Mythbusters host Grant Imahara has died at the age of 49 after suffering a brain aneurysm.
“We are heartbroken to hear this sad news about Grant,” a representative for Discovery Channel said in a statement. “He was an important part of our Discovery family and a really wonderful man. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.”
An electrical engineer and roboticist by training, Imahara spent the early part of his career working at Lucasfilm. He rose the ranks to become a chief model maker specializing in animatronics and worked on several major motion pictures, including the Star Wars prequels, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
In 2005, at the invitation of Jamie Hyneman, Imahara joined Mythbusters as a member of the Build Team. He was an integral part of the show for the better part of a decade, building the robots and electronics used by Hyneman and Savage to test their myths. At various points, he even volunteered himself to be a human test subject.
In 2014, Imahara, along with fellow Mythbusters cast members Kari Byron and Tory Belleci, announced their departure from the show so they could pursue their own project on Netflix. Airing for one season in 2016, White Rabbit Project saw the trio investigate various historical phenomenas.
