Full Name Antonio Sanchez Other names El Gangster | Name Antonio Sanchez | |
Born January 1, 1961 (age 63) ( 1961-01-01 ) Puerto Rico Occupation Host, producer and comedian | ||
Antonio Sánchez (born January 1, 1961 in New York City) is a Puerto Rican radio and television personality, show host and producer. Known for his crass humor, he is also known for his nickname, El Gangster. As of 2008, his television show, No te Duermas, has been on the air for 19 years.
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Early life
Antonio Sánchez was born in New York City to Antonio Sánchez, Sr. and Zoraida Casiano. He was the oldest of four children. When he was 9 years old, his family returned to Puerto Rico, and settled in the town of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico.
Radio Host
Sánchez started studying at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico in San Germán, and he began working as a disc jockey at college parties with his now partner Angél Santiago. He was also in the midst of the late 1970s CB Radio craze where he used the handle "Tony Toyota".
In 1979, while studying, he started working at a local station called Radio Disco. He was then called to work at Cosmos 94 in Mayagüez with two shows called La Hora del Rusheo (1981) and El Meneo (1982). He also worked for Salsa 63. It is during this time that he donned the name of "El Gangster". According to him, he is extremely shy, and his radio persona was a way to let go a more extroverted attitude.
In 1983, he was asked to work in San Juan, so Sánchez left his studies and moved to the capital. He started working at QBS AM Radio with El Pon de la Mañana with "Funky Joe", and later started working in El Gufeo Matutino at Z-93 with "Moonshadow".
In 1994, he returned to work with his friend, hosting El Bayú de la Mañana at SalSoul radio station. They remained together in the show from 1994 to 2007 when they were replaced due to differences with management. On January 2008, they started hosting a new show called El Circo de La Mega at 106.9 FM. www.elcirco.net
Television works
In 1985, Sánchez started working on several television shows like A Gozar (WAPA-TV), El pueblito Nius and El Show del mediodía. The next year, he hosted the game show Lo tomas o lo dejas.
In 1987, Sánchez and friend Hector Marcano were cast as co-hosts of television game show La Hora de Oro on Puerto Rico's Super Siete channel. The show enjoyed a successful run for two years in Puerto Rico, period in which Sanchez's face also became familiar to the Puerto Rican public. During this time, he also performed in comedies like El Cuartel de la Risa (1989) and Adultos Solteros (1990), both with Rafael José.
In 1989, Sánchez was approached by producer Gabriel Suau to intervene in a show called No te Duermas. Although originally the idea was to have another host while Sánchez performed comedic sketches, Sánchez presented Suau an idea he had about a television program, and he gave him the opportunity. On February 1990, No te Duermas debuted on Channel 7 (Super Siete). After a year of success, the show moved to Channel 2 (Telemundo) on October 1991. For two years, the show peaked at #1 on local TV popularity lists, and for the following years it remained among the Top 10.
In 1992, Sánchez also began production of Minga y Petraca, where he plays one of the main characters. The show was a spin-off of a sketch from No te Duermas, where two ladies (played by Sánchez and Johnny Ray) would constantly gossip on their balcony about local celebrities. On March 2005, the show was cancelled because Telemundo Puerto Rico wanted to open a new telenovela spot at 9:00pm, making all the sitcoms and programs at this spot to be axed, only leaving Sanchez's No Te Duermas, as a daily show.
In 2008, after 18 years, Sánchez announced he would retire the show to take a break and dedicate himself to other ventures. The last show aired on December 30, 2008.
Other works
Sánchez also became a manager of other entertainers. Among the people he has managed is merengue singer, Giselle.
Personal life
Sanchez married with Nelva Rodríguez on June 4, 1983 after meeting her in college. They have three children: Francheska, Gabriel, and Anaís. Sánchez has been known for rarely commenting about his personal life.
Sánchez enjoys fishing and is the owner of a Harley Davidson motorcycle.
Controversies and legal problems
On May 2005, chaos broke in his No Te Duermas show when singer Banchy Serrano, the musical guest, slapped another show guest as the show was being shown live. As a consequence, both Serrano and Sánchez now face lawsuits and could lose 450,000 dollars each if found responsible for the act.