In a new episode Tuesday night, Kimmel delivered a riveting and emotional tribute to Escobedo, his childhood neighbor and best friend, calling him “the nicest, most humble, kind and always funny person” and adding, “Everyone loved Cleto… he was just a great older brother. No baggage. All love.”
Balancing tears with laughter, Kimmel shared stories from their childhood in Las Vegas—riding bikes, making prank calls, and, as he put it, “cutting off each other’s air supply and knocking each other out for fun.” “We would laugh so hard,” he said. “We had our own language that almost no one else understood.”
Near the end of his remarks, Kimmel noted, “We’re going to take the next couple of nights off. But I wanted to be here tonight to tell you about my friend.”
Escobedo had been quietly absent from the ABC show for several months after falling ill. LateNighter understands that Kimmel canceled last Thursday night’s scheduled taping after Escobedo’s condition worsened.
Kimmel is scheduled to return with new episodes next Monday, November 17. There’s been no word yet on whether his scheduled guests for later this week—which were to include Debbie Gibson as part of an ’80s-themed week—will be rescheduled.
Visit subscribe to our daily newsletter to receive stories like this in your inbox.
