James Carter Cathcart is one of the biggest voice actors in the Pokemon franchise, and has been bringing characters to live since 1998. However, the sad news this week came out that he is retiring from his voice acting career due to advanced cancer. His wife made the announcement online, much to the sadness of many fans who will not only miss his voice, but are worried about Cathcart's health.
Since 1998, Cathcart has been the voice of Ash's mentor Professor Oak, along with Ash's nemesis, Gary. Cathcart's role in the show expanded even further in 2006, when he began to voice James and Meowth from Team Rocket as well. These are all very different characters, showcasing Cathcart's incredible vocal range as he brought them all to life for English-speaking Pokémon fans around the globe.
Beyond Pokemon, Cathcart also voiced many other characters for games and anime dubs. These include Pokemon game titles like Pokemon Snap, and other titles such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Valkyrie Profile, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, and Sonic X, just to name a few. While the Pokemon anime took up the most time in his career, he also left his mark across the anime and gaming world.
Cathcart's cancer began in his tongue, and has since spread to his throat. While thought to initially be treatable, the cancer has not responded at all to initial attempts to deal with it. From May, Cathcart will begin a more aggressive form of chemotherapy in an attempt to save his life. Because of this, he has decided to retire from voice acting for now, and likely from Pokemon forever.
His last work will be Season 15 of the Pokemon anime. His wife Martha said in her announcement, “He has been with the series since the first episode, so it is a timely decision as the series transitions to new characters and storylines. We remain eternally grateful for your love, thoughts, comments, ‘hearts,’ prayers, and well-wishes.”
Cathcart is certainly leaving behind a great legacy for Pokemon fans, having been the voice behind some very beloved characters for so many years. As his wife said , Pokemon is moving into a new era after Ash's retirement from the Pokemon League, and while it is sad that Cathcart is retiring it is very timely. With all new characters coming, there will be a host of new voice actors joining the dubbing scene. In the meantime, we wish a speedy recovery to James Carter Cathcart, and hope to see him back in the voice-acting field again in the future.
Source: Independent