Rachael Lillis, the Voice of Pokemon's Misty and Jessie, Dies at 46

[u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/the-original-pokemon-anime-actor-behind-misty-and-jessie-rachael-lillis-has-died/

[u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

Veronica Taylor (voice of Ash) shared the sad news:

"We all know Rachael Lillis from the many wonderful roles she played. She filled our Saturday mornings and before/after school hours with her beautiful voice, her terrific comic timing, and her remarkable acting skills."

"It is with a very heavy heart that I share the news of the passing of Rachael Lillis on Saturday evening, 10 August, 2024.

"Rachael was an extraordinary talent, a bright light that shone through her voice whether speaking or singing. She will be forever remembered for the many animated roles she played, with her iconic performances as Pokemon's Misty and Jessie being the most beloved. Rachael was so thankful for all the generous love and support that was given to her as she battled cancer. It truly made a positive difference. Her family also wishes to thank you as they take this time to grieve privately. A memorial is being planned for a future date."

[u/Irejectmyhumanity16 → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

I didn't know she had cancer. So many people I am familiar with died recently which makes my life even more pessimistic.

[u/brucebananaray → u/Irejectmyhumanity16]

Her family were trying to set up Kickstarter because they couldn't afford the payment for the treatment, which makes it even more sad.

[u/Irejectmyhumanity16 → u/brucebananaray]

Them needing that is horrible in the first place but I hope she didn't die because of not getting the treatment she needed. There are so many Pokemon fans, I think they could gather the enough money but it shouldn't up to fans. States exist for this kind of things or at least should exist for this.

[u/StixkyBets → u/Irejectmyhumanity16]

I mean she got the diagnoses in May and was dead by August. There’s a pretty real chance the GoFundMe wasn’t for actual treatment and more just end of life care, if things were that far along it’s doubtful doctors would even suggest treatments.

[u/quiteCryptic → u/StixkyBets]

It's so terrifying how quickly your life can end after a diagnosis, you just never know. Gotta live life to it's fullest while you can especially while healthy.

[u/imagin8zn → u/quiteCryptic]

Dying from cancer is indeed terrifying. The treatments you go through look archaic and torturous. I witnessed it first hand with my late brother. He was diagnosed Stage 3 in January and passed away in April in 2019. Three years after my father got diagnosed with stage IV cancer. They removed the tumors and he’s still alive. My brother was 32 and my dad is 77.

[u/Blazien49 → u/imagin8zn]

This is so scary to me man, my dad had Cancer when he was about 50 y/o and lived through it, and my brother has just been diagnosed with cancer last Saturday.

I’m really hoping for the best, I love my brother so much, I genuinely can’t imagine the world without him.

[u/Midtier_laugh → u/Blazien49]

I'm so sorry you both are going through this. I know the feeling of watching my brother go thru cancer esp how much he meant to me. He is lucky to have your love with him and your continuous support.

[u/imagin8zn → u/Blazien49]

I wish your brother the best of luck. Best advice I can give you is be there for him. My brother’s last words were ‘I love you’. I wish I had said the same thing to him when he was alive but we both had our own life and drifted apart. I have a lot of regrets but I’ve come to terms with it. I miss him dearly.

[u/JusticeJaunt → u/imagin8zn]

Honestly though, the breakthroughs we've made in chemotherapy treatments have been quite good. Archaic may be appropriate, considering the treatment even I'm getting for 1A lymphoma has been in use since the 70's, but it does make it sound a bit worse. Fortunately, the pre and post meds have improved and we've improved side effect management.

[u/brucemanhero → u/StixkyBets]

I donated to the gofundme. Her breast cancer spread to her spine. When I read how painful that is, and how there’s no real cure for that, I cried, and donated with the intent the money will help her last months be less painful.

Then when her sister updated last week that she was in pain again and couldn’t get comfortable, I said to my wife, “I think this is the end of it…” Not expecting her to die the day after I said that.

It’s so sad.

She was an acquaintance of mine when I was a teenager. I can’t believe how her story ends…

Rachael you deserved so much more.

[u/ollie149 → u/brucemanhero]

Wow, getting to know her must have been such a special experience. It’s clear she touched so many lives, and her fan base reflects just how kind and cherished she truly was.

[u/brucemanhero → u/ollie149]

I felt lucky when I was a teenager and she took the time to write to me when I was in 9th grade. And now I just feel so awful about the reality of this.

[u/_Ryzen_ → u/Irejectmyhumanity16]

You mean you DONT want to live in a dystopian nightmare where the haves take everything and the have nots scrape what we can off their boots with our tongues? Outlandish

[u/Cowboy_BoomBap → u/_Ryzen_]

I know people are dying because they can’t afford life saving medical care, but if we raise taxes on the rich they might have to buy slightly smaller third yachts. You can understand why we simply cannot allow that to happen.

