MythBusters co-host Grant Imahara has died at just 49 years old

As a child, I remember sitting down by the TV, and being forced to watch something “educational”—as opposed to the hours of cartoons that I generally preferred to spend my afternoons with. But there was a saving grace: whenever MythBusters was being aired on the Discovery Channel, it never felt like the other informational programmes that I was forced to watch.

Instead, it was 45 minutes of a fun, enlightening experience that blew my mind as a curious 10-year-old. The dynamic between the hosts—Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman at first, and eventually new cast members—always made for great television. Eventually, the original MythBusters show ended in 2015 after 14 seasons, although a reboot with a new cast is currently ongoing.

In some sad news today, Grant Imahara, who joined the cast during the third season of the original series, has passed away at just 49 years of age. Imahara, who also went on to host the “White Rabbit Project” on Netflix (along with fellow MythBusters cast members Kari Byron and Tory Belleci), reportedly passed from a brain aneurysm. In response to the news, Discovery issued a statement with their condolences to The Hollywood Reporter:

“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.”

Meanwhile, Imahara’s former colleague on MythBusters Adam Savage expressed his admiration for his friend’s “generous, easygoing, and gentle” nature in an emotional Tweet:

Kari Byron, who last worked with Imahara for the White Rabbit Project, posted a picture of her with Tory Belleci and Imahara with a wistful caption:

Imahara wasn’t just a TV host or personality. An electrical engineer by trade, he began his Hollywood career by working at a THX labs, an affiliate of Lucasfilm. Eventually rising to Chief Model Maker specialising in animatronics, Imahara has an impressive track record with work on Star Wars, The Matrix, and Terminator 3. Additionally, robot-fighting was a sport that was close to Imahara’s heart, having been on BattleBots as a judge.

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