On Aug. 21, 1961, Stephen Hillenburg, artist, animator, and creator of the cultural phenomenon “SpongeBob SquarePants,” was born in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Raised in Anaheim, Hillenburg’s early love of the ocean led him to Humboldt State University, where he graduated in 1984 with a degree in natural-resource planning and interpretation, with an emphasis in marine biology. He went on to ...

On Aug. 21, 1961, Stephen Hillenburg, artist, animator, and creator of the cultural phenomenon “SpongeBob SquarePants,” was born in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Raised in Anaheim, Hillenburg’s early love of the ocean led him to Humboldt State University, where he graduated in 1984 with a degree in natural-resource planning and interpretation, with an emphasis in marine biology. He went on to ...

Stephen Hillenburg, creator of “SpongeBob SquarePants” and a CalArts alumni, succumbed to a year-long battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Monday. Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking KHTS Santa Clarita News Alerts delivered right to your inbox. Born in Lawton, Oklahoma on Aug. 21, 1961 and raised in Anaheim, California, Hillenburg began teaching marine biology at the Orange County Marine Institute in ...