Jimmy Kimmel opened Tuesday night’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” with what he described as one of the most emotional monologues of his career, paying tribute to his lifelong best friend and bandleader, Cleto Escobedo III, who died earlier that morning at 59.
“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,” Kimmel said as he held back tears.
“Early this morning we lost someone very special, who was much too young to go, and I’d like to tell you about him.”
Kimmel spoke warmly about Escobedo, calling him the rare friend who always made sure he felt supported. “He would call me. He’d send me notes all the time. Big stuff, little stuff. Telling me, ‘Oh, this was so funny. I love this. I’m proud of you.’ He was just a great older brother. No baggage, all love. There’s no one in my life I felt more comfortable with.”
He ended the opening with a quiet reminder to viewers: “Always cherish your friends. We’re not here forever.”
A Friendship That Started in Childhood
Kimmel and Escobedo’s friendship began in 1977, when Kimmel’s family moved to the suburbs of Las Vegas. Escobedo lived, as Kimmel described, “across the street and two houses over.”
They quickly became inseparable. “Not just regular friends either,” Kimmel said. “We became like 24/7, ‘Mom, please, let me sleep over’ kind of friends.”
He recalled one summer when he slept at the Escobedo home 33 nights in a row. They spent their childhood playing baseball, dressing as cowboys, boxing, attempting body building, and navigating their teenage years together. Later, they stood beside each other as best men at their weddings.
That bond never faded, even as Escobedo went on to a successful music career, playing saxophone on tour with Paula Abdul and recording studio albums.
How Escobedo Joined ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’
Kimmel said one of the greatest joys of his career was bringing Escobedo onto “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” as his bandleader.
“In September 2002, I got a talk show out of nowhere,” Kimmel recalled. “When you do a show like this you need a desk, you need an announcer, you need a Guillermo, and you need a band. And of course, I wanted Cleto to lead my band. The idea that anyone other than him would lead the band was terrifying. It had to be him.”
Kimmel arranged an audition with ABC executive Lloyd Braun. Escobedo and his father, Cleto Escobedo Sr., played “Pick Up the Pieces.” Braun was sold instantly.
“Lloyd saw the father and son together. He said, ‘I love it.’ And he just got up and left,” Kimmel said. “And we’ve been working together every day for almost 23 years.”
He recalled the connection they shared. “We had our own language that almost no one else understood. We didn’t have to say anything. We’d sit here at rehearsal every day, look at each other, and that would be it.
Kimmel Thanks Doctors, Friends & Escobedo’s Family as He Takes Time Off
Although Escobedo’s cause of death has not been disclosed, Kimmel expressed deep gratitude to the medical teams who cared for him.
He thanked the staff at UCLA Medical Center “for taking incredibly good care of him,” and the team at Sherman Oaks Hospital, “who initially took him in.”
“I’m grateful for my friends, Cleto’s friends, everyone who checked in on him, everyone who called and visited him, everyone who has been helping his family,” he said.
Kimmel also thanked Escobedo’s parents directly. “Mostly, I want to thank Cleto’s parents, Cleto and Sylvia, for making him and for sharing him with me and with all of us, and for treating me like their own son, always.”
He closed the show by introducing one of Escobedo’s favorite people, Eddie Murphy, as the night’s guest.
Kimmel told viewers he plans to “take the next couple nights off,” but said he needed to be present on Tuesday “to tell you about my friend.”
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