Wilfried Theodor Schmickler (* November 28, 1954, in Hitdorf) is a German cabaret artist. Schmickler grew up in Hitdorf (now a district of Leverkusen) and has been living in the Cologne Südstadt since the 1990s. During his school years at Landrat-Lucas-Gymnasium in Opladen, he was involved in student administration (SMV), served as a student representative, and wrote for the school newspaper. After graduating in 1973, he performed his civilian service in a youth facility, where he encountered the post-hippie scene. His experiences with the self-managed youth scene led to the founding of a speaking and later a theater group, which eventually evolved into the trio Matsche, Works, and Hallies. Later, the trio (with Wolfgang Müller-Schlesinger and Klaus Huber) renamed itself Matsche, Works, and Pullrich, with Schmickler gaining stage experience for several years.

When cabaret artist Jürgen Becker left the cabaret trio 3 Gestirn Köln 1 in 1989, Schmickler, recommended by Becker, became his successor. As a member of 3 Gestirn, he, along with Heiner Kämmer and Wolfgang Nitschke, received the German Kleinkunstpreis in 2001. After the group disbanded, Schmickler continued as a solo artist, receiving the German Kabarettpreis in 2007 and the Prix Pantheon Special Prize Reif & Bekloppt. In 2009, he was once again honored with the German Kleinkunstpreis in the cabaret category. In celebration of his 30-year stage anniversary, Schmickler presented his fourth solo program "Es war nicht alles schlecht" starting in the fall of 2008. His fifth solo program "Weiter" premiered in September 2010. Schmickler performs approximately 120 live shows per year.

From 1992 to 2020, he was a regular contributor to the WDR cabaret show "Mitternachtsspitzen." He became well-known for his exclamation "Aufhören, Herr Becker! Aufhören!" ("Stop, Mr. Becker! Stop!"), loudly introducing Becker's regular closing monologue on the show. For a long time, he appeared on "Mitternachtsspitzen" alongside Jürgen Becker as the Cologne twins Spitz & Spitz. From November 2007 to October 2010, he played the characters Loki and Helmut Schmidt (Loki & Smoky) alongside Uwe Lyko, but the segment was discontinued by WDR following the death of Loki Schmidt. Since then, Schmickler and Lyko have portrayed overrated couples in world history in various roles (e.g., The Geissens, Merkel and Joachim Sauer, etc.). After Helmut Schmidt's death in 2015, a special episode of Loki & Smoky was broadcast at the end of the year, featuring a scene in heaven. In January 2021, Schmickler celebrated Jürgen Becker's 60th birthday with a show characterizing Becker in a review of many joint performances, along with Pastor Franz Meurer.

For WDR 2 and the WDR 5-Morgenecho program, Schmickler works as an author of satirical radio contributions. He also hosts the radio program "Hart an der Grenze" four times a year as part of the "Unterhaltung am Wochenende" series on WDR 5. Privately, Schmickler, along with Becker and other colleagues, volunteers at a secondary school in Cologne-Ehrenfeld. He is also a member of the Bayer-04-Club. Wilfried Schmickler supports the Coordination gegen Bayer-Gefahren (CBG). Additionally, he is involved in advocating for social justice and is a member of the Sozialverband Deutschland (SoVD), supporting their socio-political work through appearances at SoVD events. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.