James Carter Cathcart has died. For more than 25 years, Cathcart filled out the wider Kanto Region, appearing in the many Pokémon movies and TV shows, and eventually voicing long-running characters Professor Oak and Meowth for the franchise’s English-language dubs. Per Variety and confirmed by his castmates, Cathcart died of throat cancer. He was 71.
Born in New Jersey on March 8, 1954, Cathcart spent his younger years playing keyboards for The Laughing Dogs. The power pop group formed in the mid-70s and quickly found a spot at CBGB’s, playing alongside Patti Smith and Blondie. But Cathcart would also find himself behind the keyboard for jazz great Dave Brubeck and a pre-“Piña Colada” Rupert Holmes. Later in his music career, he’d co-write the Ace Frehley track “Remember Me” for Ace Frehley’s post-Kiss 1989 solo album Trouble Walkin’.
By 1986, Cathcart began his anime career, providing the voice for Exanon in the English-language dub of Gall Force: Eternal Story. Over the next decade, he continued lending his voice to Japanese animation, appearing in English casts for The Ping-Pong Club, The Slayers, and Ultraman: Tiga. But it was his role in 1998’s Pokémon: The First Movie that would determine his career going forward. Over the next 25 years, and across more than a dozen movies, Cathcart voiced loads of Pokémon characters, including Fergus, Team Rocket’s James, Snorlax, Meowth, Slowpoke, and Professor Oak. During this time, he appeared on Yu-Gi-Oh!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Sonic X. His final film role, Pokémon The Movie: Secrets Of The Jungle, was released in 2020. Before his 2023 retirement, one could say Cathcart caught ’em all or at least came close, appearing in more than 700 episodes of Pokémon.
