Jamie Hyneman

James Franklin Hyneman (born September 25, 1956)[1] is an American special effects expert who is best known as the co-host of the television series MythBusters alongside Adam Savage. He is also the owner of M5 Industries, the special effects workshop where MythBusters was filmed. He is known among Robot Wars devotees for his robot entry Blendo, which was deemed too dangerous for entry in the competition. He is the inventor of the Sentry,[2] an unmanned firefighting robotic vehicle. He is also one of the designers of the aerial cable robotic camera system Wavecam used in sports and entertainment events.[3]

Jamie Hyneman
Hyneman in 2016
Born
James Franklin Hyneman

(1956-09-25) September 25, 1956
NationalityAmerican
Alma materIndiana University
OccupationM5 Industries CEO
Years active1985–present
Spouse(s)
Eileen Walsh
(m. 1989)
Websitem5industries.com

Early life

Hyneman was born in Marshall, Michigan and raised in Columbus, Indiana. He said, "I was a problematic kid, to be sure. I left home when I was 14 and hitchhiked all over the country."[4]

Academic life

He earned a degree in Russian linguistics from Indiana University.[5]

Honorary degrees

He received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Villanova University on May 16, 2010.[6][7] On November 25, 2011, Hyneman was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Twente for his role in the popularization of science and technology.[8] In February 2017 he was named one of the fourteen new honorary doctors of technology by Lappeenranta University of Technology.[9]

Career

Hyneman and a Blue Angels team member at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma prepare for the Sonic Boom Sound-off episode in 2009

Hyneman has worked as a boat captain,[10] certified dive master,[10] wilderness survival expert, linguist, pet store owner at age 15,[11] animal wrangler, machinist, concrete inspector, and chef. His most notable work is the co-host of MythBusters (2003-2018).[12]

Special effects work

Much of the experience that Hyneman used on MythBusters came from his time in the visual and special effects professions. He spent time as an animatronics technician for films such as Naked Lunch and Flubber, as well as doing work on the second and third installments of the Matrix Trilogy.

Hyneman owns the special effects company M5 Industries in San Francisco. Some of his achievements in commercials include the can-spitting vending machine seen in 7 Up commercials, and his patented two-wheeled football shoe from Nike Lab commercials.[13]

Other appearances

Hyneman and Savage portray two army-junk sellers in the film The Darwin Awards. They appear during the story of the rocket-car, which they partially reproduced in the MythBusters series' pilot episode and retested twice more.[14]

President Barack Obama meets with Hyneman and Adam Savage in the White House library on July 27, 2010

Hyneman made a cameo appearance along with Savage on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on the May 1, 2008 episode "The Theory of Everything",[15] where they play inspectors giving thumbs-up after seeing a shirt soaked in pepper spray catch fire when shot by a taser. They tested this myth on MythBusters and declared it confirmed with certain types of pepper spray.

He and Savage appear as judges on the game show Unchained Reaction, which premiered in March 2012.[16] The two also voiced characters on The Simpsons episode "The Daughter Also Rises" as a parody of themselves, the "MythCrackers", which prompts Bart and Milhouse to experiment in a similar fashion. Both Hyneman and Savage also voiced stormtroopers in the Phineas and Ferb Star Wars special.[17]

Personal life

In 1984, Hyneman met science teacher Eileen Walsh when he owned a sailboat diving charter business in the Virgin Islands. Hyneman and Walsh married in 1989.[18][19] Hyneman is a skeptic[20] and an atheist.[21]

References

  1. The Editors of Chase's (2009). Chase's Calendar of Events 2009. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 472. ISBN 978-0-07-159956-6. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  2. Article Popular Mechanics Magazine, "The tank that's tougher than wildfire."
  3. "'MythBusters' make surprise appearance at SolidWorks World 2006". SolidWorks. January 23, 2005. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  4. Dwyer, John Stephen (May 5, 2010). "The men behind the MythBusters". Blast Magazine. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
  5. Zimmerman, Keith; Zimmerman, Kent (2004). MythBusters: The Explosive Truth Behind 30 of the Most Perplexing Urban Legends of All Time. Simon Spotlight Entertainment. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-4169-0929-3.
  6. "MythBusters Co-Host Jamie Hyneman To Deliver Villanova University's 2010 Commencement Address". Villanova University. 22 April 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  7. "Meet Jamie and Adam". Discovery Channel. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  8. UT awards honorary doctorates to MythBusters, two leading scientists and a business pioneer Archived July 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine - website of the University of Twente
  9. "LUT's new honorary doctors include academic scholars, business leaders and Mythbuster Jamie Hyneman - News - LUT". www.lut.fi. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  10. "Skepticality: The MythBusters". www.skepticality.com. Skeptic Magazine. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziQWDnFSPt8
  12. Wiltz, Chris. "After the Myths: An Interview with MythBusters' Jamie Hyneman". DesignNews. UBM Americas. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  13. US patent 6458008, Jamie Hyneman, "Remote Control Device with Gyroscopic Stabilization and Directional Control", issued 2002-10-01
  14. "The Darwin Awards (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
  15. "CSI: The Theory of Everything Cast List". tv.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
  16. Hibberd, James (January 20, 2012). "'MythBusters' hosts launching new show". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
  17. "Phineas and Ferb" Phineas and Ferb Star Wars (TV Episode 2014), retrieved 2017-09-01
  18. "MythBusters Behind The Scenes Interview". Discovery UK. Archived from the original on 2009-03-21.
  19. "Adam Savage Interview - Part 1". The Sneeze. August 23, 2005. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
  20. an interview
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