Dave Creek, lead character designer for Fox animated program Bob's Burgers, has died from injuries related to a skydiving accident. He was 42.
The news was first reported by CartoonBrew and was confirmed by Creek's colleagues.
"We are heartbroken at the tragic passing of Dave Creek, an extraordinary artist who had been with Bob’s Burgers from day one," 20th Television, Fox Entertainment, and Bento Box Entertainment said in a statement. “He was not just an incredible talent but a beautiful person as well, and our hearts go out to his family, friends, and all his colleagues at the show who loved him and are grieving today.” (Bob’s Burgers airs on Comedy Central in the UK.)
Creek, who was an avid skydiver and taught at the California Institute of the Arts, worked on Bob's Burgers – created by Loren Bouchard and centered around the Belcher family and their burger restaurant – since its inception in 2011. As an animator, Creek also worked on Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, Brickleberry, Central Park, Youth in Revolt, and more.
Tributes poured in from his colleagues, including Bob's Burgers director Simon Chong, who wrote, "Today we tragically lost our Lead Character designer and friend, Dave Creek. A wonderfully brilliant and talented man who I can guarantee designed your favourite character on Bob’s at some point. I’ll miss you, buddy x."
Bob's Burgers supervising director Bernard Derriman also posted a tribute, writing, “We lost a great artist and a great friend at Bobs today - our lead character designer Dave Creek. Here’s one of his many designs, Lady Tinsel, and one of his incredible tree houses.”
Bob's Burgers writer Wendy Molyneux also wrote, "If you love Bob’s Burgers, you loved Dave Creek. He was an adventurous funny outgoing amazing artist and one of the most incredible, interesting people I ever met. I often thought that Dave really knew how to live, and I wish he got to live some more. Rest In Peace, buddy."
