I am very sad to hear about the passing of Steve Hillenburg after a battle with ALS. SpongeBob was obviously a huge presence during my many years at Nickelodeon (all the way back to the Zim days), and throughout the American TV animation industry. I only had a few brief interactions with Steve over the years, but he was always humble, and very kind to Mike and me. The last time I saw him was a couple years ago at a nice group lunch with some mutual friends from the SpongeBob crew. I was a definite outsider in the bunch, but Steve graciously picked up the whole bill. When I was recruited by Eric Coleman to pitch a series in 2002, he told me he wasn’t looking for the “million dollar idea,” rather, he was looking for people like Steve Hillenburg — in their creative capacity, and also in how they could run a production and work in a positive, collaborative manner. I have great respect for Eric and he always spoke of Steve in the highest regard. My condolences to Steve’s family, friends, coworkers, and many fans.