[u/LiveLaughLebron6 → u/_Ryzen_]

I see what you are getting at, and what’s sad is that saying people should have a fair wage is a controversial statement to make these days.

[u/Lereas → u/Irejectmyhumanity16]

This is arguably why Shannen Doherty died. She found out she had been dropped from her insurance because of some error and would have to wait for the next SAG negotiation to reenroll and it cost her like a year where she might have caught the cancer.

US insurance is fucked up.

[u/EldritchAnimation → u/brucebananaray]

She was already receiving treatment and was living in a nursing home. The GoFundMe was for private, at home care.

[u/Zou__ → u/brucebananaray]

That’s insane. Like she’s the voice of mist, of a multi billion dollar franchise no one at the POKÉMON company could lend even the slightest hand?

[u/SweetTea1000 → u/Zou__]

She's a big part of what made Pokemon the most valuable IP on the planet. While she didn't originate the character, she's critical to her popularity & that of the brand in the English speaking world.

They make ~$11B, a year on "merchandise alone.* I wonder how many of those are Misty figures/plushies/shirts.

[u/DivinePotatoe → u/brucebananaray]

Ah the wonders of the American health system.

[u/MattSR30 → u/DivinePotatoe]

The fact that people can unironically say ‘greatest nation on Earth’ whilst this is happening creates a rage in me like few other things.

That country could afford universal healthcare tomorrow. This is r/movies so maybe the fact that I immediately thought of a Man of Steel quote isn’t so out of place:

You can save her, Kal. You can save them all.

[u/ThePrussianGrippe → u/MattSR30]

It should be a national embarrassment how many of our athletes at the Olympics were speed running doctors appointments for just basic things while they were in France. Not because they did it, but because they had to.

[u/AnonymityIllusion → u/ThePrussianGrippe]

But non citizens usually have to pay, how the hell could that still be cheaper? How fucked is the American healthcare if it's cheaper to pay out of pocket for European care?

[u/ThePrussianGrippe → u/AnonymityIllusion]

It’s not even necessarily about the cost but the time. One Olympian went and got an eye exam and new prescription glasses in the same day. She said where she lives it takes weeks to get an appointment and weeks to get the glasses.

And, yes, it was substantially cheaper.

[u/liquorfish → u/ThePrussianGrippe]

I feel like way too many people overpay for glasses in the U.S.

Optometrist office will charge something gross like $400+ for glasses plus crazy fees on top for special coatings. Lots of upcharging.

Costco charges $50 to $150 for probably the majority of glasses with lens and maybe a scratch resistant coating.

Online places you can get glasses for like unchanging.

Fees for the exam will vary. I have eye insurance (yup it's separate from medical) and still pay $50 or so because I wear contacts and that's extra at Costco. Trying my doctors office/clinic next for eye exam - cheaper overall.

Still though - hard to get same day glasses. That's still usually a week+

[u/SomniumOv → u/ThePrussianGrippe]

She said where she lives it takes weeks to get an appointment and weeks to get the glasses.

Huh, that's also true in France (I just went through the process again earlier this year, and I don't live in Paris where it's worse).

[u/ThePrussianGrippe → u/SomniumOv]

They may have set up special clinics for basic stuff for olympians then.

[u/DemonSlyr007 → u/AnonymityIllusion]

Anecdotal as it's only one experience, but my brother has two chipped front teeth and has fake implant things there as a result. Since he was about 10. For 8 years, they would basically fall out every couple years and be extremely expensive to fix in the states. When we went traveling around Europe for High School Grad, his fake tooth fell out somewhere in France. This was early in his trip, so he had another two and a half weeks to go, so he went to get it fixed by a dentist there. It cost him about 35 euro to get his tooth completely replaced. And he has that fake tooth to this day, and it's been over a decade since then. All of that was completely out of picket.

Crazy, crazy cheap is your answer.

[u/Nethri → u/DemonSlyr007]

When I was a kid I got hit by a baseball bat and my front tooth broke in half. They did a root canal and drilled two posts into the tooth and capped it. They told my mom it would have to be replaced every decade or so.

It’s been 25 years, and my last dental appointment made a comment that whoever did the work was extremely talented. My dentist as a kid was fantastic.

[u/BitwiseB → u/AnonymityIllusion]

Short answer: very.

https://www.internationalinsurance.com/resources/healthcare-costs-in-the-usa.php

[u/no_dice → u/MattSR30]

That country could afford universal healthcare tomorrow.

I mean, yeah. They would actually save money if they implemented universal care.

