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‘MythBusters’ host Grant Imahara, an influential popular science personality, dies at 49

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July 14, 2020 at 5:08 a.m. EDT
HANDOUT PHOTO Episode Flock Formation. Host Grant Imahara in clear tunnel. (Discovery Channel)

Grant Imahara, the electrical engineer and roboticist who became an influential popular-science personality as co-host of the long-running show “MythBusters,” died July 13 at 49.

The Discovery Channel confirmed the death but did not provide further details. The Hollywood Reporter and other outlets reported the cause was a brain aneurysm.

Mr. Imahara, a former engineer at Lucasfilm, joined “MythBusters” in its third season in 2005 after an invitation from host Jamie Hyneman. For more than 200 episodes, Mr. Imahara, lovingly referred to as the “geek” of the show’s build team, wowed audiences by bringing tech to life through his ability to design and operate complex robotics that helped test myths in subjects ranging from skydiving to driving stunt cars to firing guns.

Grant Masaru Imahara was born in Los Angeles on Oct. 23, 1970. He saw science fiction, namely the droids in “Star Wars,” as an inspiration for creating and engineering robots. He “never wanted to be James Bond” growing up, he told Machine Design magazine in 2008. Instead, he preferred Q, Bond’s colleague and the head of research and development, because “he was the guy who made all the gadgets.”

“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,” he added. “I guess you could say that engineering came naturally.”

In 1993, he received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California. His burgeoning interest in film — and his desire to apply his studies with the creative arts — led to his mentorship by Tomlinson Holman, a professor who had helped develop the THX sound-quality system for Lucasfilm.

With Holman’s help, Mr. Imahara received an internship with THX and soon began working for Industrial Light & Magic, another company affiliated with Lucasfilm. He worked on visual effects for nine years on blockbuster trilogies such as the “Star Wars” prequels and “The Matrix.” He was one of the few officially trained operators for R2-D2, the droid of the “Star Wars” universe.

In addition to engineering the rhythmic beat for the Energizer Bunny in its TV commercials, he was responsible for creating “Geoff Peterson,” deemed by Mr. Imahara as “the world’s first robotic skeleton sidekick” for host Craig Ferguson of CBS’s “The Late Late Show.”

After departing “MythBusters” in 2014, Mr. Imahara hosted Netflix’s “The White Rabbit Project,” reuniting with former colleagues Kari Byron and Tory Belleci for another science investigation show in 2016. The series lasted one season.

A list of survivors was not immediately available.

Last year, Mr. Imahara told astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson that he was hoping the next generation of young creators would maintain their creative spirit, much like he did decades ago in Southern California, as a way to keep advancing robotic engineering.

“If we keep dreaming and allowing these kids to have these dreams and have these experiences, some day they will be able to create them in reality,” he said.

Last year, Mr. Imahara told astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson that he was hoping the next generation of young creators would maintain their creative spirit, much like he did decades ago in Southern California, as a way to keep advancing robotic engineering.

“If we keep dreaming and allowing these kids to have these dreams and have these experiences, some day they will be able to create them in reality,” he said.