Escobedo had led the show’s house band, Cleto and the Cletones, since “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” debuted in 2003.
LOS ANGELES — The cause of death has been determined for Cleto Escobedo III, the longtime bandleader of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” who died Tuesday at age 59, according to his death certificate.
Escobedo died of cardiogenic shock, a condition where the heart cannot pump sufficient blood through the body, according to the death certificate. The document also cited underlying causes including vasodilatory shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation and alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, according to TMZ, which obtained the death certificate. Escobedo died at UCLA Medical Center following complications related to a liver transplant, according to Rolling Stone.
Additional contributing factors listed on the certificate included sepsis, graft versus host disease, immunosuppression, chronic kidney disease and pneumonia.
Jimmy Kimmel announced Escobedo’s death Tuesday morning in an emotional Instagram post, calling him “a great friend, father, son, musician and man.”
“Cleto and I have been inseparable since I was nine years old,” Kimmel wrote. “The fact that we got to work together every day is a dream neither of us could ever have imagined would come true.”
During Tuesday’s show, Kimmel delivered a tearful eulogy for his friend and thanked doctors and nurses at UCLA Medical Center “for taking incredibly good care of him” and the team at Sherman Oaks Hospital “that initially took him in.”
“There’s no one in my life I felt more comfortable with,” Kimmel said Tuesday. “There were thousands of houses for sale in Vegas. My parents happened to buy one that was right across the street from this kid that I would just fit together with so perfectly.”
Escobedo had led the show’s house band, Cleto and the Cletones, since the program’s debut in 2003. He performed alongside his father, Cleto Escobedo Jr., creating a rare father-son partnership in late-night television.
Before joining Kimmel’s show, Escobedo toured as a saxophonist with Paula Abdul and recorded studio albums. He also worked with Marc Anthony, Earth, Wind & Fire’s Philip Bailey and other prominent artists.
The Las Vegas native met Kimmel when Kimmel’s family moved across the street from his in 1977. Their friendship spanned nearly five decades.
Kimmel took the rest of this week off from his ABC talk show. He announced plans to establish a fund for the medical team that cared for Escobedo and for The Animal Foundation in Las Vegas in honor of his late friend’s love of animals.
Escobedo is survived by his wife, Lori, and their two children, Cruz and Jesse.