Days after Jimmy Kimmel Live! unexpectedly canceled an episode, the show’s host revealed tragic news – Cleto Escobedo III, one of the musicians, passed away.
Videos by Suggest
In a post on Instagram, Kimmel revealed the news that his longtime friend died at the age of 59.
“Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” the comedian shared. “To say that we are heartbroken is an understatement.”
Kimmel further shared, “Cleto and I have been inseparable since I was nine years old. The fact that we got to work together every day is a dream neither of us could ever have imagined would come true. Cherish your friends and please keep Cleto’s wife, children and parents in your prayers.”
Born in 1966, Escobedo started his professional music career in the mid-1980s. He and Kimmel first met when they were nine years old after the comedian’s family moved to Las Vegas. They lived across the street from one another and attended junior high school together.
Escobedo III went on to form his band, Cleto and the Cletones. The group has been performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! since the show’s inception.
Escobedo even co-wrote the show’s theme song with Kimmel’s brother, Jonathan, and Les Pierce.
The musician is survived by his wife, Lori, and two children.
Jimmy Kimmel Pays Tribute to Cleto Escobedo III in Talk Show Monologue
Kimmel further spoke out about Escobedo III’s passing during the show’s latest episode.
“We’ve been on the air for almost 23 years and I’ve had to do some hard monologues along the way,” he told the audience. “But this one’s the hardest because late last night, early this morning, we lost someone very special who was much too young.”
Reflecting on his friendship with Escobedo III, Kimmel recalled meeting his late friend as a tween.
“In 1977, my family moved to Las Vegas,” he continued. “My parents sold our house in Brooklyn, and we moved 3,000 miles across the country. [Escobedo III] was a year older than me. His name was Cleto, but we called him Junior.”
Kimmel recalled at one point sleeping at Escobedo’s house “33 times in a row.” He noted that he would never forget Escobedo for being “a phenomenal sax player from a very young age.”
“He was a child prodigy who would get standing ovations in junior high school if you could believe that,” Kimmel pointed out.
Kimmel also reflected on his longtime friend’s impact on the late-night show.
“When you do a show like this, you need a few things,” he said.. “You need a desk, an announcer, a Guillermo, and you need a band. Of course, I wanted Cleto to lead my band. We grew up watching Dave (Letterman) and Paul (Shaffer), and the idea that anyone other than him would lead the band was terrifying. It had to be him.”
Fighting back tears, Kimmel added, “I’ve often said that the single best thing about doing this show was getting the opportunity to allow Cleto Senior to pick up where he left off in 1966 and become a musician again with his son.”
While praising Cleto’s mom, who was in the audience, Kimmel added, “Everyone loves Cleto. Everyone here at the show. We are devastated by this. It’s not… It’s just not fair. Even though I’m heartbroken to lose him, I’m going to take yet another lesson from him and acknowledge how lucky I was to have him literally at my side for so many years.”