‘Sábado Gigante’ will be canceled this September, after broadcasting for 53 years. "To us, I reiterate, this is not a moment of sadness. On the contrary, this is a moment of triumph," Don Francisco said. The Chilean legend has been hosting the longest-running TV show, but his personal life is less known. Let's take a look at some of the things we don't know about our favorite Latino TV host.
1. His real name is Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld, but we all know him as Don Francisco
2. The iconic Latino host is Jewish. There were bar mitzvahs and some special celebrations, but his family wasn’t strictly observant.
3. His parents were Holocaust survivors.
4. His mother was an opera singer in Germany and his father was a tailor.
5. He traveled to New York to study because he wanted to be a famous clothing designer, but he spent most of the time watching TV.
6. When he returned to his native Chile, he used what he had learned from Ed Sullivan and Steve Allen by watching their shows and made a whole new variety show in Spanish in his country. The show, called "Sábados Gigantes" aired in Chile's Channel 13.
7. At the beginning of his career, the Chilean media massively criticized the presenter and accused him of not being professional for making fun of the contestants and audience of his show.
8. The show's name was changed in the 80s by Univision to "Sábado Gigante" when Don Francisco made the move to Miami.
9. Kreutzberger has also hosted Chilean versions of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?," "Deal or No Deal" and "Money Drop."
10. His show "Sábado Gigante" is the world's longest running TV variety show, according to Guinness World Records.
11. The host voiced Governor Bernardo de Galvez in a 2003 episode, "The Great Galvez", of a PBS Kids show Liberty's Kids.
12. The city of New York named a street in the Washington Heights district in honor of Kreutzberger, named "Don Francisco Boulevard."
13. Don Francisco has interviewed important political figures like Barack Obama, John Kerry and George W. Bush. He also helped break emerging Latin artists, including Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony and Carlos Vives.
14. The TV personality has a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame.
15. He became so popular that Stephen Colbert parodied him on “The Colbert Report” with “Colberto Reporto Gigante.”
16. One of his main accomplishments has been hosting the "Teletón"in the U.S. and Chile, which for decades has helped raise funds for disabled children.
17. Kreutzberger is also the Hispanic spokesperson for the US Muscular Dystrophy Association.
18. In his autobiography, Don Francisco: Entre la espada y la T.V. (Between the Sword and the TV), he narrates the traumatic experience when he was temporarily held hostage by Augusto Pinochet’s soldiers.
19. It was reported by different media outlets that Don Francisco had a contract of $12.7 million per year in "Sábado Gigante" plus 2.8 million per year for his participation in "Don Francisco presenta."
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