‘SpongeBob’ Cast Reveals Mouth of Pirate Painting is Creator Stephen Hillenbrug

Late last year, the collective entertainment world mourned the loss of  Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants who passed away after a battle with ALS. However, despite leaving us a year ago we found out how he left his mark on each and every episode of the beloved animated series. As it turns out, the creator has had a cameo in every episode of SpongeBob that has ever aired, and that will continue as long as the show does. Something that until today was unknown to fans.

During the SpongeBob SquarePants panel at San Diego Comic-Con Thursday, the cast of the series revealed that the mouth of the pirate that sings the iconic theme song actually belongs to Hillenburg.

“I don’t know if its common knowledge or not, but when you see the opening and there’s that painting of the pirate and there’s lips moving, that’s Stephen,” said Squidward voice actor Rodger Bumpass.

While the mouth of the pirate is enshrined an in iconic hidden cameo, the painting itself was just a random piece of art that someone from production found at a shop somewhere.

“I think the painting, somebody found it in a thrift store somewhere, on sale,” added SpongeBob actor Tom Kenny.

In fact, Kenny also has a bit of a connection to SpongeBob‘s pirate lore, as he plays the live-action Patchy the Pirate in the series’ special episodes.

“SpongeBob has conquered the world,” said Kenny during the panel. “He’s in every country on earth, he’s on every conceivable product he can be on, but… it just reminds me of a time when SpongeBob only existed in Stephen Hellenberg’s desk drawer… I remember when he had me come over to his place and said, ‘I’m thinking about pitching this to Nickelodeon,’ and he took out that, it was just like, wow. It blew my mind. I’d never wanted to be in a show so bad.”

As someone that grew-up watching the show I am glad to here how one of the most creative comic minds of our time in forever immortalized as the mouth piece that made thousands, maybe millions of kids sing “Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

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