Cleto Escobedo III, longtime bandleader of the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" show, has died, Jimmy Kimmel announced on Tuesday. He was 59 years old.

The late-night talk show host mourned the death of one of his oldest friends — whom he met when he was 9 years old — writing on Instagram that "[t]o say that we are heartbroken is an understatement."

"The fact that we got to work together every day is a dream neither of us could ever have imagined would come true. Cherish your friends and please keep Cleto's wife, children and parents in your prayers," Kimmel wrote.

This image released by Disney shows Cleto Escobedo on the set of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in March 2025. Randy Holmes/Disney via AP

Escobedo and Kimmel met as children in Las Vegas, where they grew up across the street from each other.

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