- Pencipta karakter Spongebob Squarepants Stephen Hillenburg meninggal dunia karena penyakit ALS. Tak banyak yang tahu bahwa karakter ikonik itu diciptakan oleh seorang guru Biologi. Karena Spongebob, dia pun meraup pundi-pundi uang.Pria bernama lengkap Stephen McDannell Hillenburg ini lahir di Lawton, Oklahoma pada Agustus 21 Agustus 1961. Stephen Hillenburg adalah Seorang Direktur, Animator, Penulis, Produser, Dubbers dan Ahli biologi kelautan.Dikutip dari berbagai sumber, Rabu (28/11/2018), Hillenburg punya kekayaan hingga US$ 120 juta atau setara Rp 1,74 triliun (Kurs: Rp 14.525/dolar AS). Kekayaan itu diyakini mayoritas berasal dari serial kartun ciptaannya.Selain jadi animator, Hillenburg adalah guru biologi. Berawal dari mengajar di Orange County Marine Institute di California, ia membuat komik yang berhubungan dengan laut untuk murid-muridnya yang disebut The Intertidal Spongebob. Inilah awal mula terciptanya karakter animasi Spongebob.Spongebob kemudian terus berkembang dan dikenal di seluruh dunia. Spongebob mulai ditayangkan pada tahun 1999 dan hingga pada saat ini kartun tersebut telah menayangkan lebih dari 240 Episode di 12 musim.
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Penghargaan juga di raihnya dengan memenangkan 2 Emmy, memenangkan 6 Emms, memenangkan 17 Annie Awards. Pada 2009, waralaba Spongebob menghasilkan US$ 8 Miliar per tahun. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie dirilis pada 19 November 2004 dan menghasilkan lebih dari US$ 140 juta di box office di seluruh dunia, menurut Box Office Mojo. Hillenburg adalah sutradara film itu.Film kedua, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of water, meraup $ 325 juta lebih di seluruh dunia, menurut situs web. Hillenburg bekerja sebagai co-writer dan produser eksekutif.
CLOSE The creator of "Spongebob SquarePants," Stephen Hillenburg died at 57 from ALS. He was truly number one. USA TODAY
Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of "SpongeBob SquarePants" has died at the age of 57 after suffering from ALS. (Photo: Junko Kimura)
Stephen Hillenburg, the visionary creator of "SpongeBob SquarePants" died Monday, Nickelodeon and Jessica Berger, a rep for his family, confirmed to USA TODAY. The cause of death was ALS.
ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a rare terminal illness that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. It's also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
"SpongeBob" is Nickelodeon's all-time biggest hit, and has aired for nearly two decades since its premiere on May 1, 1999, bringing characters SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Sandy Cheeks, Plankton, Pearl Krabs, Mrs. Puff and Larry the Lobster to life.
"We are sad to share the news of the passing of Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants," the children's channel tweeted Tuesday. "Today, we are observing a moment of silence to honor his life and work."
💛 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
Hillenberg's cheery SpongeBob, awash in puns and happily flipping Krabby Patties at the Krusty Krab eatery, became a pop culture sensation. Famous folks filed in to voice characters over the years, including Amy Poehler, Johnny Depp, LeBron James, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Kristin Wiig, Mark Hamill, Betty White and Jon Hamm.
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Stephen Hillenburg directs Patrick and SpongeBob in a scene from the animated motion picture "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie." (Photo: David Strick, Paramount Pictures)
The franchise extended to the silver screen with "The SpongeBob Movie" in 2004 (which grossed $140 million worldwide), which Hillenburg wrote, produced and directed. It was followed by "Sponge Out of Water" in 2015 ($325 million worldwide), which Hillenburg wrote and executive produced. A third "SpongeBob" film will hit theaters in 2020.
David Hasselhoff, who starred as himself in "The SpongeBob Movie," remembered his time on set.
"Wow what a unique and fantastic character Steve created! It was my pleasure and honor to be in 'SpongeBob The Movie' and to share some great laughs with this gentleman," the "Baywatch" alum tweeted. "To this day I am stopped and flattered by people and kids who have seen me in the film."
Wow what a unique and fantastic character Steve created! It was my pleasure and honor to be in SpongeBob The Movie and to share some great laughs with this gentleman, Shocking Loss! To this day I am stopped and flattered by people and kids who have seen me in the film.#SpongeBobpic.twitter.com/gNF1CkJk69 — David Hasselhoff (@DavidHasselhoff) November 27, 2018
The squishy yellow guy also made a move to Broadway. "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical," which opened in December 2017, was rewarded with 12 Tony nominations, though the show closed after less than 10 months.
"The fact that it's undersea and isolated from our world helps the characters maintain their own culture," Hillenburg told the Associated Press in 2001. "The essence of the show is that SpongeBob is an innocent in a world of jaded characters. The rest is absurd packaging."
“We are incredibly saddened by the news that Steve Hillenburg has passed away following a battle with ALS," Nickelodeon's statement said. "He was a beloved friend and longtime creative partner to everyone at Nickelodeon, and our hearts go out to his entire family. Steve imbued 'SpongeBob SquarePants' with a unique sense of humor and innocence that has brought joy to generations of kids and families everywhere. His utterly original characters and the world of Bikini Bottom will long stand as a reminder of the value of optimism, friendship and the limitless power of imagination.”
