{"id":2529,"date":"2025-07-11T13:14:45","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T13:14:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/legendary-pokemon-voice-actor-who-voiced-meowth-professor-oak-dies-at-age-71-from-throat-cancer\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T13:14:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T13:14:45","slug":"legendary-pokemon-voice-actor-who-voiced-meowth-professor-oak-dies-at-age-71-from-throat-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/legendary-pokemon-voice-actor-who-voiced-meowth-professor-oak-dies-at-age-71-from-throat-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Legendary Pok\u00e9mon voice actor who voiced Meowth &amp; Professor Oak dies at age 71 from throat cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<h2>Voice of Pok&eacute;mon series&rsquo; characters James Carter Cathcart dies aged 71<\/h2>\n<p>James Carter Cathcart, the American voice actor known for bringing to life some of the Pok&eacute;mon series&rsquo; most beloved characters, has died at the age of 71.<\/p>\n<p>His wife, Martha Jacobi, confirmed the news in a social media post, stating he passed away on 8 July at Calvary Hospital in New York City.<\/p>\n<p>His ex-wife, Jeanne Gari, told reporters that the cause was throat cancer.<\/p>\n<h3>A familiar voice for those who grew up watching Pok&eacute;mon<\/h3>\n<p>Cathcart joined the Pok&eacute;mon series in 1998, just as the franchise exploded into a global phenomenon, said the New York Times (NY Times).<\/p>\n<p>He voiced a wide range of characters across the anime and movies, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Professor Oak, the warm and knowledgeable mentor<\/li>\n<li>Gary, Oak&rsquo;s cocky grandson<\/li>\n<li>James, the eccentric villain from Team Rocket<\/li>\n<li>Meowth, the wisecracking Pok&eacute;mon who famously could speak<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>His voice became a constant thread across the show&rsquo;s 1,000+ episodes, remaining steady even as other cast members changed over the years.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_633303\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"32\"><noscript><\/noscript>\n<div class=\"internal-linking-related-contents\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/12-weeks-jail-for-school-it-support-technician-who-took-upskirt-videos-of-teachers\/\" class=\"template-1\"><span class=\"cta\">News :<\/span><span class=\"postTitle\">&lt;div&gt;12 weeks' jail for school IT support technician who took upskirt videos of teachers&lt;\/div&gt;<\/span><\/a><\/div><p id=\"caption-attachment-633303\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Leesa Harrington-Squyres on Facebook<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Cathcart eventually retired from voice acting in 2023 following his cancer diagnosis.<\/p>\n<p>According to IMDb, he appeared in more than 100 voice roles during his career, including in Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, and video games like Shadow The Hedgehog.<\/p>\n<p>However, it was his work in Pok&eacute;mon that cemented his legacy with fans of all ages.<\/p>\n<h3>Tributes pour in from fellow voice actors<\/h3>\n<p>Following the news of his death, members of the Pok&eacute;mon voice acting community have paid tribute online.<\/p>\n<p>Erica Schroeder, the voice of Nurse Joy and Wobbuffet, said: &ldquo;The community will miss you. The world will miss you.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_633299\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"32\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-633299\" class=\"size-full wp-image-633299 lazyload\" alt width=\"785\" height=\"1280\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/photo_2025-07-11-16.34.29.jpeg 785w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/photo_2025-07-11-16.34.29-368x600.jpeg 368w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/photo_2025-07-11-16.34.29-628x1024.jpeg 628w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/photo_2025-07-11-16.34.29-92x150.jpeg 92w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 785px) 100vw, 785px\" src=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/photo_2025-07-11-16.34.29.jpeg\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-633299\" class=\"size-full wp-image-633299\" src=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/photo_2025-07-11-16.34.29.jpeg\" alt width=\"785\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/photo_2025-07-11-16.34.29.jpeg 785w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/photo_2025-07-11-16.34.29-368x600.jpeg 368w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/photo_2025-07-11-16.34.29-628x1024.jpeg 628w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/photo_2025-07-11-16.34.29-92x150.jpeg 92w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 785px) 100vw, 785px\"><\/noscript>\n<div class=\"internal-linking-related-contents\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/migrant-acquitted-in-first-trial-over-us-border-military-zones\/\" class=\"template-1\"><span class=\"cta\">News :<\/span><span class=\"postTitle\">Migrant acquitted in first trial over US border military zones<\/span><\/a><\/div><p id=\"caption-attachment-633299\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Erica Schroeder on Instagram<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Fans across generations have also taken to social media to share clips and memories of Cathcart&rsquo;s iconic performances, especially his portrayal of Team Rocket&rsquo;s James and the comedic Meowth, the NY Times said.<\/p>\n<p>Pok&eacute;mon community Bulbagarden expressed their condolences too.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Hey Trainers, it is my sad duty to report that James Carter Cathcart (sometimes credited as Carter Cathcart or Jimmy Zoppi) passed away on Tuesday,&rdquo; the post began.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Rest in peace, JCC. We will forever be grateful for your work.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_633300\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"32\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-633300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-633300 lazyload\" alt width=\"1082\" height=\"980\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-11-at-4.39.28&#8239;PM.png 1082w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-11-at-4.39.28&#8239;PM-600x543.png 600w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-11-at-4.39.28&#8239;PM-1024x927.png 1024w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-11-at-4.39.28&#8239;PM-150x136.png 150w\" data-sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1082px) 100vw, 1082px\" src=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-11-at-4.39.28%E2%80%AFPM.png\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-633300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-633300\" src=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-11-at-4.39.28%E2%80%AFPM.png\" alt width=\"1082\" height=\"980\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-11-at-4.39.28&#8239;PM.png 1082w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-11-at-4.39.28&#8239;PM-600x543.png 600w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-11-at-4.39.28&#8239;PM-1024x927.png 1024w, https:\/\/mustsharenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-11-at-4.39.28&#8239;PM-150x136.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1082px) 100vw, 1082px\"><\/noscript>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-633300\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Bulbagarden on Facebook<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Born on 4 January 1954 in West Long Branch, New Jersey, Cathcart graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>He is survived by Ms Jacobi, his daughters Nicole Zoppi, 41, and Mackenzie, 30; and his son Carter, 31.<\/p>\n<p>In a 2017 interview, Cathcart expressed gratitude for his role in the long-running franchise, saying:<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Who could imagine 20 years ago that we would still be doing the show and it would be doing so well?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Also read: Pok&eacute;mon Center S&rsquo;pore sees large crowd for release of new card series, launch gets cancelled due to safety reasons<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"p4SKs2FvP5\" readability=\"0\">\n<p>Pok&eacute;mon Center S&rsquo;pore sees large crowd for release of new card series, launch gets cancelled due to safety reasons<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em>Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Featured image adapted from Leesa Harrington-Squyres on Facebook and Bulbagarden website.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><sub><\/sub><\/p>\n<div>Legendary Pok&eacute;mon voice actor who voiced Meowth &amp; Professor Oak dies at age 71 from throat cancer<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Voice of Pok&eacute;mon series&rsquo; characters James Carter Cathcart dies aged 71 James Carter Cathcart, the American voice actor known for bringing to life some of the Pok&eacute;mon series&rsquo; most beloved characters, has died at the age of 71. His wife, Martha Jacobi, confirmed the news in a social media post, stating he passed away on&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/legendary-pokemon-voice-actor-who-voiced-meowth-professor-oak-dies-at-age-71-from-throat-cancer\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Legendary Pok\u00e9mon voice actor who voiced Meowth &amp; Professor Oak dies at age 71 from throat cancer&rdquo;<\/span> &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2530,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}