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[Toothless]

The 55-year-old animator shared a statement with Variety announcing the diagnosis and his intent to continue working on the series, which has been on the air since 1999.

”I wanted people to hear directly from me that I have been diagnosed with ALS.," the statement reads. ”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. We ask that our sincere request for privacy be honored during this time."

... Hillenburg is a former marine biology teacher who channeled his love of the ocean into animation. ”SpongeBob" began as a Saturday morning cartoon in 1999, before transitioning to primetime, where it became a multibillion-dollar franchise popular among kids and adult viewers as well.

Hillenburg also directed 2004's ”The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie." He left the series for a decade before returning in 2014 as an executive producer. Last March, Nickelodeon renewed ”SpongeBob" for a 10th and 11th season, which will keep the series on the air for well over 200 episodes.

Sad news. Honestly, just by creating and showrunning the first three seasons of SpongeBob, I'd call this guy one of the brightest comedic minds in animation history. I felt oddly gutted when I saw this headline, and damn it, I feel awful for his family too.

 

[Tall4Life]

ALS is such a fucking awful disease. Either you die by being unplugged from the respiratory machine or you get something like pneumonia or you suffocate from the mucus inside your lungs. Reading Tuesdays with Morrie really put a lot of things in perspective about ALS and how it mentally affects you, I hope he is able to live for however long he wants and go out on his own terms.

 

[JDHarbs]

 

[Mr. Smiley]

Oh man.

Hang in there Hillenburg. You'll come out on top.

 

[March of the Crabs]

This is profoundly sad. Fuck ALS. Best wishes to Stephen and his family.

 

[TheRed]

Aww that's sad. It's such a hopeless disease, had a family member die to it. Hope he can live a happy and fulfilling rest of his life with his family.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Oh no, that's horrible.

Godspeed, Mr. Hillenburg. Your creation brought joy to an entire generation, and continues to to the generation after.

 

[Jarrod38]

Oh man.

Hang in there Hillenburg. You'll come out on top.

Sadly ALS is a terminal diease. Once you're diagnosed with this you have at least five years.

Anyways can't remember the last new episodes I watched.

 

[Nappuccino]

ALS scares the shit out of me. I hope his life is great through and through.

 

[Gnome Scat]

Horrible news, fuck ALS.

 

[Transhuman]

"I was born with glass bones and paper skin. Every morning I break my legs, and every afternoon I break my arms. At night, I lie awake in agony until my heart attacks put me to sleep."

 

[Zyae]

Probably one of the worst things suffer. Awful

 

[Earthbound64]

"I was born with glass bones and paper skin. Every morning I break my legs, and every afternoon I break my arms. At night, I lie awake in agony until my heart attacks put me to sleep."

What the heck?
No.

 

[Cormano]

ALS = Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Not in the title or OP since i had to google.

 

[Dishwalla]

Fuck that's awful news.

 

[TheDinoman]

Mother of fuck, that's not something I wanted to hear.

 

[KingK]

Goddamn

The man created something that brought joy to millions.

 

[Earthbound64]

ALS = Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Not in the title or OP since i had to google.

Also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

 

[Strike]

Damn, dude. That's terrible.

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

I don't know if I can think of another disease more nightmarish. Heartbreaking stuff.

 

[TheGreatDirector]

Damn.

You cannot understate how incredible this man's work is. His Spongebob run was a major part of my childhood. I wish him the best.

 

[Prof. Bathtub]

By all accounts he had a very clear vision what the show's sensibilities would be before it even got started.

It was all there from the very first pitch. This is SpongeBob, this where he lives, this is who his best friend is, this is the cranky neighbor who lives in between them, this is where he works, these are the characters at work, this is Sandy the squirrel in her tree dome. The relationships were there, and the core personality traits were all there. So as we moved forward in making the pilot and then picking up the series, it was just a matter of letting out the stories that Steve already had in his head. He didn’t necessarily have every story already worked out, but he had the relationships worked out. And when you look at the early episodes, they establish the relationships very clearly. And they not only establish the relationships, but they establish a simplicity in he storytelling, a variety in visual techniques.

