After Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob Squarepants, graduated high school he worked as a fry cook during summers at a restaurant in Islesford, Maine known as Islesford Dock Restaurant. The restaurant would later be the inspiration for the Krusty Krab in the show.

Cartoonist whose summers in Maine inspired ‘SpongeBob’ dies at 57

Stephen Hillenburg, the animator whose childhood summers on a Maine island later inspired him to create “SpongeBob Squarepants,” died Monday in California at the age of 57, according to Nickelodeon, the network that runs the show.

The cause of death was ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, according to media reports. Hillenburg revealed his ALS diagnosis in March 2017.

Raised in California, Hillenburg spent summers earlier in his life on Islesford, an island off of Mount Desert Island that is accessible only by boat.

Hillenburg credited his time on the island — the approximate population of which varies from 100 to 400, depending on the time of year — with helping to inspire the idea… Continue Reading (4 minute read)