Grant Imahara, who co-hosted the popular science TV show "MythBusters" and worked behind the scenes on three "Star Wars" films, has died at age 49, the Discovery Channel said Monday.
The New York Times quoted a Discovery spokeswoman as saying the cause of death was believed to be a brain aneurysm. No further details were available. An electrical engineering graduate from the University of South California, Imahara joined MythBusters in 2005 and was a part of the show's team for 10 years.
"Grant was a truly brilliant engineer, artist and performer, but also just such a generous, easygoing, and gentle PERSON," Adam Savage, one of Imahara's MythBusters co-hosts, said on Twitter. "Working with Grant was so much fun. I'll miss my friend."
"We are heartbroken to hear this sad news about Grant. He was an important part of our Discovery family and a really wonderful man," the Discovery Channel said in a statement.
He also worked on the special effects teams on a number of blockbuster Hollywood franchises, including Star Wars Episodes I-III, two sequels to "The Matrix", and "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." The Discovery Channel said Imahara was one of the few officially trained operators of the R2-D2 droid in Star Wars.
He also co-hosted the 2016 Netflix series "White Rabbit Project". "Heartbroken and in shock tonight. We were just talking on the phone. This isn't real," Imahara's White Rabbit Project co-host Kari Byron tweeted.
Grant said in 2018 that he was working with Disney to create autonomous robot stunt doubles.