1 of 3 | Jimmy Kimmel (L) and Molly McNearney attend the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 2024. Kimmel paid tribute to his longtime friend and bandleader Cleto Escobedo III, on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Tuesday. File Photo by Alex Gallardo/UPI |Â License Photo
Nov. 11 (UPI) — Jimmy Kimmel gave an on-air tribute to his longtime friend and bandleader Cleto Escobedo III following news of Escobedo’s death.
Escobedo, the saxophone-playing bandleader for Jimmy Kimmel Live!, died Tuesday morning, Kimmel announced in a statement that day. Escobedo was 59.
“Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” Kimmel said in the statement posted to Instagram.
“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.”
Kimmel fought tears as he talked about their friendship during his monologue Tuesday evening on Live!
“Eventually we met, we became friends, and not just regular friends. We became like 24-7, ‘mom please let me sleep over, please’ kind of friends,” Kimmel said, describing their childhood together. “…We were never bored. We were always up to something.”
“We had so many adventures. We would laugh so hard. We had our own language that almost no one else understood,” Kimmel added.
“It’s just not fair. He was the nicest, most humble, kind and always funny person,” he continued through tears.
No cause of death was mentioned in the statement, in which Kimmel urged the public to “cherish your friends and please keep Cleto’s wife, children and parents in your prayers.”
The announcement came days after a taping of the show was postponed last week.
Escobedo formed the band Cleto and the Cletones in 1995 and joined Kimmel for his late-night program when it first aired in 2003, Entertainment Weekly reported.
Along with working in late night, he also toured with Paula Abdul and Marc Anthony, among others.
“My heart is heavy today as we say goodbye to the incredible Cleto Escobedo III,” Abdul said in a statement on X.
She said she met Escobedo when he was playing sax at a small bar in La Vegas’ Caesars Palace. She was putting her band together at the time and hired him.
“His talent and energy were undeniable, and he went on to have an amazing career,” she said. “Cleto was pure light and soul, both on and off stage. Sending so much love to his family and everyone who loved him.”
Sally Kirkland
Sally Kirkland attends the premiere of documentary “Where to Invade Next” in Los Angeles on November 7, 2015. Kirkland, who starred in “Charlie’s Angels” and “Anna,” died at the age of 84 on November 11. Photo by Christine Chew/UPI | License Photo
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