SatAM Writer, Ben Hurst, Has Passed Away
Categories #TV/Film, News

SatAM Writer, Ben Hurst, Has Passed Away

Posted on
Author Slingerland
57 Comments

We at The Sonic Stadium have been informed of the passing of former SatAM and Sonic Underground writer, Ben Hurst.  His age at the time of his passing was believed to be in his mid-50s.

According to a good friend, FUS admin Nique, Ben passed away two weeks ago due to complications from diabetes.  He fell into a diabetic coma and passed away in his sleep.

I don’t know how many of you knew this but Ben and I were very close but I’m copying this to as many Sonic places as I can ala one of his requests for should this ever happen. This isn’t easy to say, but today I got a phone call from Pat Allee who was the co writer of SatAM.

Unfortunately, Ben passed away a couple weeks ago. sad.png They think it was his diabetes, which I didn’t even know he had. I guess it came kind of suddenly. He even had a doctor appointment on Wednesday but he died Tuesday before he could go. What they believe happened is that he fainted and then went into a diabetic coma. Then he just died peacefully in his sleep, which is how he wanted to go. He didn’t feel any pain or anything so that’s comforting.

I feel very weird by this whole thing. He was such a lively man. He lived such a full life and he told me numerous times that if he died tomorrow, he’d be fine with that. I’m truly grateful for having known such a great man. I’m sure he’s happy wherever he is now. I’m upset but knowing these things I think I’ll be able to carry on.

Ben Hurst was the writer of SatAM in 1993 on ABC, which retains a rabid following to this day.  He returned to Sonic for “Sonic Underground” in 1999, writing for a handful of episodes.  Since the end of “Underground,” Ben became more involved with the community, appearing for Q&As at both the 2005 and 2006 Sonic Amateur Games Expo.  As one of the people regularly involved with SAGE planning, I have gotten the opportunity to speak with him one-on-one.  He was one rad dude and more than happy to discuss his work with his fans.

We will update you with more information as it becomes available.  We at The Sonic Stadium extend our condolences to the Hurst family.  Thank you for providing many of us with childhood memories.  SatAM was a staple in many of our youths and we have you to thank for it.

We will miss you, Ben.  Gotta juice.

Post Views: 597
The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.

Published by

Slingerland

Slingerland is a staff writer and editor for both The Sonic Stadium and Sonic Retro. His area of emphasis is the inner-workings of the games and laughing at everything.

57 Comments

  1. *Takes off Sonic beanie*

    -_-

    Now we’ll never see a 3rd season.
    His family can take pride in the fact that he worked on one of the best saturday morning cartoons ever.

  2. a great loss. SatAM was a part of my childhood too, and one of the few vivid memories I have of Sonic from my early years. He will be missed.

  5. This is truly sad, sad news to hear. Ben Hurst created a great show & wrote episodes that kept me on the edge of my seat.

    It’s all just a memory now but it will live on. RIP Ben.

    I wish there was more about Ben published on Wikipedia or something because there is hardly anything out there on the web.

  7. We should do something for this great man. Something as the community to dedicate him in his honor. After all he did something for us on Saturday mornings, now its our turn to do something for him.

  8. Wow, I am so so sorry to see him go. Probably one of the greatest Sonic writers this world will ever see.

  9. Wow, i was really shocked to read this
    This is very sad indeed, Satam is a staple of my childhood and i dreamed for the day it might return
    it could never be the same show that it was without this brilliant man.

    RIP
    Ben Hurst

    You were a great writer, you will always live on through your legacy and brilliant writing.

  10. Satam never was shown in my country, but as soon as I joined the fanbase I heard from the show.
    To this date I’ve watched all episodes and I can truthfully say, that he was a great writer.
    It’s nice to know he died peacefully and that he had no regrets.
    Rest in Peace Ben Hurst.

  12. I know little of the guy’s work, more or less heard of him, and I’ve seen SatAM only about once or twice. But it’s always a bummer when someone goes and passes over and leaves behind such a legacy as detailed by only the ones touched by it. Tis be a sad day indeed.

    RIP, Ben Hurst, you will be missed.

  13. Oh that’s sad! O=

    Well he contributed to some entertaining shows. But that is nothing of importance. What is more important is that he is honored for his time here and that his family is granted my respects.

  17. Although I never got to meet the guy, Ben Hurst was one of the most admired writers of my life.
    His stories were full of character and topped everything else on the air as I grew up.
    I lost my uncle to the Diabetes 2 years ago, and I can understand how hard it is so my thoughts go to his freinds and more importantly his family.
    R.I.P. Ben Hurst

  18. even though i’m too young to have watched it when it was on Saturday mornings I managed to catch it on CITV in about 3 in the morning, I absolutely love this show.

    R.I.P

  19. This is so sad.. Ben Hurst was an inspiring man with his work on SatAM. I’ll be watching SatAM tonight in honour of him. May you rest peacefully Ben. To us fans, you mean a lot.

  20. Wow, this is sure unexpected… I only got into SatAM a year or so ago, but I found it to easily be the best written of the Sonic cartoons and I’m sure a lot of that is down to Ben Hurst. As a budding writer and Sonic fan myself, he has been an inspiration. I would like to pass on my deepest sympathies to Ben’s friends and family.

    RIP Ben Hurst, your work will never be forgotten.

  21. As someone who has seen the Sonic SatAM TV show and known the entire Sonic series for years since 1991, I cannot believe Ben Hurst died so young (Condolences goes out to his family and friends). I hope the death by diabetes does not happen to me or anyone else, because I will stay alive and well for the rest of my life.