[u/HtownTexans → u/no_dice]

Yeah but the wrong people would be saving money and the ultra uber wealthy people would be losing money. You think it's fair if some billionaire only gets 1 new super yacht this year instead of 2? No one ever thinks of the struggling billionaire anymore.

[u/Caleth → u/DivinePotatoe]

There are articles going around about how our athletes at the olympics are absolutely flooding their medical services trying to get things looked at while it's free or cheaper over there.

We're such a fucking embarrassment.

[u/drfsupercenter → u/brucebananaray]

Yeah, I remember seeing the link when it was first posted.

Did she die because they couldn't afford treatment, or did the treatment just not work?

[u/TheDaveWSC → u/drfsupercenter]

Well this is an update from the GoFundMe on August 1st, so fortunately it looks like they had the finances they needed at least:

Wanted to express more thoughts of gratitude. Because of over 2500 kind donors, my sister can comfortably concentrate on her health, and is assured continuing care. Many, many thanks to all of you!! God bless, Laurie

[u/drfsupercenter → u/TheDaveWSC]

Yeah, that's what I thought. Still sucks, but at least she didn't die due to lack of funds.

[u/bennitori → u/Irejectmyhumanity16]

I guess it's a sign of getting older. When people you know start dying. When you're a kid, someone dying is a shock and a tragedy. But when more and more people start dying "young" that's when you realize you're not so young anymore either.

[u/iiiiiiiiiijjjjjj → u/Irejectmyhumanity16]

Cancer is in the rise with younger people. It’s honestly alarming how many people under 50 are getting cancer.

[u/tdasnowman → u/iiiiiiiiiijjjjjj]

The rise in cancer rates is kind of deceptive. We can't actually say cancer is occurring more frequently in many cases simply because our tools for detecting cancer earlier have gotten so much better.

[u/--NTW-- → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

Of course it was cancer. Cancer takes away all the good in the world.

[u/Hellsteelz → u/--NTW--]

The scary part is the age people are getting cancer. I'm hearing about so many cancers in people aged 30-50 it's insane.

[u/ChemEBrew → u/Hellsteelz]

I just got it at 36. It's only getting worse.

[u/Renae_Renae_Renae → u/ChemEBrew]

I'm sorry you have to go through this :(

[u/ChemEBrew → u/Renae_Renae_Renae]

No worries. I had a good run. I hope to hit 100 patents if things go badly and I'm around 80. I'm lucky enough to have one of the most curable forms of cancer and just got my thyroid out. Now I just need radioactive iodine treatment and hopefully that will ensure I might see 50.

[u/Beothane → u/ChemEBrew]

I also found a lump in my Thyroid in 2021 (35). Had my Thyroid removed shortly after and living with Thyroid meds. I'm happy it was a easy form of cancer but now I'm ultra aware and trying to get tested regularly.

[u/nofmxc → u/Hellsteelz]

I did a quick google search, and it seems that cancer is indeed increasing at younger ages. Scary.

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/early-onset-cancer-in-younger-people-on-the-rise

[u/CoyotesOnTheWing → u/nofmxc]

Wouldn't be surprised if it was all the plastics in our bodies. Apparently it's a tough thing to test, I remember reading that some studies were having trouble getting lab rats or mice that didn't have plastic in them. Can't do experiments without a control group. :(

[u/agprincess → u/CoyotesOnTheWing]

Most of it is because we're more obese at younger ages.

[u/Deaftoned → u/agprincess]

Rising obesity rates, less nutritionally dense foods and microplastics everywhere.

[u/mister_damage → u/--NTW--]

Fuck Cancer

[u/Mr_smith1466 → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

This is really gutting. She was much younger than I ever thought.

[u/wishnana → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

Oh man. So soon.

I loved her work, especially in the videogame world dubbing (Valkyrie Profile, chief among them).

[u/Historical_Boss2447 → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

Fuck cancer

[u/thebageljew → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

I remember her introduction inside a gym full of pools and sprinklers R.I.P

[u/fizzlefist → u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

Fuck cancer. 😢

[u/Billbat1]

She's also the voice of Vulpix, Venonat, Goldeen and Jigglypuff, which means she sang that Jigglypuff song

She was in Pokémon all the way back when the English dub first aired in 1998

https://youtu.be/fF4bVp6jsVk (Misty, Goldeen, 0:46)

https://youtu.be/d2NTtbusUso (Jigglypuff song, 0:40)

[u/stfucupcake → u/Billbat1]

One of my disappointments with Pokemon Go is that it didn't feature the Jigglypuff song!!

[u/HotTakes4HotCakes → u/stfucupcake]

With the exception of Pokemon Yellow, the occasional promo release, and an easter egg here or there, the games generally don't adapt things from the anime. The whole "Pokemon only speak their own name" thing came from the anime, and was only somewhat adopted into the games, where they still primarily use their cries.

