‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Show Makes Big Change Following Cleto Escobedo’s Death

November 20, 2025, 10:41am

Jimmy Kimmel Live! is paying tribute to the show’s longtime bandleader and Jimmy Kimmel’s childhood friend, Cleto Escobedo III, following his death on Nov. 11 at the age of 59.

Monday, the late-night show revealed that after Escobedo’s passing, the house band had been renamed, going from Cleto and the Cletones to just the Cletones after 23 years on the air.

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Escobedo founded Cleto and the Cletones in 1995, eight years before Kimmel landed his ABC show and leapt at the chance to bring in his dear friend and his father, Cleto Escobedo Jr., as musicians on the show.

Jimmy Kimmel and Cleto Escobedo III (Photo by Richard Cartwright / Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Last week, Kimmel announced Escobedo’s death in an emotional Instagram post. “Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” he wrote, in part. “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.”

At the top of Tuesday’s show, Kimmel paid tribute to his longtime friend with a tearful monologue, saying that the world had lost someone “very special who was much too young.”

Kimmel recalled being hired at Jimmy Kimmel Live! and bringing his friend into the mix. “I knew, ‘My best friend from growing up plays the saxophone. He could lead the band,’ wasn’t a great pitch,” he shared. “But it had to happen. And, not only did I want Cleto to lead the band, I wanted his dad to be in the band.”

Looking back on his time with Escobedo, Kimmel reflected, “We had so many adventures. We would laugh so hard. We had our own language that almost no one else understood. We didn’t have to say anything. We’d sit here at rehearsal every day. We didn’t have to look at each other.”

“Everyone loves Cleto… everyone here at the show,” Kimmel added of his late friend. “We are devastated by this. It’s not… It’s just not fair.” He concluded, “Cherish your friends. We’re not here forever.”