Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld (born December 28, 1940), better known by his stage name,

Don Francisco, is a Chilean television host, and a popular personality on the Univision network
reaching Spanish-speaking viewers in the United States. He is best known for hosting the former
variety shows Sbado Gigante and Don Francisco Presenta.

Contents

1 Biography
2 Career
3 Television career
4 Personal Life
5 Honors
6 Celebrity advertising
7 Lawsuit
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

Biography
Don Francisco was born in Talca, Chile, to Erick Kreutzberger and Anna Blumenfeld Neufeld, German
Jewish immigrants who fled to Chile to escape Nazi persecution.[1][2]

Career
Francisco started a TV show in 1962, and he named it Sbado Gigante on Canal 13. In it, he adapted
many of the formulas he had seen in American television to the Chilean public. The show became an
instant hit that had lasted over 53 years. In 1986, the show began to be produced by Univision in
Miami, Florida, with the same formula used in Chile, with the slightly different name of Sbado
Gigante. In the following six years Kreutzberger developed a three-hour-long variety show, including
contests, comedy, interviews and a traveling camera section. The traveling camera, or Cmara Viajera
(originally La Pelcula Extranjera, The Foreign Movie), has taken "Don Francisco" to over 185
countries worldwide, many of them more than once.[citation needed] Kreutzberger in his show has
interviewed many celebrities, including Roberto Durn, Cristina Saralegui, Sussan Taunton, Charytn,
Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Bill Gates and many others. In addition, his show has
launched the careers of famous entertainers, such as Lili Estefan, Sissi Fleitas, and numerous more.
Kreutzberger appeared as himself in the movie The 33, about the 2010 Copiap mining accident.

Television career
Kreutzberger has also hosted Chilean versions of Quin merece ser millonario? (which is based on the
original British format of the international Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? franchise), Deal or No
Deal, and Atrapa los Millones (which is based on the American format of the international Money
Drop franchise). He hosted the first three seasons of Atrapa los Millones before retiring from the
program in 2014; Diana Bolocco became the show's new host for the program's fourth season in 2015.
He voiced Governor Bernardo de Galvez in a 2003 episode, "The Great Galvez", of a PBS Kids show
Liberty's Kids.
In 2012, Sabado Gigante celebrated 50 years on air.
On April 18, 2015, Don Francisco announced his show would come to an end in September after 53
years on air; Sbado Gigante aired its final episode called "Hasta Siempre" on September 19, 2015.

Personal Life
Kreutzberger promotes and hosts the Teletn, a TV charity show for disabled Chilean children; there
have been 22 telethons over 30 years. He is also the Hispanic spokesperson for the US Muscular
Dystrophy Association, in which he also appears in a pre-recorded piece on its annual telethon, to
appeal to Hispanics to donate.
Kreutzberger was also the first host of the Teletn USA telethon, which was introduced in December
2012 on the Univision network; the event and charity is based on the popular Teleton(Chile) the
Chilean Teleton.