Ask any 90s kid and they will tell you how intense the Pokemon phenomenon was for them growing up. Pokemon: The First Movie was especially adored by the first generation of fans to have grown up with the original Pokemon, which is why it came as such a shock when rumors that Mewtwo's voice actor Philip Bartlett had passed away started popping up.
But did Mewtwo's original voice actor really die?
Mewtwo's Voice Actor Was..?
Mewtwo's voice actor in the first movie is credited under the name Philip Bartlett. In 2001, rumors began popping up that a Philip Bartlett had just died, so fans assumed that it must have been Mewtwo's voice actor. As it turns out, the name used in the first movie was just a pseudonym, and Mewtwo was actually voiced by Jay Goede, a New York-based stage actor and artist. He played in multiple Broadway shows, including a musical version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! at the Old Globe in San Diego, California. Jay Goede also played Mewtwo in the film Mewtwo Strikes Back and in Pokemon Live. He also played the role of Dr. Fuji, Mewtwo's creator. He was succeeded as the VA of the Legendary Pokemon by Dan Green in Mewtwo Returns, and Eric Stuart in Mewtwo's Origins.
In 2001, another man named Philip Bartlett with a similar background died, leading to fans accidentally believing the Mewtwo English VA to be deceased. The actor ended up clearing things up, but despite this, rumors have still persisted over the years that Mewtwo's original English VA was no more.
An Odd Coincidence
As it turns out, the Philip Bartlett that died in 2001 was a live-actor with absolutely nothing to do with Pokemon. He died of heart failure during an operation. The fact that both actors had a similar background and Joe Goede picking the exact same name as a pseudonym has made it easy for fans to confuse the two. Despite the fact that the rumor has been debunked time and time again over the years, many people continue to spread it.
Joe Goede picking the alias Philip Bartlett was the result of him combining both his middle name (Philip) with the name of the street he grew up on (Bartlett). Still, it's odd that out of all of the fake names that Joe Goede could have picked, he settled on a name which ended up belonging to a fellow actor.
Hopefully, with time, the fake claims of Joe Goede's death will diminish and the truth will become more widely spread. Until then, fans should always keep in mind to double and even triple check their sources -- and VAs need to be extremely careful with the fake names that they choose -- least they might accidentally fake their own deaths!