Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of "SpongeBob" has passed away

Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the famous cartoon SpongeBob, died Monday at the age of 57.

Hillenburg, a former professor of marine biology, has died of a neurodegenerative disease, the US channel Nickelodeon said on Tuesday.

"It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants. Today, we observe a moment of silence to honor his life and his work, "wrote the American channel on Twitter.

Stephen 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

Thanks to his creation, Hillenburg has been nominated nine times at the Emmy Awards but he has never won a trophy.

Born on August 21, 1961 in Lawton, Okla, Hillenburg graduated from Humboldt State University in Northern California with a Bachelor's degree in Natural Resource Planning and Interpretation with a specialization in marine resources.

While working as a professor of marine biology at the Orange County Marine Institute in Dana Point, California, Hillenburg noticed that "animation was gaining momentum," which pushed him to enrolled at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia in 1987 as a graduate student. He left five years later with a degree in experimental animation.

From 1993, Hillenburg wrote and directed "Rocko's Modern Life", an animated series for Nickelodeon. He created SpongeBob in May 1999. This award-winning cartoon, including awards from the British Emmys, Annies and ASCAP, has been broadcast in more than 150 countries. SpongeBob has been adapted twice to cinema, in 2004 and in 2015.

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