Roy Leonard

Funeral mass will be Saturday (September 13) for Roy Leonard, the beloved Chicago broadcasting legend who died last Thursday at 83.

Leonard was a popular and respected talk show host and entertainment critic for WGN AM 720 for more than three decades until his retirement in 1998. He also hosted the “Family Classics” movie series and reviewed theater and films for WGN-Channel 9.

“As one of the original ‘Chicago’s Very Own,’ Roy Leonard’s 31 years at WGN Radio and TV was a legacy in taste, thoughtfulness and entertainment,” WGN news director Jennifer Lyons said in a statement. “He led a full life filled with graciousness and kindness. We lost a great man; he will be sadly missed.”

Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday at Wm. H. Scott Funeral Home, 1100 Greenleaf Avenue, Wilmette. Mass will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary Catholic Church, 1012 Lake Street, Evanston.

In lieu of flowers, the death notice said, “the family asks that you be kind to each other.”

Scott Stantis cartoon/Chicago Tribune