James Carter Cathcart, voice behind memorable Pokémon characters, dies at 71
Mr James Carter Cathcart, a voice actor who portrayed some of the most indelible characters in the Pokémon franchise and became a familiar presence in several other popular animated series, died July 8 . He was 71.
His wife Martha Jacobi confirmed in a social media post that he died at Calvary Hospital in New York City. His ex-wife Jeanne Gari said in an interview that the cause of his death was throat cancer.
For more than two decades, Mr Cathcart was the voice of several popular characters in the Pokémon series and movies, including the genial Professor Oak, his grandson Gary, the antagonising James and the wisecracking feline creature Meowth, one of the few Pokémon who could speak.
Mr Cathcart joined the cast of Pokémon in 1998, just as the franchise exploded into a global craze. While many of the characters cycled in and out through the series' more than 1,000 episodes, his voice remained a steady presence.
Mr Cathcart also had roles in an array of other anime series, video games and animated shows, including Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece and Shadow the Hedgehog.
He retired from voice acting in 2023 after he was diagnosed with cancer. Mr Cathcart appeared in more than 100 roles, according to the entertainment database IMDb, but his work in Pokémon is his best known.
The voice actors who also had roles in the Pokémon universe acknowledged his death on social media. Ms Erica Schroeder, who played Nurse Joy and the creature Wobbuffet, said: 'The community will miss you. The world will miss you.'
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore S'pore boosts nuclear viability, safety research with new institute and $66m in additional funding
Singapore NDP 2025: Leopard tank transmission fault identified, vehicle to resume role in mobile column
Singapore Over 12,000 lower-income households to receive $60 in transport vouchers by end-July
World Trump nominates 'alpha male' influencer to be ambassador to Malaysia
Business CEO pay: At Singapore's top companies, whose pay went up and who saw a drop?
Business Popiah king Sam Goi makes $123.5 million offer to buy rest of PSC
Singapore Youth who performed lewd act on cat ordered to undergo probation
Life Singer Jacky Cheung adds 3 more encore concerts in Singapore, bringing total to 6 shows
Mr Cathcart was born Jan 4, 1954, in West Long Branch, New Jersey, and graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan.
He is survived by Ms Jacobi; his daughters Nicole Zoppi, 41, and Mackenzie, 30; and his son Carter, 31.
Mr Cathcart said in an interview in 2017 that he was grateful the Pokémon franchise had continued to thrive and that he wanted to keep voicing the characters for as long as he could.
'Who could imagine 20 years ago that we would still be doing the show and it would be doing so well, but there's a new generation of kids that loves the Pokémon?' Mr Cathcart said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Sorry, not sorry: How China's nationalistic netizens played into Malaysian rapper Namewee's hands
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Namewee is boycotted on the mainland for his 'anti-China stance', after his songs mocked the country's leader and nationalistic netizens. HONG KONG – If a picture speaks a thousand words, a removed picture shouts out even more. Controversial Malaysian rapper Namewee on July 21 took down photos he had earlier posted on Facebook of himself with actor Eric Tsang and singer Kenny Bee. This came after the two veteran Hong Kong celebrities issued formal apologies for their appearance alongside the rapper, for which they caught flak from Chinese netizens. Namewee is boycotted on the mainland for his 'anti-China stance', after his songs mocked the country's leader and nationalistic netizens. In a fresh Facebook post on the same day the pictures were taken down, Namewee shared his latest song, Letter of Apology . He cited the lyrics: 'I'm now ready to admit my mistakes/ Although it's just a small issue/ I'm willing to bow down and admit that I'm weak/ And reflect on all my foolish mistakes.' It was a master stroke: In an instant, he generated free, large-scale publicity for his most recent work, simultaneously putting on display the absurdity of the nationalistic outcry over the photos and the motivation for the artistes' apologies as implied in his new song. Namewee's initial post on July 19 had seemed innocuous enough. It was just pictures of the celebrities smiling for the camera, with his message in Chinese stating merely 'wishing you a successful performance tonight', ahead of a concert taking place that night in Genting, Malaysia. It looked and read like an innocent post from any other delighted supporter of Tsang and Bee who had been lucky enough to meet their idols in person. But it was the Chinese netizens' outrage over the post, and the pandering apologies it immediately elicited from the Hong Kong artistes who quickly sought to distance themselves from the rapper, that made it news. And Namewee cleverly capitalised on that to draw attention to his latest song, which – coincidentally or not – touches on a similar topic and had until now gone largely unnoticed elsewhere, especially on the mainland where his works are banned. With one innocuous post, and then its removal, the singer channelled outcry against him into publicity for his latest satire. The official music video for Letter of Apology shows the rapper at a press conference –speaking in mainland-accented Chinese – stating his desire to 'clarify matters' before breaking down in mock tears, bowing in apparent repentance, and crooning his 'apology' to his audience. A description – in Chinese – of the song on his official YouTube channel reads: 'After (issuing) the letter of apology, you will be propelled to fame and riches, arriving at the zenith of your lifetime… Only after writing my letter of apology, will I achieve prosperity! ' The song satirises the self-criticism and self-censorship demanded by China's hypersensitive, ultranationalistic keyboard warriors from those public figures who inadvertently offend the lucrative mainland market they cater to. Its lyrics also hint at the sense of self that some celebrities sacrifice to stay on the right side of their Chinese audiences, with one stanza stating: 'Can you accept/ That I can now only voicelessly await my fate/ No more need to wonder/ If I can still call this life my own.' Taiwan-based Hong Kong political commentator Sang Pu said he found Namewee's self-censorship of the photos and his subsequent post sharing his music video a 'brilliant' move. 'Namewee's deletion of the pictures caused them to be more widely circulated,' Mr Sang told The Straits Times. 