{"id":296979,"date":"2025-11-17T11:49:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T11:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/296979\/"},"modified":"2025-11-17T11:49:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T11:49:07","slug":"last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver-pays-tribute-to-cleto-escobedo-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/296979\/","title":{"rendered":"Last Week Tonight With John Oliver Pays Tribute to Cleto Escobedo III"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201cJimmy Kimmel Live\u201d bandleader Cleto Escobedo III<\/a>, who died last week at 59, was honored on Sunday night during the opening credits of \u201cLast Week Tonight With John Oliver<\/a>\u201c: A photo of Escobedo, with his saxophone, was spotted under the word \u201cmaestro.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tOliver and team frequently use the last image in their credits before cutting to the host behind his desk to honor a newsmaker from the previous week \u2014 and given the tight camaraderie that exists among the late night shows, it\u2019s probably no surprise that \u201cLast Week Tonight\u201d would want to recognize a fallen colleague. <\/p>\n

\n\tKimmel announced Escobedo\u2019s passing on Tuesday via an Instagram post<\/a>, and on that night\u2019s episode<\/a>, he shared the news and some of his memories of his childhood best friend. \u201cTo say that we are heartbroken is an understatement,\u201d Kimmel wrote in his Tuesday post. \u201cCleto and I have been inseparable since I was 9 years old. 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\u2019s wife, children and parents in your prayers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Friday, Kimmel announced that he and the show had launched fundraisers for UCLA Medical Center and Las Vegas\u2019 Animal Foundation in memory of Escobedo. \u201cCleto was always kind and eager to help others. As we mourn his loss, we have started two fundraisers to celebrate his life and give back. The first is for UCLA Medical Center where he received such incredible care. Together we can help vulnerable patients and families in need of financial assistance during hard times. And to honor his love of animals, the The Animal Foundation in our hometown of Las Vegas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe UCLA Medical Center<\/a> fundraiser noted, \u201cIn memory of our friend Cleto, we\u2019d like to thank all the hardworking specialists, doctors, and nurses at UCLA. They worked tirelessly and generously to give him the best care. Cleto was always kind and eager to help others. To honor his generous spirit, we\u2019d like to help vulnerable patients and families in need of financial assistance during hard times. Let\u2019s help others in Cleto\u2019s name.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd at The Animal Foundation<\/a>, the fundraiser noted, \u201cCleto was a beloved friend, father, and animal lover whose heart was always open to pets in need. His family shares this message: \u2018Cleto was a compassionate animal lover. He loved each of his rescue dogs like they were family. Please consider making a donation to The Animal Foundation in his hometown of Las Vegas. Cleto would have loved his friends and family helping to provide safety, healing and homes for pets in need.\u2019 In honor of Cleto\u2019s lifelong love for animals, gifts made through this page will support The Animal Foundation\u2019s work to save and care for vulnerable pets right here in Las Vegas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to People magazine<\/a>, which credited TMZ with first receiving Escobedo\u2019s death certificate, \u201ccardiogenic shock is listed as the immediate cause of death. Vasodilatory shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation and alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver are listed as underlying causes.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tEscobedo played the alto, tenor and soprano saxophones and also sang as part of the Cleto and the Cletones house band. Outside of performing on Kimmel\u2019s show, Escobedo toured with Paula Abdul, Marc Anthony and Earth, Wind & Fire\u2019s Phillip Bailey.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen Kimmel launched \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!<\/a>\u201d on ABC in 2003, he asked Escobedo to lead the house band. \u201cI always thank him for this gig because he could have tried to get somebody that was established and would help the show more, being a bigger name or whatever,\u201d Escobedo told ABC7 in a\u00a02013 interview<\/a>. \u201cBut he trusted me with this job, and I\u2019ve tried to do the best I can.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cJimmy Kimmel Live\u201d bandleader Cleto Escobedo III, who died last week at 59, was honored on Sunday night…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[150830,88,11575,22340,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-296979","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-cleto-escobedo-iii","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-jimmy-kimmel-live","11":"tag-last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver","12":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}