Don Francisco celebrates 50 years as host of iconic television show Sábado Gigante

The Television Academy Hall of Famer Mario Kreutzberger, known to millions of fans all over the world as “Don Francisco”, celebrated his 50th Anniversary as the host of Sábado Gigante (Giant Saturday) at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, NY. Journalist Laura Martínez moderated the Q&A, which coincided with Hispanic Heritage Month. In the New York appearance, Kreutzberger regaled the audience with tales of his 50 years as host of the longest-running variety show in television history and shared personal stories of the rewarding satisfaction he’s received from entertaining audiences around the world since Sábado Gigante premiered in 1962. Among the crowd was Univision’s president and CEO Randy Falco, Univision Networks president César Conde, president of Univision Interactive and Enterprise Development Kevin Conroy as well as other executives. The crowd also consisted of more than 200 fans that had the opportunity to ask questions and be near their lifelong idol.With its distinct mix of live entertainment, contests, and human interest stories, Sábado Gigante on Univision has been the No. 1 program on Saturday nights among Hispanic viewers over the past 20 years. Kreutzberger has been on the show from the beginning, as creator and host of more than 2,600 episodes. He was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame this March. Sábado Gigante can still be seen on Univision from 8pm–11pm every Saturday night with a special anniversary celebration episode airing on Saturday, October 27, 2012.