'The photos resulted in the apologies from Eric Tsang and Kenny Bee, which then allowed Namewee to publicly juxtapose the two artistes' letters of repentance against the scenario depicted in his song.' 'From this, we can see how sharp-witted and humorous Namewee is,' he added. Muar-born Namewee, 42, also known as Wee Meng Chee or Huang Mingzhi, made his name producing songs that poke fun at sensitive political issues . He has been blacklisted in China since 2021, after the release of his ballad single Fragile, which contains barbed references to President Xi Jinping and issues including the country's tight censorship . In 2023, Namewee revealed that he was banned from performing in Hong Kong as well. Tsang's July 21 apology on Weibo, while not directly naming Namewee, expressed regret over the 'unintentional mistake' of having taken a photo with 'a certain person' whose background he had been 'unaware of'. 'As a Chinese citizen, I've always been committed to safeguarding our country's dignity and national sentiment,' Tsang wrote in Chinese. 'If I had known (his background), I would never have had any contact with him.' Bee issued an almost-identical apology on his own Weibo account. Tsang, 72, who has been in the show business since the 1980s, is general manager of Hong Kong's biggest television broadcaster TVB, which is expanding significantly in mainland China. Bee, also 72, was lead vocalist of Hong Kong 1970s pop group The Wynners and has in recent years taken on several minor acting gigs produced in mainland China. The two artistes' grovelling apologies are just the latest illustration of the pressures that celebrities can face even when they are not major players in the mainland market. But their eagerness to clarify the matter could also be linked in part to the additional spectre of a national security law over Hong Kong society. Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 after mass anti-government protests in 2019 and early 2020. Hong Kong subsequently introduced its own such legislation in 2024. The emphasis on national security in the city since then has resulted in its people increasingly policing their opinions made in public. Under Hong Kong law, sedition can also cover anything that incites 'hatred, contempt, dissatisfaction or disaffection' with the authorities. While it is clear that Tsang and Bee have not contravened any law, appearing to be aligned with Namewee whose work mocks China – however tenuous the link – could still potentially cause a rift not just with their mainland business partners and supporters, but also among those in Hong Kong. Ultimately, though, the artistes' main motivation for their apology is essentially 'greed', according to Mr Sang. 'The reason (Tsang and Bee) allowed themselves to be controlled by their entertainment companies and to publish the formal apologies scripted for them, is because of the money they still hope to make off their mainland audiences,' he said. 'This is a choice they must make: Would they prefer to eat standing (by their own principles), or do they want to eat on their knees (at the mercy of others).'
Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Straits Times
ColdplayGate meme fodder isn't an opportunity for a marketing campaign
Find out what's new on ST website and app. When a family crisis becomes a trending hashtag, it marks an ethical line brands shouldn't cross. Many brands in the West couldn't resist quips and memes, tying their products to the drama almost immediately. It was a personal disaster and a public relations catastrophe. The digital tsunami that engulfed the CEO of tech firm Astronomer and his HR chief after a 'kiss cam' moment at a Coldplay concert is still going strong. The moment that was broadcast to a stadium and then, within hours, to the world, became 'ColdplayGate', a trending hashtag, a source of endless memes, and a brutal public spectacle.
Straits Times
15 hours ago
- Straits Times
Three-Michelin-star Paris restaurant Arpege switches to plant-based dishes
Find out what's new on ST website and app. View of tables and the decor at Arpege, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant of French chef Alain Passard, which serves an exclusively plant-based menu, in Paris, France, July 23, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS - French chef Alain Passard, known for his mastery of roasting techniques, has decided to drop almost all animal products from the menu at his three-Michelin-star restaurant, Arpege. The decision follows his earlier move to eliminate red meat from Arpege's dishes in the early 2000s. Passard's updated menu excludes meat, fish, and dairy, although honey sourced from the restaurant's own beehives will remain an exception. Passard said he was motivated by his passion for nature, adding that using seasonal vegetables would also reduce the restaurant's environmental impact. Passard, 68, rose to fame for his roasted dishes, including "poulet au foin", or chicken cooked in hay, but has since become a leader in Paris's growing vegetable-based dining scene. "Everything I was able to do with the animal will remain a wonderful memory," Passard told Reuters. "Today, I'm moving more towards a cuisine of emotion, a cuisine that I could describe as artistic. It's closer to painting and sewing... Today I'm a different chef." Arpege is the first restaurant with three Michelin stars in France to move to plant-based food, joining the ranks of Eleven Madison Park in New York, which made a similar transition under chef Daniel Humm. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore SMRT to pay lower fine of $2.4m for EWL disruption; must invest at least $600k to boost reliability Singapore MRT service changes needed to modify 3 East-West Line stations on Changi Airport stretch: LTA Singapore S'pore could have nuclear energy 'within a few years', if it decides on it: UN nuclear watchdog chief Life 'Do you kill children?': Even before independence, S'pore has always loved its over-the-top campaigns Singapore Lung damage, poor brain development, addiction: What vaping does to the body Singapore Career setbacks among challenges raised by those seeking fertility help in S'pore: Survey Singapore Fine for couple whose catering companies owed $432,000 in salaries to 103 employees Singapore Kopi, care and conversation: How this 20-year-old helps improve the well-being of the elderly On the menu is a "mosaic" of tomatoes, flamed aubergine with melon confit, and a dish made up of carrot, onion, shallot and cabbage. The priciest set menu costs 420 euros ($493) and lunch costs 260 euros. Some countries have seen consumers turn away from meat in recent years. At the Paris Olympics last year, organisers set out to cut the amount of meat served to athletes and spectators. REUTERS
