Grant Imahara facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Grant Imahara
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Imahara in 2013
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Grant Masaru Imahara
October 23, 1970 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Died | July 13, 2020 (aged 49) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Alma mater | University of Southern California (BS) |
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Grant Masaru Imahara (October 23, 1970 – July 13, 2020) was an American electrical engineer, roboticist, and television host. He was famous for his work on the TV show MythBusters. On the show, he designed and built many robots and machines. These were used to test different myths.
Grant started his career at Lucasfilm, a famous movie company. He worked in their THX sound division and then in Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). ILM creates amazing visual effects for movies. His work appeared in big film series like Star Wars, Jurassic Park, The Matrix, and Terminator.
His first TV job was on the robot fighting show BattleBots. He designed his own robot, Deadblow, and competed with it. Later, he became a judge for the show. In 2005, Grant joined MythBusters as part of the Build Team. He was on over 200 episodes until 2014. In 2010, he even designed a robot skeleton named Geoff Peterson. This robot became a sidekick on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Grant also starred in the 2016 Netflix show White Rabbit Project. He worked with his MythBusters friends, Kari Byron and Tory Belleci.
Grant Imahara passed away on July 13, 2020, at age 49. He died from a sudden brain issue called an intracranial aneurysm.
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Early Life and Education
Grant Imahara was born on October 23, 1970. His family was Japanese-American, and he grew up in Los Angeles, California. His Japanese name was 今原 真申 (Imahara Masaru).
Grant went to the University of Southern California (USC). He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. For a while, he thought about changing his major to become a screenwriter. But he decided to stick with engineering. This was after he helped a professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Grant also enjoyed playing live-action role-playing games. He shared this on the White Rabbit Project.
Grant's Amazing Career
Working in Movies
After college, Grant started working as an engineer for Lucasfilm's THX division. Then, he moved to Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). This is where he worked for nine years. At ILM, he helped create special effects for many movies.
Some of these films include:
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
- Galaxy Quest
- A.I. Artificial Intelligence
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
- The Matrix Reloaded
- The Matrix Revolutions
- Van Helsing
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
Grant was known as a talented model maker for films. He helped update the R2-D2 robots for the Star Wars prequel movies. He even had a small appearance in a fake documentary called R2-D2: Beneath the Dome. He was also the main model maker for Galaxy Quest in 1999. For that movie, he designed special circuit boards. These boards made the cool lighting effects on the spaceship's engines.
Becoming a MythBuster
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Grant joined MythBusters because his friend Jamie Hyneman invited him. Jamie was one of the main hosts of the show. Grant became the third member of the Build Team. He worked alongside Kari Byron and Tory Belleci. His teammates often joked that he was the "geek" of the group.
Grant was great at building robots for the show. He was also an expert in computers and electronics. He used these skills to test the myths. Grant, Kari, and Tory left the show after the 2014 season.
White Rabbit Project
In 2016, Grant reunited with Kari Byron and Tory Belleci. They starred in a new Netflix Original Series called White Rabbit Project. In this show, the team explored different topics. These included jailbreaks, superpower technology, and strange World War II weapons. They did experiments, built things, and tested ideas. The first season came out on December 9, 2016. Even though it got good reviews, the show was not made for a second season.
Other Cool Projects
Besides MythBusters, Grant was known for his work on BattleBots. He designed and competed with his robot, Deadblow. By 2018, he became one of the judges for the show's eighth season. He also made guest appearances on the TV show Eureka and the web series The Guild.
Grant also designed the circuit for the Energizer Bunny. This circuit made the bunny's arms swing in a steady rhythm. He led his team from ILM to win on the show Junkyard Mega-Wars. He also wrote a book called Kickin' Bot: An Illustrated Guide to Building Combat Robots.
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In 2010, Grant built a robot sidekick for Craig Ferguson. Craig was the host of The Late Late Show. The robot was named Geoff Peterson. It appeared on the show's April 5, 2010, episode. A comedian named Josh Robert Thompson controlled and voiced the robot.
Grant also played Hikaru Sulu in all 11 episodes of the web series Star Trek Continues. He also appeared as Lt. Masaru in the 2015 movie Star Trek: Renegades.
In 2014, Grant appeared in videos for McDonald's. He showed how some of their foods were made behind the scenes. He also had a small role in the 2015 TV movie Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!.
Grant helped Team USA in a giant-robot battle. This battle was between an American company, MegaBots, and a Japanese company, Suidobashi Heavy Industry. He also hosted the second season of The Home of the Future web series.
In 2017, Grant shared that he was working with Walt Disney Imagineering. This is the team that creates attractions for Disney theme parks. He was working on a "top secret" project. In 2018, Disney revealed that Grant had helped create "Stuntronics." These are amazing, self-correcting robot figures. They can do acrobatic stunts and will be used in Disney theme parks around the world.
In 2020, Grant built a lifelike animatronic model of Baby Yoda. He spent three months on this personal project. He wanted to take the robot to children's hospitals to cheer up sick children.
Personal Life
In December 2016, Grant got engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Newman. She is a costume designer and actress. They did not get married. Grant also mentored the robotics team at Richmond High School in California. He did this while working for LucasFilm.
Grant's Legacy
Grant Imahara passed away on July 13, 2020, at 49 years old. He died from a sudden brain issue. After his death, The Discovery Channel and the Science Channel showed a marathon of his work. They aired selected MythBusters episodes and White Rabbit Project.
On October 23, 2020, which would have been his 50th birthday, the Grant Imahara STEAM Foundation was announced. His mother, friends, and colleagues (including his MythBusters castmates) started it. The foundation helps young people who are interested in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). It offers mentorship, grants, and scholarships. In August 2021, over 80 props from MythBusters were auctioned off. The money raised went to the Grant Imahara STEAM Foundation. Many of these props were built by Grant himself.
The co-founder of BattleBots announced that they renamed their "Best Design Award" to the "Grant Imahara Award for Best Design." This was done to honor Grant's amazing work.
In the Dungeons & Dragons web series Critical Role, Grant is honored as a character named Imahara Joe. Imahara Joe is a tinkerer who helps the main characters build mechanical motorbikes. The show's creator, Matthew Mercer, tweeted that Grant was "one of the most lovely people I have ever known."
After Grant's death, his fiancée Jennifer Newman shared her feelings online. She said, "I lost a part of my heart and soul today. He was so generous and kind, so endlessly sweet and so loved by his incredible friends." She added, "I feel so lucky to have known him, to have loved & been loved by him. I love you, honey."
Images for kids
See also
In Spanish: Grant Imahara para niños