The television series touched Busy Philipps' family: "Sponge Bob has brought my little one Cricket so much joy and given her the weirdest & wildest sense of humor. Thank you Mr. Hillenburg and rest in peace."
Sponge Bob has brought my little one Cricket so much joy and given her the weirdest & wildest sense of humor. Thank you Mr. Hillenburg and rest in peace. 💔 https://t.co/4vODpCC4ya — Busy Philipps (@BusyPhilipps) November 27, 2018
Hillenburg first parlayed his fascination with ocean life into a career as a biology teacher at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California. In 1987, he began his career in animation, and from 1993 to 1996 got his start at Nickelodeon on "Rocko’s Modern Life." From there, Hillenburg began work full time, writing producing and directing an animated series that would eventually become "SpongeBob SquarePants."
CLOSE The creator of Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob SquarePants," Stephen Hillenburg, says he has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. USA TODAY
He revealed his ALS diagnosis in 2017, saying in a statement he intended to keep working on "SpongeBob," which is renewed until 2019.
“I wanted people to hear directly from me that I have been diagnosed with ALS,” he said at the time. “Anyone who knows me knows that I will continue to work on 'SpongeBob SquarePants' and my other passions for as long as I am able. My family and I are grateful for the outpouring of love and support."
Hillenburg is survived by Karen Hillenburg, his wife of 20 years, son Clay, mother Nancy Hillenburg (nee Dufour) and brother Brian Kelly Hillenburg, his wife Isabel and nieces Emma and Hazel.
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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. (Photo: Charles Sykes / AP)
Los Angeles – Stephen Hillenburg, who created SpongeBob SquarePants and the absurd undersea world he inhabited, has died at age 57, Nickelodeon announced Tuesday.
Hillenburg died Monday of Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS, the cable network said in a statement. He was 57.
Hillenburg had announced he had the disease in March 2017. His death comes just weeks after the passing of another cartoon hero in Marvel creator Stan Lee.
An Oklahoma native with a love of both drawing and marine biology, Hillenburg conceived, wrote, produced and directed the animated series that began in 1999 and went on to spawn hundreds of episodes, movies and a Broadway show.
“He was a beloved friend and long-time creative partner to everyone at Nickelodeon, and our hearts go out to his entire family,” Nickelodeon’s statement said. “Steve imbued ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ with a unique sense of humor and innocence that has brought joy to generations of kids and families everywhere. His utterly original characters and the world of Bikini Bottom will long stand as a reminder of the value of optimism, friendship and the limitless power of imagination.”
The absurdly jolly SpongeBob, his starfish sidekick Patrick, and a vast cast of oceanic creatures quickly appealed to college kids and parents as much as it did kids.
“The fact that it’s undersea and isolated from our world helps the characters maintain their own culture,” Hillenburg told The Associated Press in 2001. “The essence of the show is that SpongeBob is an innocent in a world of jaded characters. The rest is absurd packaging.”
Born at his father’s army post in Lawton, Oklahoma, Hillenburg graduated from Humboldt State University in California in 1984 with a degree in natural resource planning with an emphasis on marine resources, and went on to teach marine biology at the Orange County Marine Institute.
He shifted to drawing and earned a master of fine arts degree in animation from the California Institute of the Arts in 1992.
That same year he created an animated short called “Wormholes” that won festival plaudits and helped land him a job on the Nickelodeon show “Rocko’s Modern Life,” where he worked from 1993 to 1996 before he began to build SpongeBob’s undersea world of Bikini Bottom, which showed off his knowledge of marine life and willingness to throw all the details out the window.
“We know that fish don’t walk,” he told the AP, “and that there is no organized community with roads, where cars are really boats. And if you know much about sponges, you know that living sponges aren’t square.”
The show was an immediate hit that has lost no momentum in the nearly 20 years since its creation. Its nearly 250 episodes have won four Emmys and 15 Kids Choice Awards, and led to an endless line of merchandise to rival any other pop cultural phenomenon of the 2000s.
In 2004, the show shifted to the big screen with “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” and a 2015 sequel, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.”
A musical stage adaptation bowed on Broadway in 2017, with music from such stars as Steven Tyler, Sara Bareilles and John Legend. It earned 12 Tony Award nominations, including one for best performance by a leading actor for Ethan Slater.
“I am heartbroken to hear of the passing of Stephen Hillenburg,” Slater said in an email Tuesday. “Through working on ‘SpongeBob,’ I got to know him not only as a creative genius, but as a truly generous and kind person. He warmly embraced us on Broadway as the newest members of his wonderful ‘SpongeBob’ family, and made it so clear from the get-go why he is so beloved: genuine kindness.”
Hillenburg is survived by his wife of 20 years Karen Hillenburg, son Clay, mother Nancy Hillenburg, and a brother, Brian Kelly Hillenburg.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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"I am heartbroken to hear of the passing of Stephen Hillenburg," Slater said in an email Tuesday. "Through working on 'SpongeBob,' I got to know him not only as a creative genius, but as a truly generous and kind person. He warmly embraced us on Broadway as the newest members of his wonderful 'SpongeBob' family, and made it so clear from the get-go why he is so beloved: genuine kindness."
