Rachael Lillis,Who, at the age of 55, voiced well-known “Pokémon” characters
Actress Rachael Lillis, who provided the voice acting for Misty and Jessie in the original English voice cast of the popular anime television series “Pokémon” in the 1990s, as well as later in the franchise’s video games and motion pictures, passed away on Saturday in Los Angeles. She was fifty-five.
One of her sisters, Laurie Orr, said the cause was breast cancer. The diagnosis for Ms. Lillis was made earlier in the year.
As to Ms. Lillis’s IMDB biography, she began her voice acting career in the 1980s. However, her major breakthrough came in the late 1990s when she was chosen for the English version of the iconic Japanese anime series “Pokémon,” which was based on the popular video games of the same name. Over the course of eight years and hundreds of episodes, Ms. Lillis provided the voices of Jessie, one of the show’s antagonists, and Misty, Ash Ketchum’s reliable friend.
As the “Pokemon” phenomenon expanded, she also provided the voices for those characters in the films.
Having worked with Ms. Lillis for many years, Eric Stuart, who portrayed James, the second member of Team Rocket in the “Pokémon” series, noted that Ms. Lillis had a nice sense of humor in addition to her many voice credits.
Mr. Stuart made the following statement over the phone: “If you met her, you would not say this was so natural for her.” According to Mr. Stuart, “Rachael was pretty low key, kind of quiet and sweet in real life.”The instant she stepped into the booth, she gave off a whole different vibe.”It was the mid-1990s, and not many people were translating anime into English when Mr. Stuart got to meet Ms. Lillis.
Afterwards, Ms. Lillis was employed by Mr. Stuart for further projects after he was appointed director. Mr. Stuart stated, “‘Pokémon’ changed Saturday morning cartoons.”
Even though she was exhausted, Ms. Lillis brought her “A-game” to work, according to Veronica Taylor, who provided the voice of Ash Ketchum, the show’s protagonist. The actors all had second jobs because recording the voices for “Pokémon” in the 1990s was not a well-paying job, according to Ms. Taylor.
One of the creatures the characters follow is Jigglypuff, whose fairy song lulls listeners to sleep, and whose voice was provided by Ms. Lillis, a resident of Los Angeles.
The youngest of six girls, Rachael Lillis was born in Niagara Falls, New York, on July 8, 1969. According to Ms. Orr, she completed her pre-med studies at Smith College and graduated.
Her father, John Lillis, is retired from the Navy and maintenance management, while her mother, Constance Lillis, was a homemaker. Her sisters, Ms. Orr, Brenda Lillis, Pamela Lillis Robertson, Jacqueline Lillis, and Colleen King, survive her.
In the 1990s, Ms. Lillis voiced a number of characters in anime franchises in addition to her duties on “Pokémon,” such as Catty in “Gall Force” and Utena Tenjô in “Revolutionary Girl Utena.”
The most recent voice acting job Ms. Lillis has was in a 2019 episode of the animated series “Ollie & Scoops.” Due in part to a shortage of recording equipment at home, Ms. Taylor stated that the pandemic proved to be a challenging period for her to continue working. Ms. Lillis joined Ms. Taylor and Mr. Stuart on a panel during the “Pokémon” cast reunion in London last year.
One of Ms. Lillis’s favorite aspects of her work was interacting with fans at conventions and responding to their inquiries, according to her former coworkers. According to Ms. Taylor, “she really enjoyed the interactions she had with people.”
Actress Rachael Lillis, who played Misty and Jessie in “Pokémon,” passes away at age 46.
Taylor stated, “I share the news of Rachael Lillis’s passing on Saturday evening, August 10, 2024, with a very heavy heart.” “Rachael was a gifted singer and actress whose voice radiated positivity and brilliance.”