He's truly an incredible talent, sorry to hear this news.

 

[How About No]

fuck

 

[Professor Renegade]

"I was born with glass bones and paper skin. Every morning I break my legs, and every afternoon I break my arms. At night, I lie awake in agony until my heart attacks put me to sleep."

Man, this news fucking sucks and I hope for the best for Hillenburg...but this gave me a giggle.

 

[Triz]

As someone who lost their grandfather to ALS I feel for the guy. Its the worst way to go IMO...Not being able to move or express your goodbyes is fucking sad guys.

 

[Mr. Smiley]

Sadly ALS is a terminal diease. Once you're diagnosed with this you have at least five years.

yeah i'm clinging for a miracle

 

[FrankCanada97]

Can't forget his contribution to Rocko's Modern Life as well. His work touched kids and adults alike everywhere.

 

[Hellwarden]

Jesus, just saw the news.

I hope he receives the best care he can.

 

[Mr Swine]

Really sad to hear that he has ALS, I wish him the best

 

[the anime man]

Spongebob was a huge part of my life. Really sad to hear this.

 

[Spenny]

Man, ALS is such shit. I hope the rest of his days are awesome.

 

[Turbowaffles]

This is sad.

I wish we discovered ways to make ALS more manageable and less... nightmareish and terminal.

 

[Fancyarcher]

Really? Man, that's a fucking shame. Hope he gets better soon. ALS is such a awful disease.

 

[Andrew Korenchkin]

Really? Man, that's a fucking shame. Hope he gets better soon. ALS is such a awful disease.

I don't think you get better from ALS. Once you have it your health declines until you eventually die.

Not sure how long the progression will be for him.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Had genuinely never heard of the condition before, that sounds haunting :|

The first season of Spongebob is some of the funniest, sweetest animation around. What a shame such a talented guy is so sick.

 

[Bronx-Man]

Jesus christ, that's awful to hear. But he will always remembered as an legend in the animation industry. It may just seem like only a cute kid's cartoon to most, but the first three seasons of Spongebob are a masterclass in surrealist comedy. It's crazy to think of how many cartoons in the mid-2000s tried to ape it but none ever matched the heart and the wit it had. It's one of the most important cartoons ever, and he's one of the most important cartoonists ever.

 

[Plywood]

:<

 

[TheOGB]

God, that's fucking terrible. I still can't even wrap my head around how horrific ALS must be.

I thank him for creating some of the finest cartoon comedy of our time, and I hope he and his family are able to find joy and peace in the future.

 

[PaulExcellent]

Dammit.
My best wishes to him, cause it's going to get really rough as it progresses. :/

 

[Toad.T]

"I was born with glass bones and paper skin. Every morning I break my legs, and every afternoon I break my arms. At night, I lie awake in agony until my heart attacks put me to sleep."

Dude.

Dude.

Not cool.

 

[Defect]

That is awful

 

[Transhuman]

http://cartoonician.com/the-oral-history-of-spongebob-squarepants/

This is a pretty good article about the creation of the show, they don't interview Steve it's more about how each of the key players got involved and how they met steve and what is was like working with him (back in the 1999-2004 run)

 

[ZombiePlatypus]

Terrible news. Hope he can maintain and manage it while keeping up a decent quality of life.

 

[Alienous]

He doesn't deserve that. Man is the world unfair.

 

[Moonkid]

Aw man Wish him the best, he really did create something special.

 

[3JORN]

Wish him all the best. I hope in my time that we can find a cure for this.

 

[No Love]

Fucking horrible, sad news. I watched my grandfather die of ALS. By far one of the cruelest diseases.

 

[Nozem]

Sadly ALS is a terminal diease. Once you're diagnosed with this you have at least five years.

Don't you mean at most five years? I knew two people who died within two years of being diagnosed.

 

[Etzer]

SpongeBob was a very big part of my childhood.

Terrible news.

 

[Boss Doggie]

Shit... fuck man. Best wishes to him.