SpongeBob SquarePants fans were shocked to learn on Tuesday that creator Stephen Hillenburg died at 57 following a battle with ALS.
“Steve imbued SpongeBob SquarePants with a unique sense of humor and innocence that has brought joy to generations of kids and families everywhere,” Nickelodeon (where the animated series has aired since 1999) said. “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 tributes to Hillenburg rolled in soon after, with everyone from guest star David Hasselhoff (“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 Incredibles 2 director Brad Bird (“I first discovered SPONGEBOB through my sons, who were loudly singing along with the dopey & memorable theme song downstairs. I came down to see what the ruckus was about and ended up watching my first episode. Many laughs”) praising his undeniable influence on animation. But it’s the fans, who have stayed with SpongeBob for over 240 episodes and multiple movies, sharing their favorite memories that have provided the best memorials.
In honor of Stephen Hillenburg, Imma share with you all my favorite moment in Spongebob. I remember watching this as a kid and falling over laughing. Heck it's still hilarious to this day pic.twitter.com/Q1NAOL3AHs
— Saberspark (@Saberspark) November 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/heyshanmurphy/status/1067488327824302080
https://twitter.com/IceSeason101/status/1067559896030347264
https://twitter.com/honeypacino/status/1067490859367706624
A clip from my all-time favorite episode of Spongebob. This whole episode reminded me that no matter how old I get, I can always hang out with friends and have fun doing, even if we're just hanging out and being stupid. pic.twitter.com/EaBL4GnkcZ
— alberto (@ktra_alberto) November 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/brian2596/status/1067497365186244608
https://twitter.com/heyshanmurphy/status/1067494105968721920
https://twitter.com/TheTrueLuigiFan/status/1067508159353405441
I've been seeing people going around honoring Stephen Hillenburg with their favorite Spongebob bits, and the one that never fails to kill me is the wallet scene with Man-ray. The first bit is funny enough but the punchline in the second bit gets me every single time. pic.twitter.com/GWtXRYWmpc
— Michael Edwards🍉 (@MEdwardsVA) November 28, 2018
since we're all posting our favorite spongebob moments in honor of stephen, here's my favorite piece of obtuse humor from the entirety of the show pic.twitter.com/oPUQzoCq6X
— grouch (@rodakscreens) November 28, 2018
This is still my favorite Spongebob moment, and IMO remains one of he funniest jokes ever written pic.twitter.com/m3IgAEEW4h
— Jill Gutowitz (@jillboard) November 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/Blake_Wilcoxen/status/1067491799915147264
I’ve seen the Pinhead episode at least six times. Makes me giggle every time.
