Producer Toni Cruz dies at 78

Producer Toni Cruz died this Friday, July 11, at the age of 78. A member of the humorous musical group La Trinca, at the end of the 80s he made the leap into television production, creating, together with Josep María Mainat, Gestmusic, the driving force behind successful formats such as 'Operación Triunfo', 'Martian Chronicles', 'Starfall' or 'Your face sounds familiar to me'.

Gestmusic signed other formats such as No passa res, Tariro, tariro, Betes i films, Olé your videos, Love at first sight, Si l'encerto, l'endevino, Honeymoon, Força Barça, Don't laugh, it's worse, Without shame, Songs of our life, Those short crazy people, Menudas Estrellas, The national parody, Your great day, A century of songs, Moors and Christians, The bus, Glamor Hotel, There you, The famous farm, Eurojunior, The best years, Gavilanes, Look who's dancing, You are worth it y catch a million, among many others. In 2001 they created Operation Triumph, the most watched program in the history of television in Spain, exported to more than 20 countries.

After acquiring control of the Dutch Endemol, in 2004, Toni Cruz was appointed president of Endemol Spain, grouping Gestmusic, Zeppelin and Diagonal TV, a position he held until 2010. Subsequently, Cruz and Mainat sold their majority stake in the production company to Endemol Shine Group in 2017, although they remained linked to the company. Two years later they founded a new production company, Reset TV. In 2022, FC Barcelona signed Toni Cruz as an external consultant to lead Barça Studios and launch Barça One, the new audiovisual content platform of the Barça team.

Cruz's family has reported that "Toni has gone on an indefinite tour. We don't know exactly if to heaven, hell or directly on a set, but we know that, wherever she is, she is already putting things in order."

"Founder of that trio that destroyed Franco's regime with guitars and double (or triple) meaning rhymes, Toni showed that he could criticize, laugh and make music while still being loved by the people and feared by depending on which ministers."

"Toni didn't want tears (well, maybe a little, which always brings up the audience), but rather songs, smiles and some well-placed jokes. He died surrounded by his children and those closest to him," the family notes in their statement.