Salt Lake Tribune · Nov 28, 2018
‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ creator Stephen Hillenburg dies at 57
(Charles Sykes | Invision | The Associated Press) In this Jan. 31, 2015 file photo, SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg attends the world premiere of "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water" in New York. Hillenburg died Monday, Nov. 26, 2018 of ALS. He was 57. Stephen Hillenburg, a onetime marine biology teacher who created the enduringly popular "SpongeBob SquarePants," an Emmy Award-winning animated Nickelodeon program about a goofy underwater world that was the defining cartoon show of its generation, died Nov. 26 at his home near Los Angeles. He was 57.
He had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gerhrig's disease, said Susan Grode, a lawyer for the family.