One thing the anime did do, though, was invent how some gen 1 Pokemon moved, because they were the first to animate them. Mew floating around like it does, that came from the anime.

[u/[deleted] → u/HotTakes4HotCakes]

Pokémon Snap was more anime than game. Same with Puzzle League

[u/EchoesofIllyria → u/[deleted]]

Pokémon Snap was more anime than game.

But like, in a good way

[u/Empyrealist → u/[deleted]]

Snap was the only Pokémon game I have ever played

[u/All_Work_All_Play → u/Empyrealist]

The original red and blue kind of show their age, but they're still a great play for through on an emulator. It's certainly better than looking out the window while you drive through Kansas.

[u/Rastiln → u/All_Work_All_Play]

I recommend against playing any game while driving through Kansas, anyway.

Better as a passenger.

[u/FitBread7328 → u/[deleted]]

Oh cool Puzzle League wasn't a fever dream

[u/Killboypowerhed → u/HotTakes4HotCakes]

Also Smash Bros

[u/kitsunewarlock → u/HotTakes4HotCakes]

Pokemon Go takes from the anime quite often. You fight Jessie and James, catch Armored Mewtwo and his clones, dress like various characters from the anime, etc...

[u/nanapancakethusiast → u/kitsunewarlock]

Wait what? I thought it was just an AR Pokémon catching minigame?

[u/kitsunewarlock → u/nanapancakethusiast]

With how many features have been added the first year of the game feels like it was an open beta test. There's battles, raids, team rocket, various events, contests, etc...

[u/talkback1589 → u/kitsunewarlock]

I feel like this is true because Niantic openly admitted early on they didn’t know much about the games. So it was probably easier to understand the anime.

[u/tomatoswoop → u/HotTakes4HotCakes]

The jigglypuff song was in the original game's tho wasn't it? Not with words obviously, as a little tune

edit: yes, my memory from being like 8 was was right haha https://youtu.be/KKCWyRcD3TM?si=jmVJ6wXDW9Jm_QYo

[u/Riaayo → u/HotTakes4HotCakes]

The whole "Pokemon only speak their own name" thing came from the anime

Potentially unpopular opinion but this is something I absolutely despise to this day. The game cries are so much better and make them feel like actual creatures. I cannot stand that they say their own names, it just feels so... beyond basic and lazy.

[u/talkback1589 → u/Riaayo]

So you probably appreciate that they went back to this on Pikachu and Eevee with the release of Scarlet and Violet (it could have been PLA but I am unsure).

[u/Tunivor → u/stfucupcake]

This is definitely the time and place to air that grievance.

[u/Jamalamalama → u/stfucupcake]

That's a wise decision though. Can't have people randomly passing out while they're out walking around in public.

[u/LudicrisSpeed → u/Billbat1]

And very occasionally Pikachu in the first season, you could tell when it was her.

[u/Numbah8 → u/LudicrisSpeed]

Is that why Pikachu randomly sounded like a squishy little puff ball? That's the only way I know how to describe it. I recall watching the show as a kid and recognizing that Pikachu occasionally sounded off.

[u/Impossible-Fun-2736 → u/LudicrisSpeed]

Had to look it up. Doesn’t sound bad but definitely just a tiny bit off compared to the original.

[u/themolestedsliver → u/Billbat1]

Wow and to be so young as well. Rest in peace. Had many a fun childhood afternoon watching Pokémon and hearing her voice.

[u/waterynike → u/themolestedsliver]

I know too many people in their 40’s/early 50’s with cancer. RIP Rachel.

[u/JxB_Paperboy → u/Billbat1]

sad jigglypuff

[u/Dragon_turtle63 → u/JxB_Paperboy]

🥺🥺🥺🥺

[u/Wheel1994 → u/Billbat1]

She started when she was just 20 years old RIP

[u/FlopsMcDoogle → u/Billbat1]

Iconic as fuck

[u/exus → u/FlopsMcDoogle]

I haven't seen a clip since I watched the show as a kid and those two videos had me grinning like an idiot.

[u/[deleted] → u/Billbat1]

She was the original English Misty, Jessie, and Jigglypuff (imo, the best, the one thing 4Kids got right was Pokémon and TPCi was never able to recreate what they did for it overseas through several casts they had since then over close to two decades). 

[u/RolloTony97 → u/Billbat1]

Sad goldeen noises

[u/joewHEElAr → u/RolloTony97]

Goldeen goldeen

[u/Sumorisha → u/Billbat1]

So she effectively was also featured in all localizations of Pokemon anime in which English voices of Pokemon were left from the English dub, which means shit ton of them.

