Grant Imahara brought his love for engineering and robots to countless shows and films, from ‘Mythbusters’ to ‘Star Wars.’ Learn more about the engineering wonder of Hollywood, who is now resting in peace.
Science enthusiasts, urban legend lovers and technology fans are mourning the sudden death of Grant Imahara. The beloved television personality was only 49 years old when he unexpectedly died from a brain aneurysm, which The Hollywood Reporter reported on July 13. However, the cause of his death wasn’t disclosed in a statement that a Discovery representative gave to the outlet: “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.”
HollywoodLife has also reached out to Grant’s rep for comment. News of Grant’s death comes nearly a year after another Mythbusters star, Jessi Combs, sadly passed away in Aug. 2019. Now, learn more about Grant, who amazed countless television viewers with his expertise on countless subjects and knack with technology:
1. Grant is most famous for starring on Mythbusters. He was the man who constructed many of the robots on the Discovery Channel series (remember Deadblow from BattleBots?), and also worked with computers and electronics. Grant was brought on to the “Build Team” to work with Kari Bryon and Tory Belleci beginning in Season 3, which aired in 2005. The trio left the show in 2014.
2. Grant’s Mythbusters co-stars reacted to the horrible news of his death. Adam Savage, one of the two main co-hosts of Mythbusters, took to Twitter to share his heartbreak. “I’m at a loss. 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,” Adam tweeted. His other co-star, Kari, also remembered their days starring on TV together. “Somedays I wish I had a time machine,” Kari wrote over a photo of herself with her Build Team buddies Grant and Tory. She continued to share even more throwback photos and wrote over one of them, “We had so many adventures. You taught me so much.”
Tory also shared his grief on Twitter. “I just cannot believe it. I don’t even know what to say. My heart is broken. Goodbye buddy,” he wrote. Another one of Grant’s friends, Kim Horcher, even shared a recent photo of Grant that she snapped during their Zoom session on July 10. “Grant was a genius. He was a visionary. He was a lot to a lot of people. He was my friend. When lockdown started, we put together a small group to play games, chat, watch movies. The last Zoom was Friday. The last text was Saturday. And now. I’ve cried for hours. I can’t feel,” Kim wrote on Twitter.
3. He was the face of another show. The dream team (Grant, Kari and Tory) had a TV reunion to host the Netflix Original Series White Rabbit Project, which shared the inquisitive nature of Mythbusters and explored a number of topics from history’s biggest scam artists to sci-fi gadgets. The show ran for one season in 2016.
4. Grant had a unique edge as an electrical engineer and roboticist. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California, and took that expertise to the film industry — more on that below!
5. The engineering mastermind worked on famous films like Jurassic Park and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. After graduating from college, Grant brought his knowledge in electrical engineering to the THX division of Lucasfilm. He eventually moved on to the movie company’s Industrial Light and Magic division that handled special effects, and was involved in a number of blockbuster films: The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Van Helsing, the two Matrix sequels (The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions) and three Star War prequels (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith).