WASHINGTON — Jimmy Kimmel is temporarily stepping away from "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" after the death of his longtime bandleader and childhood best friend, Cleto Escobedo III.

The late-night host grew emotional during Tuesday night’s broadcast as he shared the news with viewers.

“We’ve been on the air for almost 23 years and I’ve had to do some hard monologues along the way,” Kimmel said through tears. “This one’s the hardest because late last night, early this morning, we lost someone very special, who was too young to go.”

Kimmel said he and Escobedo, 53, had been “inseparable” since childhood, growing up on the same block in Las Vegas.

“There were thousands of houses for sale in Vegas,” he said. “My parents happened to buy one that was right across the street from this kid that I would

See Full Page