Jimmy Kimmel has had an emotional year. First, there was the suspension of his show, following remarks about the death of Charlie Kirk. Then his resounding return.
But on Nov. 11, he faced his audience and spoke from the heart about the death of his bandleader, Cleto Escobedo. Escobedo, 59, was more than a musician and coworker — he was also Kimmel’s best friend from childhood.
The two grew up as neighbors in Las Vegas in the 1970s, and quickly became inseparable. "Cleto taught me all the dirty stuff," Kimmel joked, telling stories about "carousing" with friends in cars and trips to Vegas novelty stores, where Escobedo would come home with pockets full of things like large rubber penises.
"We had so many adventures. We would laugh so hard, we had our own language," the late-night host said. "We loved all the same things. Baseball, fishing, boxing, (Muhammad) Ali, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Woody Allen, Michael McDonald, Huey Lewis, Stevie Wonder, and most of all David Letterman."
Kimmel shared the story of how Escobedo was a "phenomenal sax player" who followed in the footsteps of his father. Years earlier, the elder Cleto Escobedo had given up his career because he didn’t want to go on the road and miss out on raising his family. His son, Cleto III, eventually played professionally, even touring with Paula Abdul and landing a record deal. When the album didn’t take off, he went back out on the road and played in local bars with his band.
