Who was Ben Hurst?
Ben Hurst was one of the lead writers for the SatAM show, along with his writing partner Pat Allee. In fact, Ben mapped out the entire second season of the show and began planning for the third before the series was canceled. Sadly, he passed away in 2010 due to complications with diabetes. He was in his late 50s.
Ben stayed in contact with several SatAM fans before his passing (he was especially close with Alison from FUS, although I was also lucky enough to speak with him several times). Ben was always on the look out for an opportunity to revive the series in the form of a movie or another 13 episode season, although his plans unfortunately never made it off the ground.
Prior to his passing, Ben worked as a successful voiceover artist and a concept designer for museums and theme parks. In addition to writing for Sonic the Hedgehog, Ben wrote hundreds of episodes for other cartoons including Tiny Toon Adventures and Captain Planet. He also wrote for Sonic Underground after he was hired to replace the original writers. Ben said that, of all the series he was a part of, his fondest memories were of SatAM.
For much more on what Ben Hurst said in regards to his work on SatAM, check out the Ben Hurst on SatAM feature.
Also check out the Ben Hurst fan memorial on FUS.