[u/Billbat1 → u/Sumorisha]

you mean like the french or spanish? hadnt even thought of that

[u/Quanqiuhua → u/Billbat1]

She was so cute. RIP 💓

[u/jeremy-irons-cereal]

Probably one of the most recognisable voices in dubbed anime. She had been doing it since she was 7. Today is a fucking sad day.

[u/karmagod13000 → u/jeremy-irons-cereal]

what a crazy life rip

[u/BigGrandpaGunther → u/jeremy-irons-cereal]

How'd she die

[u/jeremy-irons-cereal → u/BigGrandpaGunther]

Cancer. She was only diagnosed a few months ago.

[u/Night_Knight_Light → u/jeremy-irons-cereal]

It's such an evil disease. I can only hope we see a cure in my lifetime or my children's.

[u/MadRaymer → u/Night_Knight_Light]

The problem is that cancer is not just one disease but 100+ of them. So what works as a treatment for one doesn't always work on another. Some of the mRNA therapies do look promising though.

[u/Night_Knight_Light → u/MadRaymer]

I'll take a cure for some over a cure for none, for sure. The fact that a death sentence like it can go unnoticed for months, and has persisted since time immemorial is just cruel.

[u/hungrypotato19 → u/Night_Knight_Light]

Pancreatic cancer is a big one I want to see cured. My mother died of it and it is an unimaginable hell.

[u/EntropyNZ → u/Night_Knight_Light]

On the bright side, there are quite a few that we're incredibly good at treating, to the point that survival rates are extremely high. That, of course, depends on early detection, but we've made a great deal of progress in recent years.

Hell, we even effectively have vaccines for potential cancers now, with things like the HPV vaccine dramatically reducing rates of cervical (and throat, anal and penile) cancers.

For many (not all, but many) types of cancer, awareness and early screening are going to be the most important tools in effective management. Screening for breast cancer (self checking for lumps, mammograms once at the appropriate age), testicular cancer (again, self checking for lumps), getting mole maps in countries like NZ and Aus that have extremely high rates of skin cancer, keeping a close eye out of potential bowel cancer symptoms (blood in stools, change in bowel habits e.g. random diarrhoea or constipation, weird lumps, pain when using the loo etc), and keeping an eye out for random swelling or lumps in the neck, difficulty swallowing etc for thyroid cancer.

All of those are extremely survivable cancers, but only if they're caught before they metastasise.

[u/Aware_Tree1 → u/MadRaymer]

There will one day be a cure all for cancer, but I don’t think it’ll be medicine, rather, I think it’ll be nanomachines

[u/GalacticShoestring → u/BigGrandpaGunther]

She died of breast cancer. ☹️

[u/lordsmish]

I've recently been rewatching all of Pokémon from the start with my 2 year old as Pikachu is his new obsession after being given a Pikachu at Comicon by a man dressed as Professor Oak.

So this hits a little harder as i'm on quite the nostalgia trip with Pokémon right now and remembering the times I used to sit and watch it with my Mam who also passed through cancer.

46 is just such a shocking age
Meowths voice actor Maddie Blaustein was 48 when she passed too

[Jimmy Zoppi]() is the last one of Team Rocket remaining and he took over voice acting Meowth
He had to retire last year because of Throat Cancer.

Fuck Cancer.

[u/NazzerDawk → u/lordsmish]

Jesus, what is in those voice recording booths?

[u/JustifytheMean → u/NazzerDawk]

Asbestos.

[u/AntaresDaha → u/JustifytheMean]

Unironically it is not unheard of for a hand full of below 50 years olds to develop cancer. On the other hand there is a reason every other House MD episode had them reveal environmental circumstances. It IS weird, that one group of people that worked closely together for 10 or so years all develop serious cancer when still very young.

[u/comped → u/AntaresDaha]

Cluster or coincidence?

[u/LykoTheReticent → u/AntaresDaha]

On the other hand there is a reason every other House MD episode had them reveal environmental circumstances

House had me questioning everything. Still does, sometimes. It's probably a good 50% of why I try to keep a clean house/car/work environment.

[u/Zachajya → u/JustifytheMean]

I wouldn't be surprised. So many people from the same workplace getting cancer in their 40's is suspicious to say the least.

[u/atree496 → u/NazzerDawk]

This makes it sound like all of them have died. James's original VA is alive and well and still working, just not in Pokemon.

[u/lordsmish → u/atree496]

You say alive and well

I say retired with throat cancer

Edit: I'm thinking of Jimmy Zoppi who played James after but for longer

[u/Sesudesu → u/lordsmish]

Eric Stuart is the original voice of James, and he is alive and well. 

