Professor Oak's Voice Actor Is Retiring Due To Throat Cancer

thegamer.com:

James Carter Cathcart (sometimes known as Jimmy Zoppi) has officially retired from voice acting due to throat cancer, as announced by his wife Martha yesterday. Cathcart is widely beloved in the Pokemon scene for voicing characters such as Professor Oak, Gary Oak, Meowth, and James from Team Rocket, and has been involved in the English dub of the Pokemon anime since the beginning. He's also much loved in the Sonic community for voicing Vector the Crocodile in Sonic X and the Shadow the Hedgehog game.

Cathcart was diagnosed with throat cancer earlier this year and has been undergoing various treatments ever since. In a blog post on the voice actor's Caring Bridge page (thanks IGN), it was revealed that Cathcart's tumors aren't responding to treatment as the family would've hoped, and that a more aggressive chemotherapy treatment is now underway. The voice actor now has to retire from script adapting and voice dubbing for that to happen, which will take effect upon the conclusion of the English dub of Pokemon: Ultimate Journeys.

Related: Imagine How Incredible A New Pokemon Stadium Could Be

"On Easter Monday (April 10th), we learned that Jimmy's tumors didn't respond to the induction chemotherapy as much as was anticipated, and that a more aggressive chemo approach was necessary," writes Martha. "Jimmy has decided to retire from script adapting and voice dubbing for Pokémon USA, effective at the conclusion of Season 25. He has been with the series since the 1st episode, so it is a timely decision as the series transitions to new characters and story lines."

Cathcart will begin his "definitive treatment" around May 1st, which will be comprised of radiation therapy five days a week for 7 weeks, with sporadic chemotherapy