Don Francisco @ Museum Of TV & Radio.
March 10, 2003
Don Francisco, the TV personality who has kissed more chorus girls on screen than even Jackie Gleason, will be feted in a special salute to Hispanic Television at the Museum of Television & Radio, 25 West 52 Street in Manhattan, on Thursday, April 10, at 6:30 pm.
Don Francisco, whose real name is Mario Kreutzberger, is the host of “Sabado Gigante” (Gigantic Saturday), which holds the Guinness Book of World Records title as the longest running program in TV history. On the air since 1962, “Sabado Gigante” is seen by 100 million viewers weekly in more than 42 countries. In the New York area “Sabado Gigante” is seen Saturdays from 8 pm to 11 pm on Gotham’s premiere Spanish-language TV station, Univision 41 (WXTV).
The world’s most popular TV variety program, “Sabado Gigante” has been broadcast for the equivalent of 600 continuous days. Host Don Francisco has travelled more than 2,800,000 miles (ten times the distance between the Earth and the Moon), welcomed more than 1,500,000 contestants, and given away more than 3,000 automobiles and the equivalent of $50,000,000 in prizes. A worldwide phenomenon, “Sabado Gigante” has put the afterburners behind the careers of international stars such as Enrique Iglesias, Ricardo Montaner, Carlos Ponce, Pilar Montenegro, and Jordi.