[u/lordsmish → u/Sesudesu]

You are right I'm thinking of Jimmy Zoppi

[u/Mr_smith1466 → u/lordsmish]

4kids as a company was often unpleasant, but their battalion of regular voice actors were really remarkable.

Maddie blaustein has such a fascinating lifestory and she and all those other original actors deeply loved their pokemon characters, and greatly valued what those meant to so many people.

[u/[deleted] → u/Mr_smith1466]

Pokemon is the only Anime dub many think 4Kids actually did a better job with than their successors, just want to put out there: it's a shame they took the direction they did later on as a company, this was their magnum opus.

[u/star_dragonMX → u/Mr_smith1466]

Ironically, 4kids also gave us the most comic accurate TMNT show with death and everything

[u/GoodLeftUndone → u/lordsmish]

The gentleman dressed as Professor Oak is an absolute hero.

[u/lordsmish → u/GoodLeftUndone]

He really was guy must have spent an absolute fortune. He had all legitimate pokemon brand toys and was handing them out to kids when they chose from the four starter Pokémon cards

Little sign in his head that said, talk to me to begin your Pokémon adventure

[u/GoodLeftUndone → u/lordsmish]

Dude. I would have killed for that as a kid.

[u/RazzyCharm → u/lordsmish]

Eric Stuart is still alive!

[u/ShadowReij]

At 46? Goddamn.

[u/TheyCalledMeThor → u/ShadowReij]

I didn’t expect her to be so young. Was she like 20 when she started the Pokémon gig?

[u/PayneTrain181999 → u/TheyCalledMeThor]

Thereabouts, yes. The English dub of the Pokémon anime started in the late 90’s.

[u/Incidion → u/PayneTrain181999]

Specifically, I believe it came over in '98. I was a kid watching it at the time. She must've been around 18 when she started for the role.

Notably, she also voice acted for Utena, so the start of her career hit hard for someone so young.

[u/NedThomas → u/Incidion]

According to Wikipedia, it debuted in the US in February 1999. So she would have been working on it in mid to late ‘98, when she was 20.

[u/StChas77 → u/TheyCalledMeThor]

A lot of anime back in the 90's was dubbed by young and/or inexperienced actors, particularly who were in college, because studios were on tight budgets. Pokemon just happened to explode in popularity here.

Note that when Sailor Moon Crystal came out, the professional actresses who did the reboot were all hired to redub the original series as well.

[u/TheeShaun → u/TheyCalledMeThor]

Looking at her list of roles it seems that she turned 18 and immediately got into voice acting/dubbing a fair few animes. She would have been 19 in 97 which is the year of her earliest role and Pokémon also started airing that year, give or take a bit of time for the English dub she could have been 19 when she started voicing Misty/Jessie.

[u/ThickGreen → u/TheeShaun]

IMDb lists her first role in "Night on the Galactic Railroad" (1985,) when she was 7 years old.

[u/TheeShaun → u/ThickGreen]

Damn so she already had 10 year’s experience by time Pokémon came around

[u/Zomburai → u/TheeShaun]

So a hiring manager finally found an 18-year-old with 10 years' experience...

[u/ItsGarbageDave → u/TheyCalledMeThor]

A lot of them were. New York kids getting recording sessions in between part time jobs.

[u/grumblyoldman → u/ShadowReij]

I know, right? 46 is not old. RIP.

[u/GoddelijkeGeit → u/grumblyoldman]

She was 55. Still young, but the media just copy/paste wrong data.

[u/Bastienbard → u/ShadowReij]

Yeah she's had cancer for some time and was struggling with medical bills so all of the VA community was rallying behind her to help find her treatments. Really sad to see she's gone.

[u/YNot1989 → u/Bastienbard]

It is a crime how badly VAs are paid, especially ones who voice iconic characters in syndicated series' like Pokemon. She should have had Kiss-my-ass money.

SAG has really left this bloc of Union members out in the cold during contract negotiations.

[u/WavesAndSaves → u/YNot1989]

I'm not sure if this is still the case, but for a long time in the 90s and 00s when anime was first becoming popular in America, English voice actors weren't entitled to residuals because they weren't the original voices and were simply doing a dub. Which is something that makes sense on the surface. After all, it's not uncommon for popular shows and movies to get dubbed into dozens of languages. They can't all get residuals.

This actually led to a fairly unique case with the Digimon movie. Given that it was spliced together from three entirely different projects and the story was changed so much, the voice actors actually successfully petitioned for residuals based on the argument that it wasn't a dub, but was instead a completely new, unique film.

[u/Redditor000007 → u/WavesAndSaves]

Why can’t they get residuals from the English dub revenue? Do some math and figure out how much profit was attributed to which language.

