Rachel Liss, the voice of popular ‘Pokemon’ characters has died at the age of 55
Ms. Lillis voiced the characters Misty and Jesse in the animated series based on the video game. She was diagnosed with breast cancer that year.
Rachael Lillis, an actress who voiced the original English versions of Misty and Jessie, popular characters from the 1990s “Pokémon” anime television series, and later in the franchise’s films and games, on Saturday in Los Angeles. She passed away. She was 55 years old.
According to one of her sisters, Lori Orr, the cause was breast cancer. Ms Lillis was diagnosed earlier this year.
Ms. Lillis began voice acting in the 1980s, according to her IMDB page, but her big break came in the late 1990s when she was cast in the English version of the film.”Pokemon” TV series, a popular Japanese anime based on the “Pokemon” video games. In hundreds of episodes over eight years, Ms. Lillis voiced characters such as Misty, the main character, a trusted friend of Ash Ketchum, and one of the show’s villains.
He also voiced these characters in the “Pokémon” movies as the cultural trend grew.
Ms. Lillis, who lived in Los Angeles, was also the voice of Jigglypuff, whose fairy song lulled audiences to sleep and was one of the creatures the character chased.
Ms. Lillis, who had dozens of other voice credits to her name, had a strong sense of humor and talent for voice acting, said Eric Stuart, who voiced James, another member of Team Rocket in the “Pokemon” series, and Worked with Ms. Lillis for many years.
“If you met him, you wouldn’t say it was so natural to him,” Mr. Stuart said in a phone interview. “In real life Rachael was very low-key, quiet and sweet,” added Mr Stuart. “The moment he stepped into that booth it was like all this energy came out.”
Mr. Stuart first met Ms. Lillis in the mid-1990s, when there weren’t many people dubbing anime into English.
Later, when Mr. Stuart became director, he hired Ms. Lillis for other projects. “‘Pokemon’ changed Saturday morning cartoons,” Mr. Stuart said.
Veronica Taylor, who voiced Ash Ketchum, the lead character in the “Pokemon” television series, said Ms. Lillis brought her “A-game” to work even when she was tired. Ms. Taylor said that recording voices on “Pokémon” in the 1990s was not a high-paying job, and all the actors had other jobs.
Rachael Lillis was born on July 8, 1969 in Niagara Falls, NY. I was born, the youngest of six girls. She graduated from Smith College, where she was pre-med, Ms. Orr said.
His mother, Constance Lillis, was a homemaker, and his father, John Lillis, is in maintenance management and retired from the Navy. He is survived by his sisters, Colleen King, Brenda Lillis, Pamela Lillis Robertson, Jacqueline Lillis and Ms. Orr.
In addition to her roles on “Pokemon,” Ms. Lillis voiced other characters in anime franchises in the 1990s, including Katie in “Gail Force” and Utena Tange in the television series “Revolutionary Girl Utena.”
Ms. Lillis’ most recent voice acting credit was in an episode of the animated series “Ollie & Scoops” in 2019. The pandemic proved to be a difficult time for him to continue working.
Partly because of the lack of recording equipment at home, Ms. Taylor said. Last year, Ms. Lillis traveled to London for a “Pokemon” cast reunion, appearing on a panel with Ms. Taylor and Mr. Stuart.
Meeting fans at conventions and answering their questions was one of Ms. Lillis’ favorite parts of the job, her former colleagues said. “She really enjoyed interacting with people,” Ms Taylor said.
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