JokersUpdates.com: Talk Shows - Jimmy Kimmel shares heartbreaking news of band leader Cleto Escobedo III's death: 'Inseparable since I was 9 years old'

Jimmy Kimmel shares heartbreaking news of band leader Cleto Escobedo III's death: 'Inseparable since I was 9 years old'
The leader of Cleto and the Cletones was 59.

By Lauren Huff November 11, 2025 5:50 p.m. ET

Jimmy Kimmel is mourning the death of longtime friend and Jimmy Kimmel Live bandleader, Cleto Escobedo III. He was 59.

The late-night host shared the news of his death on Instagram, writing, "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 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."

As Kimmel alluded to, he and the Cleto and the Cletones leader first met as kids growing up in Las Vegas. "Jimmy was at the house every day, slept over at our house," Escobedo said in a 2013 interview with ABC7. "I would wake up early in the morning and I would hear [a noise], and I said, 'That's Jimmy.' Because Jimmy had a little allergy problem."…..

https://ew.com/jimmy-kimmel-band-leader-cleto-escobedo-iii-dies-age-59-11847568

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