Jimmy Kimmel has paused tapings of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” for the remainder of the week, following the passing of his long-time friend and bandleader Cleto Escobedo III. He paid tribute to his late friend during a Nov. 11 episode of his eponymous show.
Kimmel has known Celto since 1979, when the latter moved to Las Vegas with his family. They’ve been friends ever since, and have worked together for over two decades.
“We’ve been on the air for almost 23 years and I’ve had to do some hard monologues along the way,” Kimmel said. “But this one is the hardest because late last night, early this morning, we lost someone very special who was much too young to go.”
The cause of Cleto’s death has not been disclosed. Clearly, it’s hit Kimmel and those around him hard.
“It’s just not fair,” Kimmel said. “He was the nicest, most humble, kind, and always funny person… He was just a great older brother. No baggage, all love. There’s no one in my life I felt more comfortable with.”
Cleto was a gifted musician, having played the alto, tenor, and soprano saxophones during his tenure with the show.
“He was a child prodigy who would get standing ovations in junior high school, if you can imagine that,” Kimmel said.
Jimmy Kimmel Recalled His Childhood With Cleto Escobado III
When addressing the live studio audience on Nov. 11, Kimmel recalled some of his childhood memories with Cleto.
“We were never bored,” Kimmel said. “We were always up to something.” Kimmel shared a selection of memories from their childhood, including the time Escobedo left a condom wrapper next to Kimmel’s parents’ bed. We had so many adventures. We would laugh so hard. We had our own language that almost no one else understood.”
Without Cleto on the show, Kimmel will have to navigate a difficult experience in the coming months. It won’t be easy turning up to work without his lifelong friend sharing the set. Nevertheless, Kimmel will likely look for ways to honor Cleto moving forward, and that likely starts with keeping the show alive and pushing it to new heights. For now, though, everyone involved with “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will be navigating a mourning period, and that could mean further pauses in recording could be in store down the line.
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