Overview
- Kimmel announced Escobedo’s death early Tuesday in an Instagram post and opened Tuesday’s broadcast with an emotional monologue remembering him.
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! will take the next couple of nights off as staff and family mourn, with no return date specified.
- Variety reported that Escobedo’s medical condition was the reason a November 6 taping was abruptly canceled, and he had been quietly absent from recent shows.
- Escobedo led Cleto and the Cletones since the show’s 2003 debut and previously toured or recorded with Paula Abdul, Marc Anthony and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Philip Bailey.
- He is survived by his wife, Lori, and their two children; his father, Cleto Escobedo Jr., also performs in the show’s band.