It has been announced that Tuck Tucker, animator and storyboard director behind iconic animated series such as SpongeBob Squarepants and Hey Arnold! died at the age of 59 on Dec. 22.

The cause of death has not been provided. His passing was announced on social media by his family, who wrote, "It is with a heavy and broken heart that the Tucker family announces the death of Tuck Tucker, father, husband, son, brother, and uncle. We know he was loved by all of those whom he met."

Tucker served as director the Hey Arnold! movie, released in 2002, after acting as storyboard director on several episodes of the Nickelodeon series. Following this, he served as storyboard supervisor on almost 50 episodes of SpongeBob Squarepants between 2007 and 2014.

Hey Arnold! creator Craig Bartlett wrote of Tucker, "A great friend, a master draftsman, a tireless practical joker, a brilliant storyteller, the first one I reached out to when I began ‘Hey Arnold!’ because he was the best board guy I had ever met." He added, "I'll always remember him at his drawing board, arms blackened to the elbows with graphite, eraser shavings everywhere, bringing my characters to life. A killer work ethic, passionately into it. I’m so lucky I got to work with him for so many years."

Alongside the aforementioned shows, Tucker has been involved as storyboard artist with projects such as the 1987 film Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night, The Little Mermaid and Rugrats. In addition to these shows, Tucker also contributed to several episodes of Fox's The Simpsons as a layout artist.

Source: Variety