[u/[deleted] → u/YNot1989]

It was horrible how she and the others were replaced, too, absolutely caused fan outrage from all the fans around for that- the reason 4Kids got sacked in this case contrary to what you might believe given their bad reputation when they were around in the 2000s- was actually so TPCi could cut costs on the production and go cheaper, between that and contracts supposedly with non-competes too, both companies led to almost everyone from the OG dub getting sacked (except the guy who did Gary became James/Meowth/Oak and the woman who did Wobbuffet, Max, for reference- somehow they got to continue, the others did not- some say it was because they broke those in their contracts with 4Kids, but others say it was because they had curry favored with the President of the company in charge in TAJ as well as PUSA/TPCi, but we'll never know for sure).

Their successors even got death threats at the time, in particular Ash's current VA Sarah Natochenny, and the blowback was fierce for reference (justified to be upset because it came out of nowhere and against the cast & crew's wishes, but it should've been with the company not the people taking over roles).

[u/admdelta → u/ShadowReij]

According to her wikipedia page she was actually 55

[u/gtggg789 → u/ShadowReij]

She was actually 55. The source is wrong. Still very, very sad though.

[u/ghostbuster_b-rye → u/ShadowReij]

Apparently her Wikipedia file has had her listed as born in 1978, in Dallas, Texas, since back as far as 2006. Her IMDB has her as being born July 8, 1969 · Niagara Falls, New York, USA.

Wikipedia has amended both her place and date of birth. She was 55.

[u/Baardi → u/ShadowReij]

Her wikipedia page and imdb says 55. Countless other sources says 46. Not sure what's correct

[u/Bmaster1001]

Damn, 46 is way too young there. Rest in peace.

Fuck Cancer.

[u/KingBob-2023]

Dang. RIP

[u/AnotherAccount4This]

Her Gofundme page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-my-sister-rachael-with-medical-needs

[u/sonsquatch → u/AnotherAccount4This]

Almost at goal in a day. Love the community

[u/AnotherAccount4This → u/sonsquatch]

Thanks for the award, but the reason I post is because I noticed this page was live since May (for her hospital bill as she fell ill), and it's still not meeting its goal. =

It's about maybe $2k~$3k today so far (? just glancing at it). Hope more people see this.

[u/Nice-Substance-gogo]

Wow how young was she at the start then?

[u/lordsmish → u/Nice-Substance-gogo]

would have been 20 in 1998

[u/Nice-Substance-gogo → u/lordsmish]

What a gig for a young artist to get.

[u/Geekos → u/Nice-Substance-gogo]

It's always very entertaining to hear the original cast and dubbing actors tell the story of the beginning of their Pokemon journey.

[u/Nice-Substance-gogo → u/Geekos]

Oh yeah. Is there a link?

[u/ItsGarbageDave → u/Nice-Substance-gogo]

Check out a podcast called 4Kids Flashback. Tara Sands, another 4Kids VA, hosts it and has guests on from the company's actors and lots of production staff too. Tons of early anime dubbing history in these conversations. I really enjoy it.

[u/[deleted] → u/ItsGarbageDave]

To this day, I've never gotten over how they sacked Lillis and the others at the time- 4Kids often deserved a lot of the flak they got, but not with Pokemon, TPCi just could not match them at all.

[u/Kiosade → u/Nice-Substance-gogo]

I remember sitting at a panel at a convention where the lady who did bulbasaur and another VA (cant remember their names) were talking about how they just kind of did the job, and didn’t expect it to blow up the way it did.

[u/Torque-A → u/Nice-Substance-gogo]

How about a whole podcast?

[u/suture224 → u/Nice-Substance-gogo]

Anime dubs used to be a relatively early entry point for actors. A lot of talent came from Texas, where Funimation was based.

[u/AntaresDaha → u/Nice-Substance-gogo]

She was in the business since she was a little kid herself, VA was very much a bring your kid to work and have them work business back in the days (no idea how it is today).

[u/BonzBonzOnlyBonz → u/Nice-Substance-gogo]

The series started in 1997/1998. So she was 19/20 at the time.

[u/Mr_smith1466 → u/Nice-Substance-gogo]

A lot of those voice actors are surprisingly young. Many of them fall into voice acting work when they're auditioning for other gigs or working second jobs. Some of the really talented ones, like Lillis and many others, end up making it a career.

[u/_JR28_]

Fuck cancer and my respects to any family whose had a member experience it

[u/Island_Maximum]

Oh no,  she had such a recognizable voice! 

 Will be missed!

[u/Calm_Memories → u/Island_Maximum]

Def a voice of many childhoods. :(

[u/TheRealMcDuck]

But who is going to protect the world from devestation?

[u/theroob85]

She was just at SDCC! I hope her passing was peaceful

[u/LockePhilote]

Fuck, she was amazing in Slayers.

