What led Jimmy Kimmel to break down during live show?

Jimmy Kimmel was in tears on Tuesday night as he opened Jimmy Kimmel Live! with an emotional tribute to his late friend and bandleader Cleto Escobedo III. 

The 57-year-old comedian revealed the devastating news that Escobedo, 59, had passed away earlier that day.

Kimmel, visibly shaken, told viewers: “We’ve been on the air for almost 23 years, and I’ve had to do some hard monologues along the way, but this one’s the hardest. 

We lost someone very special, much too young.” 

Sharing a touching childhood memory of his late friend, he added, “Everyone loves Cleto… everyone here at the show. We are devastated. It’s just not fair.”

American television host also announced that Wednesday and Thursday’s episodes would be cancelled, saying, “We’re going to take the next couple of nights off.” 

He explained that the Nov. 11 show went ahead because Cleto wouldn’t have wanted them to miss interviewing Eddie Murphy.

“To say we are heartbroken is an understatement,” he wrote on Instagram, urging fans to keep Escobedo's family in their prayers. 

For those unfamiliar, Escobedo, leader of the house band Cleto and the Cletones, had been a close friend of Kimmel since childhood. 

He had toured with legends including Earth, Wind & Fire and Paula Abdul before joining the show in 2003. 

The late-night host described him as a “child prodigy” and someone he had “better chemistry with than anyone in my life.”

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