Heartbroken Jimmy Kimmel has announced the death of his childhood friend and Jimmy Kimmel Live! bandleader, Cleto Escobedo III.
Writing on Instagram, Kimmel shared: ‘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 late night host saiard in a statement.
‘The fact that we got to work together every day is a dream neither of us could ever have imagined would come true,’ Kimmel added.
‘Cherish your friends and please keep Cleto’s wife, children and parents in your prayers.’
Escobeda’s death on Tuesday, aged 59, explains the reason why Kimmel abruptly canceled his show last Thursday.
Kimmel was reportedly seen at a hospital on November 6 after missing that show, exchanging emotional hugs outside a Los Angeles hospital, with his long-time friend’s father Cleto Escobedo Jr, a musician in his house band Cleto and the Cletones.
Saxophonist Cleto Jr, 82, his wife Sylvia, 80, and Kimmel’s wife Molly McNearney, 47, met each other in the hospital parking lot.
Jimmy Kimmel announced the death of his childhood friend and Jimmy Kimmel Live! bandleader, Cleto Escobedo III, on Instagram
The announcement said the pair had been inseparable since they were nine years old and expressed gratitude that they had been able to work together on the late night show
Kimmel and Cleto III grew up on the same block in Las Vegas – memories so cherished that the late night host later named his company, Meadow Lark Lane Productions, after the street where they lived
Cleto III grew up on the same street as the chat show star in Las Vegas.
Reached by phone on Monday, Cleto III’s wife Lori, 49, sobbed and said, ‘everything is not ok’, but declined to comment further.
Cletones keyboardist Jeff Babko, 53, told the Daily Mail that fears for Cleto III’s health were ‘probably justified’.
‘The show will be releasing an official release and Jimmy is going to speak on it tonight on the program,’ he said. ‘That’s probably all I’m supposed to say.’
Entertainment Weekly reported that the live filming of Kimmel’s show last Thursday was postponed due to a ‘personal matter’ involving the host, after audience members with tickets for that evening received notifications telling them not to show up at the ABC studio in Hollywood.
Band frontman Cleto III, 59, has two children, a 16-year-old daughter and a younger son, as well as a pet pit bull.
Haunted Jimmy Kimmel was seen out and about in Los Angeles four days after the Daily Mail learned he was at the hospital, tearfully embracing his childhood friend Cleto Escobedo III’s parents in the parking lot
Kimmel’s childhood friend Cleto III had his father, 82-year-old Cleto Jr, as a member of the Jimmy Kimmel Live! house band, Cleto and the Cletones
‘Cleto and I have been inseparable since I was nine years old,’ Kimmel posted on Instagram
Cleto III’s wife Lori, 49, sobbed when contacted by the Daily Mail by phone and said, ‘everything is not ok’, but declined to comment further
Jimmy Kimmel’s late show was cancelled on Thursday, with no explanation given for the sudden move
Band frontman Cleto III, 59, has two children, a 16-year-old daughter and a younger son, as well as a pet pit bull
Kimmel’s time growing up in Vegas with Cleto III was clearly meaningful to the chat show star, to the point that he named his company Meadow Lark Lane Productions after the street they lived on.
Kimmel hired Cleto III to front his show’s house band from the inception of Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2003.
In an ABC mini documentary in 2021, Cleto III recalled the moment he got the call from his childhood friend.
‘Jimmy called and said, “Hey man, I think I’m going to have this show, do you want to be my band leader?” Of course I was like, “Yes,” the singer and saxophonist told ABC.
‘It’s been the best gig ever.’
Cleto III’s father played with groundbreaking late 1960s rock and soul band Los Blues, whose fans included Sammy Davis Jr and Elvis Presley.
He thought he had retired for good until his son asked him to join the horn section of the ABC show’s house band for his old neighbor, thus forming the Cletones.
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