Jimmy Kimmel’s sister, Jill Kimmel, shared a heartfelt tribute to Jimmy Kimmel Live! bandleader Cleto Escobedo III following his death.
“I keep forgetting that you’ve moved on from here…but I’ll never forget how much I loved you,” Jill, 55, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, November 16, alongside a snap from what appeared to be Escobedo’s memorial. “It’s been a beautiful life with you in it, Cleto. Rest well, my brother. 💔.”
Jimmy, 58, revealed last week that Escobedo, who was a childhood friend of his, died at the age of 59. Escobedo has been the leader of the late-night show’s band, Cleto and the Cletones, since its 2003 premiere.
“Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” the late-night host wrote via Instagram on November 11. “To say that we are heartbroken is an understatement. 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. Cherish your friends and please keep Cleto’s wife, children and parents in your prayers.”
Escobedo’s cause of death was later revealed to be “cardiogenic shock … with vasodilatory shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation and alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver as the underlying causes,” per his death certificate obtained by TMZ.
After sharing the news of Escobedo’s death, Jimmy paid tribute to his late friend in an emotional monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
“There was a boy who lived on my block. … He was a little bit older than me. He was a year older than me. His name was Cleto,” Jimmy said on November 11 while fighting back tears. “Eventually we met. We became friends — and not just regular friends. We became 24/7 ‘Mom, please let me sleep over, please’ kind of friends. One summer I slept over at the Escobedo house 33 nights in a row, for real. My mother used to make me get down on my knees and beg to sleep at his house in front of him, and I would gladly do it, ’cause we were never bored.”
Jimmy shared that his and Escobedo’s friendship continued through adulthood. When he was offered the opportunity to host his own late-night show, Jimmy wanted Escobedo by his side.
Jimmy Kimmel’s eponymous late-night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, will take a brief hiatus this month. “We’re going to take the next couple of nights off,” Kimmel, 57, said during his Tuesday, November 11, monologue, which he used to eulogize his longtime bandleader, Cleto Escobedo III, after his recent death. “I want to be here […]
“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,” he said. “I was so scared they would say no and I would have to have another band. I had to work up the nerve to bring it up. Because I knew [saying], ‘My best friend from growing up plays the saxophone, he could lead the band’ wasn’t a great pitch.”
In addition to having Cleto, Jimmy brought on his friend’s dad, Cleto Escobedo Sr.
“Not only did I want Cleto to lead the band, I wanted his dad to be in the band,” Kimmel continued, noting that Cleto and his father auditioned for an ABC executive before officially landing the gig. “We’ve been working together every day for almost 23 years now.”
