James Carter Cathcart, an American voice actor best known for his roles as James, Meowth, Gary Oak, and Professor Oak in the Pokémon anime series, passed away on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. He was 71 years old and had been battling a years-long fight with throat cancer which forced him to retire from his work on the Pokémon series in 2023 alongside the conclusion of Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series.
James Carter Cathcart, who also went by Carter Cathcart, Billy Beach, and Jimmy Zoppi, was a voice in the English dub of the Pokémon television adaptations from the very beginning, where he started out as the voice of Ash’s rival, Gary Oak, as well as characters that were mostly one-shots in an episode, like Pokémon Snap’s Todd. After a while, he took over the full-time duties as the voice of Team Rocket’s James, Gary’s grandfather Professor Oak, and Meowth. He had way too many other voices in the show to list here, but you can view the whole list on Bulbapedia.
While Pokémon was far and away where you would hear Cathcart’s voice the most, he also played Vector the Crocodile in Sonic X, the Shadow the Hedgehog game, and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he’s the voice of various Pokémon that come out of the Pokéball item. Finally, in the first Yu-Gi-Oh series, he is Weevil Underwood.
The run Cathcart had voicing several Pokémon anime voices is truly impressive. Over the course of 26 years, his voice would be at the center of an untold number of children’s entertainment. You may not have known the name going into reading this article, but if you had even the smallest interest in the Pokémon brand over the years, you have likely heard his voice in some way.
