Grant Imahara, host of Netflix’s White Rabbit Project and popular science show Mythbusters, has died. He was 49 years old.
The TV personality died suddenly following a brain aneurysm, according to The Hollywood Reporter. A representative for Discovery shared a statement on Monday about Imahara’s death. “We are heartbroken to hear this sad news about Grant. He was an important part of our Discovery family and a really wonderful man. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family,” the statement reads.
Imahara joined Mythbusters in its third season. He appeared on the Discovery channel series until 2014 when he and his co-hosts, Kari Byron and Tory Belleci, also left. The trio reunited in 2016 for one season of Netflix series, White Rabbit Project.
Byron took to Twitter on Monday night to share a photo with Imahara and Belleci. “Somedays I wish I had a time machine,” she wrote.
Imahara’s Mythbusters co-host, Adam Savage, also posted on Twitter in response to Imahara’s death. Savage talked about being close friends with Imahara for the past 22 years. He also spoke highly of Imhara’s skills as an engineer, as he is an electrical engineer and roboticist by training.
Grant Imahara: From USC to the Small Screen
Imahara studied electrical engineering at the University of Southern California. Originally, he intended to become a screenwriter. However, he merged those two passions when taking a job at Lucasfilm’s THX labs. He spent nine years with Lucasfilm. While there, Imahara worked on a number of big movies such as the Star Wars prequels, The Matrix Reloaded, Van Helsing, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and many others.
During an interview with Machine Design in 2008, Imahara spoke about his desire to become an engineer. He says, “I liked the challenge of designing and building things, figuring out how something works and how to make it better or apply it in a different way. When I was a kid, I never wanted to be James Bond. I wanted to be Q, because he was the guy who made all the gadgets. I guess you could say that engineering came naturally.”
[H/T The Hollywood Reporter]
