Grant Imahara, a former cohost of Discovery’s MythBusters and ongoing host of White Rabbit Project on Netflix, “died suddenly” this week from a brain aneurysm, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
He was 49 years old.
“We are heartbroken to hear this sad news about Grant,” Discovery said in a statement to the aforementioned publication.
“He was an important part of our Discovery family and a really wonderful man. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.”
Imahara was an experienced electrical engineer and roboticist who broke into the entertainment world through his work at Lucasfilm’s THX and Industrial Light and Magic.
He joined Mythbusters in the show’s third season — and left in 2014 alongside co-hosts Kari Byron and Tory Belleci.
The trio then reunited for Netflix’s White Rabbit Project in 2016.
Byron, for her part, also confirmed the news on Instagram and Twitter, mourning her friend via a photo of Imahara and Bellici.
“Somedays I wish I had a time machine,” she wrote as a caption.
She added a couple photo montages of her late colleague and added:
“We had so many adventures. You taught me so much.”
Former MythBusters co-host Adam Savage, who is facing some very serious allegations, also addressed this passing online.
“I’m at a loss,” he Tweeted.
“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,” Savage added.
Imahara worked on such blockbusters as The Lost World: Jurassic Park, all three Star Wars prequels and both sequels to The Matrix prior to making his move to hosting.
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.
Just this past March, Imahara built a custom animatronic Baby Yoda based on Star Wars: The Mandalorian… and video of it quickly went viral.
In an interview with CNet, Imahara said he planned to bring the model to Southern California hospitals.
“Baby Yoda is universally cute, hands down,” Imahara said.
“In the few public outings we’ve had, everyone melts. He’s a happiness maker. Everything about him is designed to trigger the human nurturing instincts.”
In the wake of this loss, social media also celebrated Imahara as a role model for Asian-American kids who often struggle to find themselves represented positively on TV.
“I recall him being one of the first Asian Americans I encountered on television depicted in a positive light. He gave me passion to do well in school,” one Twitter user wrote, for example.
May Grant Imahara rest in peace.