This past Monday, Martha Jacobi, wife of American voice actor James Carter Cathcart, announced that the renowned voice actor would be retiring from the Pokémon anime due to an advanced form of throat cancer.
If you’re familiar with the franchise, you will likely recognize some of the iconic voices James Carter Cathcart has voiced over the years. In fact, he’s been a part of the Pokémon anime since the very beginning! He has blessed our ears with the voices of Professor Oak, his grandson Gary Oak, and Team Rocket’s James and Meowth!
Aside from his many appearances in Pokémon, he has also voiced Cyniclona Tarb in Tokyo Mew Mew, Weevil Underwood in the 2000 Yu Gi Oh!, and even Butchie from One Piece!
In January, a CaringBridge website for the voice actor was created to share health updates on his battle against cancer. CaringBridge is an online platform for people to share their health updates to family and friends, all in one place.
Originally, the cancer appeared on the base of his tongue and later spread to both sides. Per James Carter’s Story, “the original plan was for concurrent radiation and chemotherapy over a 7 week period, but was changed today to an initial 6-week course of chemotherapy aimed at shrinking the tumor far enough that the radiation therapy will be possible.”
Jacobi announced on Monday that sadly, the tumor did not respond to the induction chemotherapy as they had hoped, and that a more aggressive chemotherapy is now necessary.
Jimmy will retire at the conclusion of Pokémon’s 25th season, Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series.
We sincerely hope that his treatments go well and he has a swift recovery, so that he can continue to unite all peoples within our nation for years to come. Not only is this man the voice behind so many icons, it is through these characters that he has been our friend, our foe, and for so many millennials, a comforting and familiar voice who has shaped an entire generation and truly extended his reach to the stars above.
To stay up to date on James Carter Cathcart’s journey and share your own words of encouragement and support, head on over to his CaringBridge site here.
How has Jimmy impacted your life? Let him know your thoughts, what his work has meant to you, or even something as simple as thinking about him and wishing him well. Seriously, don’t even think about commenting here- go directly to his CaringBridge site now!
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