Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the animated television series "SpongeBob SquarePants," has died at the age of 57, the Nickelodeon television network said on Tuesday. 尼可罗顿电视网本周二透露，电视动画系列剧《海绵宝宝》的创作者史蒂芬·海伦伯格于近日去世，享年57岁。 Hillenburg had said last year that he was suffering from the neurodegenerative disease ALS. 海伦伯格去年曾表示自己罹患神经退行性疾病渐冻人症。 "We are incredibly saddened by the news that Steve Hillenburg has passed away following a battle with ALS," the network said in a statement. 该网站在一份声明中表示：“史蒂芬·海伦伯格在与渐冻人症斗争失败后去世，我们对这一消息悲痛不已。” "He was a beloved friend and long-time creative partner to everyone at Nickelodeon, and our hearts go out to his entire family." “他是尼可罗顿所有成员的挚友，也是长久以来的创意伙伴，谨此向他的所有家属表达哀悼之情。”
Hillenburg was a marine biology teacher in Southern California when he started creating sea creatures as teaching tools. 海伦伯格在南加州任海洋生物老师时，开始创造海洋生物来作为教学工具。 The first episode of "SpongeBob SquarePants," featuring the cheery yellow sea sponge and his friends who live in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom, aired on television in May 1999. 首集《海绵宝宝》于1999年5月在电视上播出，该动画讲述的是活泼的黄色海绵宝宝和他住在虚构的水下城市比奇堡的朋友们的故事。 The series went on to win multiple awards, produced a series of spin-off books, two Hollywood movies and a Broadway musical. 该动画系列剧先后获得多个奖项，产生了一系列的衍生书籍、两部好莱坞电影和一部百老汇音乐剧。