Hollywood is in mourning over the death of Jimmy Kimmel Live! mainstay Cleto Escobedo.
Jimmy Kimmel himself shared the devastating news on Nov. 11, writing on Instagram, “Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III.”
“To say that we are heartbroken is an understatement,” the late night talk show host continued. “Cleto 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.”
Jimmy’s fellow comics also shared their condolences, with Wanda Sykes writing in the comments section, “Heartbreaking. So, very sorry.”
“So sorry,” Howie Mandel shared, while Jeffrey Ross added, “Love to his incredible family.”
In an Instagram post of her own, Paula Abdul recalled her first meeting with Cleto, who she toured with in the late ’80s.
“I first met Cleto when he was playing sax in a small bar at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas,” the singer wrote. “I was putting together my band for my first world tour and the moment I heard him, I knew I had to hire him, even though he didn’t have any touring experience yet.”
Praising his “undeniable” talent, Paula added, “Cleto was pure light and soul, both on and off stage. Sending so much love to his family and everyone who loved him.”
And she wasn’t the only music icon to pay tribute. Posting a photo of Cleto fronting his band
“There are no words,” added the drummer, who collaborated with Cleto on his 1995 eponymous album. “You will be missed. I love u.”
Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Melissa Gorga opened up about her relationship with Joe Gorga and how they have maintained their marriage of 21 years.
Melissa and Joe celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary on August 20 and shared the festivities with their fans on Instagram.“21 years with this man. All I want to be is a beautiful example of what marriage is to these kids we made together❤️ So far I think we are doing a great job Happy Anniversary @joeygorga I’ll always be by your side,” Melissa wrote in the caption of her Instagram post.
“Happy Anniversary to my amazing beautiful wife! I love spending time with you. 21 years went by so quick ❤️❤️” Joe wrote in the caption of his own Instagram post dedicated to their anniversary.
The couple recently went to St. Barths together, where an unexpected Bravo crossover occurred.
Joe posted an Instagram photo of himself posing on the beach alongside “Million Dollar Listing New York” agent Steve Gold.
“My Man!” Joe captioned the photo.
Steve, who was vacationing with his wife, Luiza Gawlowska, shared a photo of the Gorgas and their crew sitting on a dinghy.
“Old school Bravo fam,” the realtor wrote in an Instagram story, which Melissa and Joe shared on their respective accounts.
“Always by my side,” Melissa wrote in the caption of her post.
“I met him as a 24-year-old girl, and to think, you know, this many years later we’re still together,” Melissa said in an interview with Bravo’s The Daily Dish. “I wake up every morning, [and] I’m like, ‘You’re still here. Here you are.’ No, honestly, we’re friends.”
Melissa acknowledged that her marriage to Joe was far from perfect, but the pair have always managed to overcome their conflicts as a team.
“I do enjoy going to dinner with Joe,” she said. “We’re both fun people, so it works. And our lives are similar and, you know, we balance each other out in such a way where he lets me be the boss where I need to be, and I let him be the boss where he needs to be.”
Melissa also said that her and Joe have maintained a healthy banter in their relationship.
“I wanna kill him sometimes, but we’re attracted to each other and we’re both fun people,” she explained. “It’s like if you can’t have fun with us, you can’t have fun with anybody because we’re lifers. We love life. We enjoy life. We don’t like the negative. We really don’t. It’s hard for us to do negative. It’s always been my struggle on the show (
“It’s never easy, a marriage,” Melissa continued. “We definitely have our ups and downs…We struggle, we fight, we battle. We’re both very strong-minded people.”
“When Joe and I have an argument, we have an argument, but I’d be the first one to move on with my level head, and he’ll hold that grudge for, like, five more days,” she said. “You got five [days]. I start counting down the days until he’s gonna let it go.