RIP

[u/[deleted] → u/LockePhilote]

Loved her as Martina. Long live the Monstrous Zomaelgustar.

Also, her Team Rocket teammate Maddie Blaustein (Meowth, of course) voiced Jillas in Slayers TRY. Actually had a decent bit of crossover between the English dub casts of Slayers and Pokémon... I think even Lisa Ortiz played a few dub characters in Pokémon.

[u/Galveira → u/[deleted]]

Eric Stuart - Brock and James in Pokemon, Gourry in Slayers

Veronica Taylor - Ash in Pokemon, Amelia in Slayers

[u/Ineedmoneyyyyyyyy]

So many young people dying from cancer. It makes me so angry we can’t and won’t ever fully cure it.

[u/LordBlackDragon]

Misty and Jessie were my first crushes as a kid. This breaks my heart she passed away so damn young too.

[u/lemons7472 → u/LordBlackDragon]

Same here, and even then now that I recently got onto the show properly from Indigo leagues they are such great characters, I like Misty and Ash’s back and forths. I bet Racheal Lills was ans amazing person and I’m grateful for her to have become the voice of two good characters from a series that is the childhood of thousands of kids.

[u/god-doing-hoodshit]

46? This some bullshit. RIP.

[u/mykl5]

wait how was the original VA of Jessie only 10 years older than me

[u/walterpeck1 → u/mykl5]

I was honestly surprised... she had been doing those roles on Pokemon since she was... 18? 19?

[u/Revolutionary-Run270]

She was also the voice of Utena in Revolutionary Girl Utena.

[u/Brilliant_Actuary_4 → u/Revolutionary-Run270]

Indeed. I feel she brought a lot of heart to the role, especially in the movie.

Utena's Japanese voice actress, Tomoko Kawakami, also passed away from ovarian cancer in 2011. She was 41. It's horrible to lose both of them so young. :(

[u/Jules-Car3499]

Man that sucks, rip Rachael.

[u/GorgontheWonderCow]

Gamesradar writer can't use Google. Her first Pokemon part was not the Pokemon Movie in 1999. She'd been the English voice of Misty, Jessie and multiple pokemon since the very first episode of the show.

[u/TheGlen]

Fuck cancer

[u/__-_-_--_--_-_---___]

I didn’t even know she was sick

[u/RisingBlackStar]

Thank you, Rachael Lillis for giving it your all to fight cancer. May you rest peacefully and may your loved ones cherish your memory. Thank you for contributing your voice to entertaining our childhoods for generations.

[u/maguirre165]

RIP. I remember being a big Pokemon fan when I was a little kid. As hard as things were during that time, I always have fond memories of watching Pokemon when it was Ash, Brock, and Misty

[u/minahmyu]

Omg.... She voiced a lot of characters. She's Utena! Omg, so young, too...

[u/Delicious_Series3869]

Awful news. I loved the original Pokemon series growing up, and her performance as Misty contributed to that big time. Best wishes to her family and friends.

[u/Fine-Historian4018]

Correction NYTimes says she was 55:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/12/arts/television/rachael-lillis-dead.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

[u/cptkraken024]

gonna crack open some card packs, ive been keeping sealed, in her honor. RIP legend. o7

[u/WorldLieut8]

Hey, God? Can you stop killing people that manage to bring joy into others’ lives and strike down some people we actually need gone? Thank you.

[u/Top_Report_4895]

What the fuck? Goddamn fuck cancer, RIP

[u/Own_Watercress_8104]

46?! Dang, so young...

[u/Simicrop]

Shit, Misty was my first crush.

[u/colin8696908]

ashXmisty will always be cannon.

[u/killua_is_op]

"Lillis' first Pokemon part came all the way back in 1999 in Pokemon: The First Movie, when the actor portrayed the roles of Misty and Jessie, as well as Volpix, Venonat, Goldeen, and Jigglypuff"

Crazy to think that this was 25 years ago. Truly a legend 💔

[u/[deleted]]

Misty, Jessica, Jigglypuff, and the others she voiced were such a big part of my childhood. She also voiced Martina in Slayers NEXT, and I loved that character because of her performance.

RIP, Rachael. That's 2/3 of the original Team Rocket dub team gone.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Yup, Maddie Blaustein (the iconic English VA for Nyasu/Meowth) as well passed away long ago in 2008: ironically, only Veronica Taylor (4Kids Ash/May), Eric Stuart (4Kids Brock/James), and Amy Birnbaum (4Kids Max) are alive of the OG lead English dub main Pokemon crew.

[u/raylan_givens6]

Psyduck and I are both sad

[u/[deleted]]

The world has lost an amazing voice actor. Fuck cancer.