It was announced on Tuesday, November 27th, that Stephen Hillenburg had died in his Southern California home, at 57. Stephen Hillenburg gained popularity for his creation of the Nickelodeon show, ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’. It was announced that he died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease, according to NPR.

“Steve imbued ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ with a unique sense of humor and innocence that has brought joy to generations of kids and families everywhere,” Nickelodeon said in its statement. “His utterly original characters will long stand as a reminder of the value of optimism, friendship and the limitless power of imagination.”