Cleto Escobedo III’s Cause Of Death Revealed

A cause of death has been determined for Jimmy Kimmel Live! musical director Cleto Escobedo III after he died at age 59 on Tuesday.

The talk show’s bandleader died of cardiogenic shock, according to his death certificate, limiting the heart’s ability to pump enough blood to keep him alive.

Underlying causes included vasodilatory shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation and alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, according to TMZ, with contributing factors like sepsis, graft versus host disease, immunosuppressed, chronic kidney disease and pneumonia.

After missing an episode last week of his ABC talk show over a “personal matter,” Kimmel paid a heartfelt tribute to his friend on-air upon his return. As of Tuesday, Kimmel has taken the rest of the week off.

“Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” he announced on Instagram. “To say that we are heartbroken is an understatement. Cleto and I have been inseparable since I was nine 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’s wife, children and parents in your prayers.”

Escobedo has worked on Jimmy Kimmel Live! since it premiered in 2003 and was the leader of Cleto and the Cletones, the late-night show’s in-house band.