Lynch, Vincent Gutisetti, Jeff Hutchins and Gabriel Rosas (for "Rock Bottom"/"Arrgh!;" 2001) Best Sound Editing in Television – Animation Nominees: Timothy J. Borquez, Jeff Hutchins and Daisuke Sawa (for "The Secret Box"/"Band Geeks;" 2002) Best Sound Editing in Television Animation Nominees: Jimmy Lifton, Jeff Hutchins, Tony Ostyn and Chris Gresham (for "Nasty Patty"/"Idiot Box;" 2003) Best Sound Editing in Television: Animated Nominees: Jimmy Lifton, Nicolas Carr, D.J. Lynch, Jeff Hutchins, Tony Ostyn, Chris Gresham and Paulette Lifton (for "Pranks a Lot"/"SpongeBob Meets the Strangler;" 2005) • Vincent Gutisetti, Jimmy Lifton, Nicolas Carr, Monique Reymond, D.J. Lynch, Mark Howlett, Jeff Hutchins, Aran Tanchum, Mishelle Smith and Paulette Lifton (for "Have You Seen This Snail?;" 2006) • Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Timothy J. Borquez, Tom Syslo, Jason Stiff, Tony Orozco and Kimberlee Vanek (for "SpongeHenge;" 2008) Best Sound Editing: Television Animation Nominees: : Chiho Oyamada Carr, Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Daisuke Sawa, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Timothy J. Borquez, Tom Syslo, Eric Freeman, Dan Cubert, Lawrence Reyes, Jason Stiff, Tony Orozco and Kimberlee Vanek (for "Suction Cup Symphony;" 2009) • Chino Oyamada Carr, Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Timothy J. Borquez, Eric Freeman, Tom Syslo, Keith Dickens, Jason Stiff, Sergio Silva, Tony Orozco and Kimberlee Vanek (for "SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One;" 2010) Best Sound Editing – Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR Animation in Television Nominees: Devon Bowman, Justin Brinsfield, Nicolas Carr, Andrea Anderson, Mishelle Fordham, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Eric Freeman, Tony Orozco and Danny Tchibinda (for "Gary's New Toy;" 2013) • Mishelle Fordham, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Timothy J. Borquez, Tom Syslo, Eric Freeman, Bobby Crew, Keith Dickens, Gabriel Rossas and Tony Orozco (for "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!;" 2013) Miscellaneous British Academy Children's Awards International Category Recipients: Stephen Hillenburg and Alan Smart (2007) • Paul Tibbitt, Casey Alexander and Zeus Cervas (2012) • Marc Ceccarelli, Luke Brookshier and Vincent Waller (2014) Annecy International Animated Film Festival Special Award Episodes: "Fear of a Krabby Patty" (2005) Special Award for a TV Series Episodes: "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!" (2013) Artios Awards Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Animation TV Programming Nominees: Sarah Noonan (2010) Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Television Animation Nominees: Sarah Noonan (2011; 2013) ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards Top Television Series Nominees: Steve Belfer, Nicolas Carr, Derek Drymon, Mark Harrison, Stephen Hillenburg, Pat Irwin, Stephen Marston, Blaise Smith, Barry Anthony Trop and Ron Wasserman (2011-2013) BMI Film & TV Awards BMI Cable Award Nominees: Michael Bolger, Sage Guyton, Eban Schletter and Jeremy Wakefield (2013) Satellite Awards Best Youth DVD DVDs: The Complete 2nd Season (2005) THEA Awards Outstanding Achivement - Attraction Rides: SpongeBob SubPants Adventure (2016) Promax Awards I Need a Hero, WhoBob WhatPants promo, Truth or Square promo