[Source: Entertainment Weekly]

The actor portrayed Meowth, James, Professor Oak, and numerous other characters across dozens of “Pokémon” projects.

James Carter Cathcart, the voice actor known for portraying multiple characters in the English-language dubs of numerous Pokémon projects, died Tuesday morning at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, New York City. He was 71.

His wife, Martha Jacobi, announced the news on Facebook.

“Thanks to all of Jimmy’s fans over the years!” she wrote in a post addressing Cathcart’s fan page. “Giving you joy was why he worked so hard on his craft. Please know how much he appreciated you!”

Jacobi also announced that her husband’s funeral will be held next month in New York, and that she’s making arrangements with “one of the charities that was close to Jimmy’s heart” for memorial designations.

A cause of death was not disclosed.

Kotaku reported that Cathcart retired in 2023 after undergoing chemotherapy treatment for throat cancer.

Fellow voice actor Erica Schroeder, who played Eevee and other Pokémon characters, posted a tribute to Cathcart on Instagram.

“Rest in peace dear sweet man,” she wrote. “I will miss you. The community will miss you. The world will miss you. One of the most joyful, exuberant, kind-hearted and talented souls no longer walks with us. James Carter Cathcart you were one of a kind, a gentle, beautiful, playful genius and I was happy to call you my friend.”

Born in New Jersey in 1954, Cathcart began his career as a member of the Laughing Dogs, a rock band that frequently performed at New York’s CBGB in the 1970s. The group released two albums with Columbia Records and toured with the likes of Blondie, the Patti Smith Group, and Cheap Trick.

The actor voiced Cap’n O.G. Readmore, the cartoon cat who promoted childhood literacy and was originally voiced by Frank Welker, for the ABC Weekend Special anthology series in the 1980s.

Sometimes credited as Jimmy Zoppi, Cathcart was primarily known for his prolific contributions to the English versions of numerous Pokémon projects, first playing Fergus in 1998’s Pokémon: The First Movie before taking over the iconic roles of Meowth, Team Rocket’s James, and Professor Oak in subsequent projects.

Cathcart is credited in more than 30 Pokémon projects, several of which also list him as a script adaptor, according to IMDb.

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