Grant Imahara, the engineer who co-hosted Mythbusters for Discovery and White Rabbit Project on Netflix, has suddenly died at the age of 49. “We are heartbroken to hear this sad news about Grant,” Discovery said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. “He was an important part of our Discovery family and a really wonderful man. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.” Imahara died from a brain aneurysm, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
After a career as an engineer at Lucasfilm’s THX and ILM divisions, Imahara joined Mythbusters in the show’s third season, and left in 2014 alongside co-hosts Kari Byron and Tory Belleci; the trio reunited for Netflix’s White Rabbit Project in 2016. He was also active in the robot combat community, regularly appearing on BattleBots in the early 2000s with his robot Deadblow and later returning as a judge. In 2018, Imahara hosted Home of the Future, a web series co-produced by The Verge and Curbed.
“I’m at a loss,” former Mythbusters co-host Adam Savage said in a tweet. “No words. I’ve been part of two big families with Grant Imahara over the last 22 years. Grant was a truly brilliant engineer, artist and performer, but also just such a generous, easygoing, and gentle PERSON. Working with Grant was so much fun. I’ll miss my friend.”
