It is not often that The Fictional Cafe does a page to honor someone who has passed. But when a person like Steve Schleicher leaves this mortal plane, he deserves to have his accomplishments shared with the world, just one last time. So without further ado, a brief legacy of Steve Schleicher.
Stephen Lloyd Schleicher was born on September 14, 1965 to James and Joan (nee Wiley) at St. Mary’s Hospital in Watertown, WI. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater from 1988 to 1990 where he obtained a Bachelor’s of Science in Education, in Social Studies Teacher Education. From 1996 to 1999, he attended the Aurora University where he obtained a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education and Teaching. He then moved to his hometown of Watertown and taught Government at Watertown High School for 25 years where he also coached the Watertown Gosling football and wrestling teams. His passion for teaching, coaching and mentoring impacted the lives of many. A favorite recent class, Super Heroes & Social Issues, emphasized his passion for seeing his students find the joy of learning as he did. In addition to teaching and coaching, Steve enjoyed acting and performing and especially excelled in voice acting.
He worked at Nancy Wolfson, Braintracksaudio.com and also works at Audiobook Creation Exchange: ACX.com. Steve was an Actor at The Belle Agency-Green Bay in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and was an actor at steveschleicher.com. He was a Voice Actor at Carolina Talent, Impressive Talent, and an On Camera Actor at Lori Lins Ltd. Steve first stepped on stage at age 13 and he has been acting ever since. Steve has a penchant for playing big characters, from Tough Guy to the Guy Next Door, Steve has worked on camera and as a voice actor.
I met Steve a handful of years ago when trying to get voices for a few projects I was working on, which included a character for Jack Rochester’s Wild Blue Yonder and another from Kurt Clopton’s SuperGuy. (Coincidentally, both characters were named Sarge.) From the first moment, Steve came off as professional, patient and kind, even though the characters he typically played were loud-mouthed, strict and overbearing. Not that he couldn’t play a character who was as kind as he was, because he also played Jed in Bridge Across the Ocean (also by Jack B. Rochester).
One of his last roles was the role of the villain (of course), Andreas Legio, on the award-winning show, Jake Muller’s Adventures, which was written and directed by Darby Kern.
For any of you who want to listen to his last performance, here’s a trailer to whet your whistle, and if you want to hear the whole production that concludes his legacy, check out The Jake Muller Adventures on Audible.
Steve passed away Friday, January 19, 2024 due to mental health exacerbated by long term Covid. He is survived by his wife Kathy Schleicher of Watertown; three children: Jacob (Sydney) Schleicher of Arbor Vitae, Joe (Rachel Whipple) Schleicher of Brownsville, TX, Katie (Johnston Freeman) Schleicher of La Crosse; two grandchildren: Sadie Schleicher, Cody Schleicher; siblings: Michele Iserman of Taylors, SC, Tim (Diane) Schleicher of Sullivan, Daniel (Donna) Schleicher of Watertown; mother-in-law, Kay Ehlinger of Watertown; sister-in-law, Molly (Greg) Huben; brothers-in-law: Jerry (Kerry) Ehlinger, John (Teri) Ehlinger; as well as other relatives and friends.
Probably one of the hardest things to accept is that I will never get to work with Steve ever again. I will never hear his voice on any future projects, never be able to email him to ask him to join another crazy audio production that we can both work on. He’s gone. Much, much too soon for someone who was loved by so many people. And we can never get him back.
The last words Steve ever said to me were, “I hope things are going well for you and you keep thinking of me for future projects.” Steve, even though I will never get to work with you again, I promise that I will keep thinking of you.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this post about our dear friend Steve Schleicher and you enjoy perusing some of his past audio adventures. And if none of these tickle your fancy, check out our Audio Arts Page in two weeks. We post new episodes every other week, Friday, 7 PM, EST. So don’t change that dial.
