'Pokémon' Voice Actor, James Carter Cathcart, Passes Away At 71
Image Source: Gosu Anime
James Carter Cathcart, known for voicing Gary Oak since the beginning and James, Meowth, and Professor Oak as well as handling ADR Scripting since 2006 in the Pokémon anime, passed away on July 8th at the age of 71. The voice actor died as a result of oral cancer, which caused him to retire in 2023.
Born on March 8th, 1954, in Michigan City, Indiana, to film actress Lyn Wilde and James E Cathcart, Cathcart began as a musician, playing in local bands in high school. This included the New York-based band, The Laughing Dogs, in which Cathcart served as guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist. The band released two albums. Throughout his career, he also played with bands such as The Monkees, Dave Brubeck, and Blondie. Additionally, he co-wrote KISS guitarist Ace Frehley’s song, “Remember Me,” which was featured on the rock icon’s 1989 solo album, Trouble Walkin'.
Cathcart's voice-over career began in the 80s with the role of O.G. Readmore. After, he voiced in several commercials for Kit Kat, Good Humor Ice Cream, Coors Light, and more. However, it was in 1996 when he entered the world of anime dubbing, beginning with his roles as Vrumugun, Dilgear, and several others in the anime The Slayers. Arguably, though, one of the true turning points of his career was in 1998, when he landed the role of Gary Oak in Pokémon. In these early years, he also voiced several episodic characters and voiced the photographer Todd Snap (reprising his role in the Nintendo 64 video game Pokémon Snap). Catchcart also began writing for the series starting in season five.
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It was in 2006, however, when he became more prominent in the anime. When 4Kids lost the license and production was taken in-house by then Pokémon USA (now the Pokémon Company International), Cathcart was among the few of the original cast that was able to stay on when the dub switched studios. However, rather than simply keep his role of Gary Oak, he also gained the role of his grandfather, Professor Samuel Oak (who had been voiced by Stuart Zagnit), and two-thirds of the Team Rocket Trio: James (who had been voiced by Eric Stuart) and Meowth (who had been voiced by the late Maddie Blaustein).
In addition, he would become the series’ lead ADR writer. He voiced these characters starting in the special Pokémon: The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon until he retired in 2023, with Edward Bosco replacing him as James and Mick Wingert replacing him as Professor Oak and Meowth in Pokémon: Aim to be a Master. He was the longest continuous English voice actor in Pokémon’s English dub. Cathcart was grateful for his long tenure in the franchise, saying in 2017, “Who could imagine 20 years ago that we would still be doing the show and it would be doing so well, but there’s a new generation of kids that loves the Pokémon?”
Outside of Pokémon, he had several other notable roles in anime. These include Weevil Underwood in Yu-Gi-Oh and Vector the Crocodile in Sonic X. Cathcart would reprise this role in the 2005 video game, Shadow the Hedgehog, where he unintentionally created the meme, “Find the Computer Room!”
Several of his colleagues paid tribute to him, including the voice director for Pokémon and fellow 4Kids alum Lisa Ortiz (who also voiced Amy Rose in Sonic X and the Sonic the Hedgehog games from 2005 to 2010):
Others also paid tribute to the fallen voice-over talent, including Erica Schroeder (who voiced Blaze in the Sonic the Hedgehog games from 2005-2010, Nurse Joy in Pokémon: Advanced Generation, and the second voice of Mai Valentine in Yu-Gi-Oh), Tara Sands (the original voice of Bulbasaur in Pokémon and Mokuba in Yu-Gi-Oh), drummer Leesa Harrington-Squyres, and most notably, his partner in crime, Michele Knotz, who took over for the late Rachael Lillis as Jessie and Misty in 2006:
James Carter Cathcart is survived by his wife, Martha, his daughters Stephanie Nale and Mackenzie, and his son, Carter. Rest in peace, James Carter Cathcart/Billy Beach/Jimmy Zoppi. Soar high into the skies, and like the original Jessie before you, you have truly reached the stars.
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Sources: Variety, The New York Times, Facebook, Instagram, [1], [2], [3], Reddit. Bulbapedia, Dubbing Wikia, Wikipedia
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