Overview
- Escobedo had been off the ABC show for several months, and Kimmel canceled last Thursday’s taping to be by his side as his condition worsened.
- No official cause of death has been released, with some outlets citing unnamed sources who allege complications from a liver transplant.
- Kimmel and Escobedo were childhood friends from Las Vegas who met at age 9 and later worked together on late-night television.
- Escobedo led Cleto and the Cletones since the program’s 2003 launch, serving as musical director for more than two decades.
- Before joining the show, he performed with Paula Abdul, Marc Anthony, and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Phillip Bailey, and his father also played in the house band.