  22. SatAM is the reason I became a Sonic fan and Ben Hurst is the reason I pursued animation and multimedia. Hes a treasured icon of the Sonic community and his legend will certainly live on in the hearts of creative SatAM fans.

  23. Thanks for many years of making my Saturday mornings magical Ben. I rarely get up before 10am at weekends now, but I can garantuee if this was still going I’d be setting my alarm for 6:30am again. There are very few animations around that involve their audiences from start to finish and have such a rich and vibrant universe in which you can become totally immersed for 25 minutes.

    Ben might be gone but his legacy will definitely be around for a long time to come.

  25. Terrible, saddening news.
    Ben was a wonderful writer and SatAM was a wonderful show, it was a part of my childhood Saturday mornings every week. My deep condolences to his family and friends.

  26. Very sad news indeed. I give my condolences to his family and friends.

    Rest in peace Ben, your shows were some, if not the best, of their time, and hold a place in a lot of people’s hearts.

  27. This is very sad news. It came as I shock when I saw this on the site headlines.
    Without Ben Hurst, SatAM would not have been what it was, his writing for the show being of such a high standard.

    Rest in Peace Ben.

  28. I never watched the show, but thats really saddening to hear such news..May he rest in peace, and hope he is in a better place. Give my condolences to all his friends and family…

  29. What terrible news 🙁 I loved both SatAM and S-Underground and thought that he was a very talented writer. If I recall, he was very helpful in getting the SatAM boxset out on DVD, so for that we should be very thankful.

    Rest in peace good sir; You deserve it.

  31. I remember when i was a kid in primary school i would always talk to my pals about how great the latest episode of the show was. it helped shape how i was as a kid.

    R.I.P. Ben, as long as we fans live we won’t forget you.

  32. That’s so sad…. D:
    At least he was happy, though.
    It’s best to die knowing you’ve done what you’ve wanted and that you’re happy, not to lie on your deathbed and think about what you could have or should have done.
    Rest in peace, Ben. You made a lot of little Sonic fans happy with your writing of those shows. As is evident by these other comments! c:

  33. I probably shouldn’t post here since I never was a SatAM fan, but it’s just too sad to see someone wwho brought so much happiness to a lot of children in the world leave us like that.

    May he rest in peace, and give my condolences to all his family and friends.

  34. *removes sonic cap from head*

    Rest in peace, Ben. I hope you knew Jesus.

    You may never realize how much your work has influenced the entire sonic fanbase.

  35. That’s terrible news. He was too young to die.
    Nevertheless, we will remember him for his wonderful writing. Outside of Animaniacs and Batman, how many western animation writers could say that they had such a cult following?

    I loved the show, and Ben Hurst was definitely the best writer of the bunch, (Pat Allee, too), and he’ll be remembered by said fans of him and the show.

    Rest in peace, and know that you’ve done good. My future kids’ll watch my SatAM DVDs with me one day.

  37. I watched SatAM when it originally aired in the UK on Channel 4 and still own the videos I recorded. Those were the days…

    Rest in peace Ben, thanks for inspiring me as a child and for the memories I still have to this day. You will be deeply missed forever.

  39. Ben truly made an irrevocable impact on the Sonic community. He took what was more of a kiddish cartoon, “the Adventures of..” and created a more serious outlook on the character without entirely changing the character. He possibly created one of the largest stepping stones for the Sonic we know and love today. He may have passed on from this mortal life, but at least he is forever mortalized within these episodes, and a peice of him will always remain resting on my dvd/vhs shelf. R.I.P Ben Hurst.

  40. Even though i never really watched Satam , i still watched Sonic Underground when i was like in the 5th grade every morning before school started. I was always mad because i couldnt watch it all since i had to go to school in the middle of the show. : ( Loved Underground , RIP Ben Hurst.

  42. Oh man. Its funny, I was JUST thinking about re-watching my SatAM box-set today. No longer just thinking it. It’s such a sad SAD day the Sonic community as a whole. If there ever WERE to be a Season 3, PLEASE let it be Flynn from Archie who pens it.

  43. Boy I will miss this fellow. People dying never actually do deserve it.

    I’ll miss him even though I don’t like/care for SATAM.

  46. You want a third season? Read teh comix. Either that or read fan fictions. Yes, I have time to say the whole word!

  49. Ben Hurst was definitely inspired and touched by a great many of us Sonic fans. His stories from SatAM grabbed our imaginations and our hearts at a young age, which brought so many of us close to our blue hero. I know Ben’s tribute to SatAM is greatly appreciated around the world. It was SatAM that brought me close to Sonic and inspired me to be an artist and to pursue my dream in the game design world. I have the collection on DVD and still cherish the ones I own I VHS. I’ll never forget waking up Saturday mornings with my Sonic plushie and racing to the TV to watch our favorite freedom fighter in action. To this day, I consider those years the best Sonic has ever seen. And it was all thanks to Ben.

    My deepest sympathy go to the Hurst family.

  50. Wow. Unexpected.

    This is a sad time indeed.

    Not only was he a great writer, but he was also really nice to the fans. He used to do interviews during SAGE.

    Though just because he’s dead doesn’t mean the third season will not happen. I remember once in a SAGE interview he mentioned he was writing the episodes. Maybe his family will release the scripts to the public.

    But honestly, I have tons of respect for the guy who first took Sonic’s world seriously. For creating one of my favorite cartoons. But also for taking the fans seriously.

    So long Ben and thanks for all the memories.

  51. So long. Thank you for making such an awesome show for our childhoods and for the fans.
    Rest In Peace.

Comments are closed.