Actor James Carter Cathcart, the voice of numerous beloved Pokémon anime series characters such as James, Meowth, Professor Oak, Gary Oak, and more, has died at the age of 71.
First reported by TMZ, Cathcart died on Tuesday following a battle with throat cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2023. Cathcart retired from acting that same year.
Cathcart is best-known for his work on Pokémon, which began with Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back, where he played Fergus. He was also the voice of Snubbull in the accompanying short, Pikachu’s Vacation. Cathcart continued to pick up more Pokémon roles over the years, voicing Todd Snap in Pokémon Snap and eventually joining the cast of the anime more regularly in the 2000s, picking up the roles of James, Meowth, Professor Oak, and Gary Oak from their original actors until his retirement.
In addition to his work on Pokémon, Cathcart provided the English voice of Weevil Underwood in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, and has appeared in other shows such as Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, One Piece, and Sonic X. He was also credited on the video game Shadow the Hedgehog. Cathcart did commercial work for a number of well-known brands, and was a long-time musician and vocalist.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
