Cleto Escobedo, III, the man who leads the band on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" died on Tuesday morning, the late night host announced.

In posts on social media, Jimmy Kimmel described Escobedo as a "great friend, father, son, musician and man." He urged his followers to keep Escobedo's family in their thoughts.

"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."

The news comes just after Kimmel postponed a show taping last week for a "personal matter."

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Escobedo, a Las Vegas native, has led "Cleto and the Cletones" for Kimmel's late night show for more than 20 years. Kimmel moved in across the street from Escobedo in 1977 wh

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