Madeleine Joan Blaustein (born Adam Blaustein, October 9, 1960 – December 11, 2008), also known as Kendra Bancroft, was an American voice actress and comic writer who was known for her voice acting work for

4Kids Entertainment 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (formerly known as Leisure Concepts, Inc. and later known as 4Licensing Corporation) was an American licensing company. The company was previously also a film and television production company that produced English- dub ...

, DuArt Film and Video and

NYAV Post NYAV Post is an American recording studio located in New York City. It was founded by Michael Sinterniklaas in 2000, with a West Coast branch located in Los Angeles, California. The studio is prolific in recording anime dubs, original animati ...

, for her reprising role as the character Meowth from the ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of what each of thos ...

'' anime series and for comics written for

Milestone Comics Milestone Media is a company best known for creating Milestone Comics, which were published and distributed by DC Comics and the ''Static Shock'' animated series. It was founded in 1993 by a coalition of African-American artists and writers, con ...

, in which she introduced one of superhero comics' first transgender female characters. She was the first

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical b ...

and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

voice artist for many of her respective agencies.

Career

In the late 1980s, Blaustein worked for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

, as an editor (several issues each of ''

Web of Spider-Man ''Web of Spider-Man'' is the name of two different monthly comic book series starring Spider-Man that have been published by Marvel Comics since 1985, the first volume of which ran for 129 issues between 1985 and 1995, and the second of which ran ...

'', '' Marvel Tales'', and ''

Marvel Saga ''The Marvel Saga: The Official History of the Marvel Universe'' was a comic book series which attempted to condense the first 25 years of Marvel Universe events into a sequential, narrative story. Publication history The series was researched and ...

'') as a writer (several issues of ''Conan the King''), and penciling a one-shot of ''Power Pachyderms.'' She wrote assorted comics published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

in the early 1990s, including a few for the Impact Comics imprint and TSR line. In 1994 she went to work for Milestone Media as production manager and writer. With assistance from her partner Yves Fezzani – sometimes billed together as "Adam & Yves" – she wrote issues of flagship titles '' Hardware'' and ''

Static Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee *Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming **Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static el ...

'' (in which she co-created the character Rubber-Band Man). She also wrote (with Fezzani) Milestone's first limited series ''Deathwish'', which featured as its central character transgender female police officer Marisa Rahm, one of the first trans heroes featured in mainstream superhero comics. During this time she was sometimes referred to in editorial copy in the comics as "Addie Blaustein". After leaving Milestone, she served as Creative Director for ''

Weekly World News The ''Weekly World News'' was a tabloid which published mostly fictional "news" stories in the United States from 1979 to 2007, renowned for its outlandish cover stories often based on supernatural or paranormal themes and an approach to news th ...

''. Blaustein was a voice actress at

, where she worked on the English dub version of the ''Pokémon'' anime. She provided "filler" voices for various characters until episode #31, when she took over from Nathan Price in the role of Meowth, which she played through season 8. During the 2004 Democratic Party primaries, she voiced

Sméagol Gollum is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was introduced in the 1937 fantasy novel ''The Hobbit'', and became important in its sequel, ''The Lord of the Rings''. Gollum was a Stoor Hobbit of the River ...

on the

Mike Malloy Show ''The Mike Malloy Show'' is a syndicated progressive radio talk show hosted by long-time radio personality Mike Malloy. Malloy came to talk radio in 1987, moving from his position as a writer and producer at CNN. He is married to producer Kathy B ...

, announcing a satirical presidential bid. Beginning in 2004 under the pseudonym ''Kendra Bancroft'', Blaustein was a content creator on the ''

Second Life ''Second Life'' is an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user created content within a multi player online virtual world. Developed and owned by the San Fr ...

'' platform, earning a reputation as an innovative, competent, and reliable 3-D modeller in the communities where she participated.

Personal life

Blaustein was born the second oldest of five children in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. She was

, and was

assigned male at birth Sex assignment (sometimes known as gender assignment) is the discernment of an infant's sex at or before birth. A relative, midwife, nurse or physician inspects the external genitalia when the baby is delivered and, in more than 99.95% of birt ...

before transitioning to female. Her experience as an activist in the

community helped her to organize and support groups of people in ''Second Life''. Video game localization coordinator and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

Jeremy Blaustein is her brother.

Death

Blaustein died on December 11, 2008 at age 48 in Christ Hospital of

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea and gastro, is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of energy, and dehydr ...

) that she had been suffering from a couple of weeks prior. She is buried at the Congregation B'nai Israel Cemetery in Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts.

Work

Voice roles

* '' Cutie Honey'' (live action movie) – Sister Jill * '' Cubix'' – Dr. K * '' Dinosaur King'' – Helga (Season 1) * ''

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chap ...

'' - Dr.Kureha (4kids Dub) * ''Domain of Murder'' – Detective Shimizu * '' Funky Cops'' - Additional voices * '' G.I. Joe: Sigma 6'' - Overkill * '' Huntik: Secrets & Seekers'' – Rassimov (Ep. "Mission"; Posthumous release) * '' Impy's Island'' – Shoe the

Shoebill The shoebill (''Balaeniceps rex'') also known as the whalebill, whale-headed stork or shoe-billed stork, is a very large long-legged wading bird. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form ...

