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Cleto Escobedo III — who had served because the bandleader on Jimmy Kimmel Reside for the reason that present started again in 2003 — has handed away.
He was simply 59 years outdated.
Cleto Escobedo attends as Hold Reminiscence Alive hosts star-studded lineup at annual “Power Of Love” gala at MGM Grand Backyard Enviornment on February 22, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Picture by Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Photographs for Hold Reminiscence Alive)
Jimmy Kimmel broadcasts loss of life of lifelong pal
“Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” Kimmel wrote.
“To say that we’re heartbroken is an understatement. Cleto and I’ve been inseparable since I used to be 9 years outdated.
“The fact that we got to work together every day is a dream neither of us could ever have imagined would come true. Cherish your friends and please keep Cleto’s wife, children and parents in your prayers.”
The reason for Escobedo’s loss of life is unknown right now.
Kimmel and Escobedo had been childhood buddies, and the host has said on quite a few events that there’s nobody else he would’ve employed to steer his band.
Cleto Escobedo III attends the annual Hold Reminiscence Alive “Power of Love” gala profit for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Heart for Mind Well being honoring Jimmy Kimmel at MGM Grand Backyard Enviornment on February 22, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Picture by Ethan Miller/Getty Photographs)
Kimmel paid tribute to their friendship in a 2016 phase for Escobedo’s fiftieth birthday.
“Cleto had a bicycle with a sidecar attached to it. We called it the side hack. I would get in the sidecar and then Cleto would drive me directly into garbage cans and bushes,” the comedian recalled on the time.
He added that Escobedo may typically be discovered “on the lawn with his BB gun just shooting at me” and that they’d steal his dad’s shotgun and “shoot kites out of the sky,”
In a later interview with ABC7, Kimmel described his bandleader as “a child prodigy.”
“The whole school would gather to watch. He’d get standing ovations. It was a crazy thing.”
Escobedo, Kimmel defined, “toured with Earth, Wind and Fire, Paula Abdul” and “had his own record deal” earlier than becoming a member of his present.
Kimmel recalled that hiring Escobedo was non-negotiable when he landed his late night time gig.
Cleto Escobedo attends as Hold Reminiscence Alive hosts star-studded lineup at annual “Power Of Love” gala at MGM Grand Backyard Enviornment on February 22, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Picture by Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Photographs for Hold Reminiscence Alive)
“I’ll tell you one thing. It had to have my band leader, Cleto,” the host informed ABC7, including:
“I was nervous, because I thought they’d say, ‘We don’t want your friend to be the band leader.’ So I took the president of ABC to see him play with his band, and he loved it.”
“Of course I wanted great musicians, but I wanted somebody I had chemistry with. And there’s nobody in my life I have better chemistry with than him.”
Cleto’s father, Cleto Escobedo Sr., can be a member of Kimmel’s home band.
His passing comes at a time when Kimmel’s present has been making headlines because of the host’s ongoing feud with Donald Trump.
Our ideas exit to Cleto Escobedo’s family members throughout this extremely tough time.
