Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel<\/a> announced Tuesday that he is taking the rest of the week off following the death of his best friend and the show\u2019s bandleader, Cleto Escobedo III, also known as “Jr.”<\/p>\n Kimmel gave an emotional tribute to his lifelong friend before revealing that he would take a short break from “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” where Escobedo’s father also plays in the band.<\/p>\n “Cherish your friends, we\u2019re not here forever,” Kimmel said in his closing monologue. “Thank you for indulging me, we\u2019re going to take the next couple of nights off. I wanted to be here tonight to tell you about my friend and Cleto loved Eddie Murphy, and he wouldn\u2019t have wanted us to miss this.”<\/p>\n Jimmy Kimmel Reveals He Never Thought His Show Would Be Back On Air<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The late-night<\/a> host opened the show by announcing the passing of Escobedo and opening up about the decades-long friendship he shared with him and his family.<\/p>\n “We\u2019ve been on the air for almost 23 years, and I\u2019ve had to do some hard monologues along the way,” Kimmel said. “But this will\u2026 This one\u2019s the hardest because late last night, early this morning, we lost someone very special who was too young to go.”<\/p>\n Read On The Fox News App<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n During his monologue, Kimmel thanked everyone who had supported him and Escobedo\u2019s family during this difficult time, and thanked his late-pal’s family for always treating him as if he was their own son.<\/p>\n Chuck Schumer Questions Whether Epstein Was ‘The Real Reason’ Jimmy Kimmel’s Late-night Show Was Canceled<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n “And mostly, I want to thank Cleto’s parents, Cleto and Sylvia, for making him and for sharing him with me and with all of us. And for treating me like their own son, always,” a tearful Kimmel said, as Escobedo\u2019s mother looked on from the audience and his father sat among the band members.<\/p>\n “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” bandleader Cleto Escobedo attends the Power of Love gala at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Feb. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada.<\/p>\n The comedian<\/a> recalled that the two were big fans of David Letterman growing up, and shared how it was “a really big deal for both of us,” when Kimmel first appeared on “The David Letterman Show” in 1999.<\/p>\n Escobedo, like his father, played the saxophone and was described as a child prodigy by Kimmel. The late-night host added that Escobedo’s mother would come to the taping of nearly every show just to “be near her husband and son” as they worked.<\/p>\n Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n “She\u2019s working those rosary beads in the audience every night. She\u2019s probably halfway through a Hail Mary right now. This is a very tight family. This is the kind of family that when they aren\u2019t together, they call each other 15 times a day. It\u2019s a small, tight family,” he told the audience.<\/p>\n While Kimmel did not disclose how or where Escobedo passed away, he shared that the 59-year-old bandleader had recently been treated at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” bandleader Cleto Escobedo Jr. and his father, Cleto Escobedo, on set April 1, 2014.<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n