* ''Impy's Wonderland'' – Shoe the Shoebill * ''

Jungle Emperor Leo ''Jungle Emperor Leo'', known in Japan as is a 1997 Japanese animated film focusing on the last half of Osamu Tezuka's manga, ''Jungle Taitei'' (known in earlier US productions as ''Kimba the White Lion'' and '' Leo the Lion''). Plot At the ...

'' - Mother, Trainer *'' Kirby: Right Back at Ya!'' - Chef Kawasaki, Waddle Doo, Professor Curio, Tuggle, Gengu, Melman, Biblio * ''Mutant Rampage Bodyslam'' – L. Wolf Jam * ''

'' – Meowth (episodes 32-416), additional voices ** ''

Pokémon Chronicles ''Pokémon Chronicles'', partly known in Japan as , is a spin-off series of the original ''Pokémon'' anime, revolving around characters other than Ash Ketchum. It first aired in Japan on October 15, 2002 on TV Tokyo and concluded on Septembe ...

'' – Meowth ** '' Pokémon: The First Movie'' – Meowth ** '' Pokémon: The Movie 2000'' – Meowth ** '' Pokémon 3: The Movie'' – Meowth ** '' Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns'' – Meowth ** ''

Pokémon 4Ever ''Pokémon 4Ever – Celebi: Voice of the Forest'' is a 2001 Japanese anime film directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and based on the television series ''Pokémon''. The fourth official ''Pokémon'' film, it was released in Japan on July 7, 2001. The f ...

'' – Meowth ** ''

Pokémon Heroes ''Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias'' is a 2002 Japanese animated fantasy film, the fifth in the ''Pokémon'' series, the first to use digital ink and paint, the last to receive a North American theatrical release until '' Pokémon the Movie: I C ...

'' – Meowth ** '' Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker'' – Meowth ** '' Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys'' – Meowth ** '' Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew'' – Meowth * ''

Samurai Deeper Kyo is a manga series written and illustrated by Akimine Kamijyo. Set during the Edo period of Japan's history, ''Samurai Deeper Kyo'' follows , a feared samurai seeking to regain his body after his soul is sealed inside the body of his rival ...

'' – Migeira * ''

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime series animated by Studio Gallop based on the ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' manga series written by Kazuki Takahashi. It is the second anime adaptation of the manga following the 1998 anime televisi ...

'' - Solomon Muto * ''

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX ''Yu-Gi-Oh! GX'', also known in Japan as , is an anime spin-off and sequel series to the original ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' anime. It aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from October 6, 2004 to March 26, 2008, and was succeeded by ''Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's''. ''Yu-Gi- ...

'' - Sartorius Kumar * '' Slayers Try'' – Jillas Jillos Jilles * '' The Little Panda Fighter'' – Grizzlepuss * ''Tiny Robots'' - Nev1 * ''

Viva Piñata ''Viva Piñata'' is a video game franchise created and produced by Xbox Game Studios and Rare. The series' first game, '' Viva Piñata'' (2006), was conceived as a mobile gardening game before Rare was acquired by Microsoft. It was released o ...

'' – Corinna * '' Wild Cardz'' - King

Video games

* ''

Pokémon Channel ''Pokémon Channel'', released in Japan as , is a 2003 video game in the ''Pokémon'' series for the GameCube, developed by Ambrella, published by The Pokémon Company and distributed by Nintendo. The player's goal is to help Professor Oak re ...

'' - Meowth * ''

Shadow the Hedgehog is a fictional character appearing in Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Shadow was created by Takashi Iizuka and Shiro Maekawa, and first made his debut in '' Sonic Adventure 2'' (2001). Although this was intended to be his only app ...

'' – President * ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers m ...

'' - E-123 Omega * ''

Valkyrie Profile or is a series of role-playing video games created by Masaki Norimoto, primarily developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix (formerly Enix). The series is notable for featuring elements from Norse mythology. Common elements The ''Val ...

'' – Arngrim, Barbarossa, Lawfer, Lezard Valeth

Writing

*''Deathwish #1-4'' (Milestone Comics, 4-issue miniseries, with Yves Fezzani) *'' Hardware'' #20-21, 24, 26-28, 33 (Milestone Comics, ''The Hunt for Deathwish'' with Yves Fezzani) *''

'' #30-34 (Milestone Comics, with Yves Fezzani) *''Icon #18'' (Milestone Comics)

Art

*''Power Pachyderms'' (pencils) –

(1989)

References

External links

* *
Interview with Maddie Blaustein
from Trans-Ponder
Maddie Blaustein
at the English Voice Actor & Production Staff Database

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blaustein, Maddie 1960 births 2008 deaths American comics writers American voice actresses Female comics writers Intersex women Intersex rights in the United States Intersex rights activists Jewish American actresses LGBT comics creators LGBT Jews LGBT people from New York (state) LGBT rights activists from the United States American LGBT writers People from Long Island Transgender actresses Transgender writers Transgender Jews Transgender rights activists 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American people 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 20th-century LGBT people American LGBT actors 21st-century American women