Since Jimmy Kimmel Live! premiered on ABC in 2003, its eponymous host has sat down with everyone in the music world from Bruce Springsteen to Lainey Wilson. Throughout that time, Kimmel’s childhood friend, Cleto Escobedo III, has helmed the show’s house band, Cleto and the Cletones. Sadly, the late-night talk show host and his crew are now mourning the loss of Escobedo, who died Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, at age 59.
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Kimmel, 57, announced his longtime bandleader’s death on social media that same day. “To say that we are heartbroken is an understatement,” he wrote. “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.”
Jimmy Kimmel Pays Tribute to Cleto Escobedo in Heartfelt Monologue
Cleto Escobedo and Jimmy Kimmel first met as nine-year-old boys, when Kimmel’s family moved to Las Vegas across the street from Escobedo. Remaining “inseparable” ever since, they shared a love for early ’80s late night TV, especially Late Night with David Letterman.
“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, fighting back tears during the opening monologue of his Nov. 11 show. “Early this morning we lost someone very special, who was much too young to go, and I’d like to tell you about him.”
Escobedo learned to play the saxophone under the tutelage of his father, a musician who worked as a valet for Sammy Davis Jr. and Tom Jones. Taking a break from his studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to pursue music, he toured with Paula Abdul and Marc Anthony before landing the gig on Kimmel’s show.
“Jimmy told me he got the show with ABC and asked me if I wanted to be the band leader,” Escobedo told the International Musician. “Of course I said, ‘Hell, yes!’”
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Kimmel never considered any other possibilities. “Of course, I wanted Cleto to lead my band,” he said. “The idea that anyone other than him would lead the band was terrifying. It had to be him.”
Kimmel told the audience he planned to take the next couple of nights off to grieve his friend.
Featured image by Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
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