Danica Davidson
May 22, 2024 
Voice actor Billy Kametz passed away in 2022 — when he was only 35 — after battling Stage IV colon cancer. His friends have begun a yearly Billy Kametz Memorial Fundraiser, where people around the world play games Kametz loved and raise money for the Colon Cancer Coalition. The second such event is scheduled to take place this Saturday, May 25, from 10 AM EST to 10 PM EST.
Over the course of the day, people can compete in Super Mario Brothers, Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Super Smash Brothers, and the whole event will be streamed live on YouTube. Kametz’s friends wrote on the memorial page website, “We’re a nostalgic bunch, and you can be sure we’ll share some funny, heartfelt, and yes, some embarrassing stories from growing up with Billy. We hope this will be a window into what Billy was really like as a person, from the people who knew him best.”
You can go to this site for more rules, details, and access to the livestream, and you can go here to donate to the Colon Cancer Coalition on Kametz’s behalf. Their goal is to raise at least $24,000, and as of this writing, $16,250 has been donated.
Among Kametz’s many anime roles, he played Nicolo in Attack on Titan The Final Season, Durham in BEASTARS, Metal Lee in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, White Blood Cell in Cells at Work!, Jed in Hunter × Hunter -The Last Mission-, Josuke Higashikata in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable, Osomatsu in Mr. Osomatsu, Naofumi Iwatami in The Rising of The Shield Hero, and Asmodeus Alice in Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun.
The memorial site noted:
Another year has passed since we lost our friend, and not a day goes by where we don’t think about Billy. Last year was such a cathartic experience and an amazing way to keep his memory alive. We also loved hearing from his fans in the chat, including some who shared their experiences challenging the man himself to Smash Brothers at conventions. How did Billy become such a fearsome Star Wolf player? Tune in to get a glimpse of the competitive fires he was forged in with his knucklehead friends!
Source: Crunchyroll, Billy Kametz Memorial Fundraiser
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
