Jimmy Kimmel has had a rough couple of months. In September, his late-night TV show was pulled off the air temporarily because of remarks Kimmel made about the recent murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Now the comedian has been dealt another harrowing emotional blow. His cherished pal and bandleader, Cleto Escobedo III, 59, has passed away. Kimmel, 57, addressed the loss on air on Tuesday night, weeping as he did so. The passing of his friend clearly hit him very hard. Per People, the cause of Escobedo's death has not been made public at this time.
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Kimmel Posted About Escobedo's Death
Per Instagram, Kimmel mournfully wrote, "Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III. To say that we are heartbroken is an understatement. 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."
Kimmel Talked With Great Sadness of Escobedo on His Show
Per the New York Post, Kimmel was obviously broken up about the untimely death of his longtime buddy. He shared this in his Jimmy Kimmel Live! monologue. "We've been on the air for almost 23 years and I've had to do some hard monologues along the way, but this one's the hardest because late last night, early this morning, we lost someone very special who was much too young."
He continued, "In 1977, my family moved to Las Vegas. My parents sold our house in Brooklyn, and we moved 3,000 miles across the country." He and Escobedo lived near each other and quickly became as close as brothers.
He Was a Remarkable Sax Player
Kimmel recalled that Escobedo was a real phenom on the sax. "He was a child prodigy who would get standing ovations in junior high school, if you could believe that." Per the outlet, Escobedo's father also played the sax and was a member of Kimmel's show's band led by his son, Cleto and the Cletones.
Kimmel explained, "So when Cleto Jr. became a professional musician, Cleto Senior was thrilled. He got to live vicariously through his son, who started playing in bars, and clubs, and lounges around Las Vegas." He eventually went on the road with established musical stars like Philip Bailey and Marc Anthony.
Twenty-Three Years Ago, Escobedo Became Kimmel's Bandleader
The late-night host said, "When you do a show like this, you need a few things. 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."
Kimmel added with emotion, "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."
He mentioned, "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."
