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Roy
Leonard
Host
Audio
Archive | Photo Gallery | WGN
Memories
Career
Highlights:
- Host,
1967-1998.
- Focused on
"The World of Entertainment," featuring movie and theater
reviews, contemporary music, and interviews with many of the biggest
names in entertainment during the three decades of his program.
Biography:
"Hello, from Chicago."
Roy Leonard joined WGN Radio in 1967.
During his 31-year career at the station, his radio shows and regular
appearances as host and arts critic on television made him one of
Chicago's most popular sources of information and entertainment.
The question most often asked during
his career was, "How does he do it?" Roy actually read
the book before he interviewed the author. He saw every major movie
and play and attended concerts regularly. Such dedication caused
personalities such as Sally Field, Quincy Jones, Shirley MacLaine
and Charles Kuralt to rate Roy, "the best in his field."
And, many of his radio colleagues remain in awe of Roy's ability
to turn the reading of a script into a friendly chat with his audience.
An important aspect of "The Roy
Leonard Show" was the introduction of new artists. Listeners
to WGN Radio were the first to hear such diverse talents as Harry
Connick, Jr., Billy Joel, Barry Manilow and Carly Simon. Listeners
were also treated to relaxing, in depth conversations with a guest
list that reads like an international "Who's Who" with
such stars as Clint Eastwood, Isabella Rossellini, Tom Cruise, Linda
Ronstadt, John Cusack, Jimmy Stewart and Ella Fitzgerald.
For diversity, Roy frequently took
his show on the road with trips to Europe. His program originated
from London and Moscow and, in the United States, New York, the
Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
 Roy's
listeners often traveled with him as he and his wife, Shelia, hosted
their annual London Theater Tour in October. They also treated their
tour members to a food and wine excursion in France, a trip to Norway
for the Bergen Music Festival, an Alaskan Cruise, a week in the
Netherlands for the 100th anniversary celebration of Vincent Van
Gogh and three memorable excursions behind the Iron Curtain before
the Soviet coup. At least twice a year, the Leonards offered a New
York theater weekend and trips to Canada's Shaw and Stratford Festivals.
On WGN-TV, Roy's movie and theater
reviews were a regular feature on the Channel Nine News. From October
to April of each year, he hosted Family Classics on Sunday
afternoons, bringing to the home audience the great films ranging
from Robin Hood and Boys Town to The Music
Man and Benji. His specials on New Year's Day garnered
great ratings opposite the deluge of football bowl games. In April,
1998, Roy hosted WGN-TV's 50th Anniversary special.
Roy's innovative career began in the
early fifties at a station in Salem, Massachusetts after attendance
at Boston's Emerson College. His success in the commercial market
however, was interrupted by Uncle Sam, and a stint in the United
States Air Force found him in Nome, Alaska, at an Armed Forces Radio
Station. When his duty expired, Roy returned to radio in Fitchburg,
Massachusetts, followed by a job in Framingham MA., as an on-air
personality and program director.
It was in Framingham that Roy was asked
to appear in a local stage production by the Civic League Players.
After passing the casting director's audition, he asked her for
a date and a year later, on October 11, 1953, Shelia Marie Finn
became Mrs. Roy Leonard. The first of their six sons, Kip, was born
in 1955, and the following year Roy joined WHDH Radio and TV in
Boston, where he hosted two daily radio shows and presented the
nightly news on television. In 1958, he joined WNAC Radio and TV
in Boston as host of the Morning Show on AM radio and anchor on
the Early Evening TV News. He also hosted "Yankee Camera,"
a Sunday news magazine program on television.
Other Leonard lads arrived in 1956
(Kerry), 1957 (Kolin), 1958 (Kent), 1962 (Kyle), and 1966 (Kelly)
and in 1967, along with their six K's, Shelia and Roy moved to Chicago
and the long association with WGN Radio was underway.
After six sons, the Leonards now have
eight grandchildren who are frequent visitors to their North Shore
home, as all the boys have remained in the Chicago area in such
diverse professions as education, architecture, retailing, banking,
publishing and theater.
Roy served on the Midwest Board of
the American Foundation for the Blind. He is a past President of
the Red Cloud Athletic Fund and a board member of the Chicago Film
Critics Association. His interest in food and wine led to membership
of Les Amis d'Escoffier Society and the Chaine de Rotisseurs.
In 1992, Roy won the prestigious Peter
Lisagor Award for Criticism. He also holds a Grammy Award Certificate
for his contribution as emcee for the "Tribute To Steve Goodman"
and the 1986 Grammy Winning Best Contemporary Folk Recording. From
the music industry's leading trade magazine, Billboard, Roy was
honored with Best Feature Radio Programming of the Year for his
two hour special with Linda Ronstadt.
As Roy's radio career neared its end,
he hosted a special farewell show from the Museum of Broadcast Communications.
A week later, on December, 26, 1998, Roy was joined by Sheila in
Studio A for his final regularly scheduled broadcast. But, it was
not his final appearance on the station. His Christmas specials
have remained a staple of WGN's holiday line-up. And, in August,
2003, Roy returned to the microphone for part of an afternoon to
reminisce with listeners and remind us all of his unique talents.
In October, 1999, Roy was awarded the
Lifetime Achievement Award in Radio Broadcasting by the Chicagoland
A.I.R. Awards Board of Governors.
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Audio
Archive:
- Roy Leonard and Nick Digilio bring
back their annual Thanksgiving "awards" show, Turkeys
of the Year, giving the dubious Turkeys to all deserving parties
in the worlds of news, sports, entertainment, politics and theater.
(11/22/07) (:31:36)
- Roy is joined by Nick Digilio for
a revival of his Thanksgiving tradition: the 2006 edition of Turkeys
of the Year. (11/23/06) (35:30)
- Roy visits with music legend Ray
Charles. (7/22/75) (1:05:00)
- Roy
returned to Studio A on August 28, 2003. In this clip, he
discusses some memories of his show with Steve Bertrand and listeners,
and updates us on his family. (8/28/03) (5:31)
- Tribute to George
Harrison (9:30) (This tribute was produced several days after
Harrison's death on 11/29/01 by WGN Radio Production Director
Todd Manley. It features several clips from an interview Roy did
with the former Beatle in 1976.)
-
The
following segments were produced for WGN Radio's 75th Anniversary
in 1999:
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Photo
Gallery:
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