George Ortuzar (born August 14, 1961), also known as George O, is a
Cuban American
Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or t ...
actor, comedian, and television host best known for saying uhhhhhhh and his work on
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
, including hosting the shows ''
Lente Loco'', ''La Piñata Loca'', and ''Giorgiomania''. Ortuzar has also appeared in several films and commercials, and was featured in advertisements promoting the
Hollywood Park Racetrack
Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to t ...
, for which he served as the marketing manager during its last 12 years of operation. Since 2015, he has hosted the online sports show ''Better Sports News'' on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.
Career
Television
Ortuzar's career on television began in 1991, when he joined
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
after being discovered by production executives. After numerous appearances on ''
Sabado Gigante
Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The day's na ...
'', he went on to become the host of ''
Lente Loco'' in 1993, alongside
Odalys Garcia. Years later, he starred in two children shows ''La Piñata Loca'' and ''Giorgiomania'', and has been featured in numerous commercials and infomercials over the years. Ortuzar was also a contestant on the game show ''
The Moment of Truth'' in 2008. On February 14, 2015, Ortuzar began hosting the
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
sports news series ''Better Sports News'' alongside sportscaster Jeff Chapman.
Other work
Ortuzar was the spokesperson and marketing manager for the
Hollywood Park Racetrack
Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to t ...
from 2001 until its closure in 2013. As of 2014, Ortuzar works as a jockey agent for the
Los Alamitos Race Course
Los Alamitos Race Course is a horse racing track in Cypress, California. The track hosts both thoroughbred and quarter horse racing. The track has the distinction of holding four quarter horse stakes races with purses over $1 million, more than ...
. In 2015 George was hired by C.A.R.F (California association of racing fairs) to be their track announcer/morning line maker.
Personal life
Ortuzar has been dating his longtime girlfriend Lily Marian since 2001. He has three children from a previous marriage, Alex his eldest and twins Georgie and Natalie Ortuzar. He has two granddaughters, Sofia and Marilyn. George has two step-children that he has raised with his girlfriend Lily Marian.
In his appearance on the second episode of ''
The Moment of Truth'', after truthfully answering no to the question of whether or not he'd ever gambled away one of his children's college funds (his son, who was present, had previously been told by Ortuzar's ex-wife that he had gambled his college fund away), Ortuzar declared that he felt that he "was a winner" even if he left with nothing. He ended up leaving with $100,000.
The Moment of Truth - Episode 2
/ref>
Filmography
Film
*''Summer Job'' (1989)
*''Otto - Der Außerfriesische'' (1989)
*''Popcorn
Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated; the same names also refer to the foodstuff produced by the expansion.
A popcorn kernel's strong hull contains the se ...
'' (1991)
*''Chains of Gold
''Chains of Gold'' is a 1991 American crime drama film starring and co-written by John Travolta. It was directed by Rod Holcomb and included one of the early performances of Joey Lawrence, who was nominated for Young Artist Award for his role i ...
'' (1991)
*''Folks!
''Folks!'' is a 1992 American comedy-drama film directed by Ted Kotcheff, written by Robert Klane and starring Tom Selleck as a selfish yuppie who takes in his parents after their house burns down. It was panned by critics, earning Selleck a Raz ...
'' (1992)
*'' Triumph Over Disaster: The Hurricane Andrew Story'' (1993)
*''Station 4'' (2011, 2014)
*''Family Physician'' (2012)
*''Muy Macho'' (2012)
Television
*'' Lente Loco'' (1993–1996)
*''Extralarge
''Extralarge'' (original title: ''Detective Extralarge'', aka ''Zwei Supertypen in Miami'') is a television series starring Bud Spencer, Philip Michael Thomas, and Michael Winslow.
Production
The series was first announced in October 1990. The ...
'' (1993)
*''Premio Lo Nuestro
The Lo Nuestro Awards or Premios Lo Nuestro (Spanish for "Our Thing") is a Spanish-language awards show honoring the best of Latin music, presented by Univision, a Spanish-language television network based in the United States. The awards began in ...
'' (1995)
*''La Piñata Loca
''La Piñata Loca'' (English language, English: ''"The Crazy Pinata"'') is an American Children's television series, children's Block programming, programming block on Spanish language television network Univision, which debuted on March 30, 1996, ...
'' (1996–1999)
*''Giorgiomania'' (1997–1999)
*'' The Moment of Truth'' (2008)
*''Medium Rare'' (2010)
References
External links
Official website
*
*
*
George Ortuzar demo reel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortuzar, George
Living people
1961 births
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American male actors
American children's television presenters
American entertainers of Cuban descent
American male comedians
American male film actors
American male television actors
American stand-up comedians
Contestants on American game shows
Hispanic and Latino American male actors
Male actors from Miami
University of Miami alumni