Horacio Sanz[1] (born June 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Horatio Sanz, is an American comedian and actor. Sanz was a cast member on the NBCsketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2006.
Early life
Sanz was born on June 4, 1969, in Santiago to Sylvia and Carlos Sanz.[2] He is the youngest of three sons and the younger brother of actor Carlos Sanz. He grew up in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago.[3]
Career
Sanz performed at various theaters in Chicago, including The Court Theater and The Second City, where he was a member of their Chicago ETC theater. While in Chicago, Sanz was also one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) sketch comedy and improv troupe. Sanz can still be seen regularly performing with the sketch troupe at their long-running improv show "ASSSSCAT 3000", at both of the UCB's comedy theaters, located in New York City and Los Angeles.
Saturday Night Live
Sanz joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in September 1998 as the first Hispanic cast member.[citation needed] At the beginning of SNL's 31st season, he was the temporary replacement for Tina Fey as Amy Poehler's Weekend Update co-anchor while Fey was on maternity leave until she resumed her duties on October 22, 2005. On September 20, 2006, SNL announced that Sanz would not be returning due to budget cuts.[4][5]
Sanz returned to SNL as a guest on February 3, 2007, appearing as Elton John, and on November 3, as presidential candidate Bill Richardson and again on the December 17, 2011, Christmas show as himself in a musical number ("I Wish It Was Christmas Today") and as a member of Beethoven's orchestra ("Beethoven: Meet The Band").
In November 2008, Sanz made his first public appearance in almost a year, after having lost 100 pounds (45 kg; 7 st 2 lb). "I've been eating better", Sanz said. "I've been trying to come up with a joke about how I've lost weight and I was going to say, 'I stopped putting nuts in my sundaes.'" He also says, "I never weighed myself when I was at my fattest, because I was scared I might die'." Sanz says he has been working out, too.[8]
On August 12, 2021, a lawsuit was filed against Sanz, accusing him of sexual assault. The plaintiff, remaining anonymous, claimed that Sanz groped her and made sexual comments to her when she was under the age of 18. The lawsuit also stated that both Saturday Night Live and NBC permitted and enabled him to groom and harm her, and accused Sanz of a direct assault that allegedly happened in front of other staff members in May 2002. Sanz responded through his attorney, calling the allegations "categorically false."[10]
NBCUniversal filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in April 2022, stating "Employers owe no general duty to protect third-persons from the possibility of sexual abuse by their employees".[11] In August 2022, the accuser requested that Jimmy Fallon, Tracy Morgan, and Lorne Michaels be added to the lawsuit as defendants, alleging they enabled Sanz's behavior.[11] On November 23, 2022, Horatio Sanz settled with the accuser and the lawsuit was dismissed.[12]
^"Cayendo (Falling)". The Hooray Show (Podcast). SoundCloud. March 30, 2015. Horatio reveals his legal name is Horacio at 5:58. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016.
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