Paula Abdul is remembering late "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" band leader Cleto Escobedo III of Cleto and the Cletones ... honoring him with a heartfelt tribute post on social media.
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Cleto toured with Paula, as well as Earth, Wind and Fire, and had his own record deal before Jimmy got him on late-night TV ... and Paula says Cleto's "talent and energy were undeniable."
Paula says she first met Cleto back in the day when he was playing saxophone at a small bar inside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas ... and from the moment she heard him, she knew she had to hire him for her band.
Police are investigating a car crash that killed a pedestrian ... which may have been partially captured on a TikTok live stream, TMZ has learned ... the incident went down November 3 in Zion, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago.
Zion PD tells TMZ ... officers responded to a local intersection for a crash involving a 2015 Ford Edge and a pedestrian identified as 59-year-old Darren Lucas. According to police, the driver -- an unidentified 43-year-old woman -- called 911 and remained at the scene, speaking with investigators.
Tragedy for friends and family ... Jimmy Kimmel just announced his show's longtime band leader and childhood friend, Cleto Escobedo III, died Tuesday morning.
Jimmy paid tribute to him in an IG post Tuesday ... saying he's heartbroken, especially since he and Cleto had been inseparable since Jimmy was 9 years old.
Jimmy writes ... "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."
Food influencer Michael Duarte died in a "horrible incident" just days after celebrating his wedding anniversary with his wife.
Michael, who posted cooking videos under the Instagram handle @foodwithbearhands, died Saturday while traveling through Texas ... according to a GoFundMe posted on his IG.
The cause of death is unclear, but the GoFundMe says he "passed away in a horrible incident."
A gnarly fight broke out in front of "So You Think You Can Dance" star Joshua Allen's open casket over the weekend -- and it's caused tension among his family.
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Check out the video circulating online -- you can see a young female leaning over the casket, when all of a sudden, an older woman pounces on her to pull her back ... and an all-out brawl breaks out.
Four-time NBA All-Star Michael Ray Richardson has passed away, the New York Knicks announced Tuesday. He was 70 years old.
MRR was a star at Montana before going No. 4 overall in the 1978 NBA Draft ... and went on to play with the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, and New Jersey Nets over the course of eight seasons.
He was a defensive standout ... leading the league in steals three different times.
The Dallas Cowboys were together for the first time since Marshawn Kneeland's tragic death on Monday ... and the organization held an "extremely impactful, extremely emotional" meeting to allow players to grieve the loss of their teammate.
The details of the gathering were shared by Solomon Thomas, who praised head coach Brian Schottenheimer and his staff for providing resources and giving the team an opportunity to express themselves.
"Extremely proud of coach for how he conducted today, just bringing therapists in the building, bringing people who we needed in the building and just letting us be our true emotions," Thomas said via the team. "Giving us a safe place to let everyone know what's going on inside."
Hayley McNeff’s death rocked the bodybuilding community over the summer -- and TMZ’s learned her cause of death was a drug overdose.
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security has revealed Hayley’s death was caused by acute intoxication from a deadly mix of heroin, fentanyl, 4-ANPP, cocaine, and norbuprenorphine.
The manner of her death, which occurred back in August, was officially listed as accidental.
Legendary KISS guitarist Ace Frehley passed away Thursday, Oct. 16, after his family made the difficult decision to turn off his ventilator ... and today his cause of death has been released, TMZ has learned.
TMZ confirms, Ace died as a result of blunt trauma to the head due to a fall.
According to the Morris County, New Jersey Medical Examiner's report ... Ace suffered a fracture to the back of his skull, a subdural hematoma -- a collection of blood formed between the brain's protective outer layer and the brain itself -- and a stroke. His manner of death was ruled an accident.
The passenger reported dead aboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship Saturday has reportedly been identified by her family as 18-year-old Anna Kepner, from Titusville, Florida.
The family told ABC News they will remember Anna as a "happy, bubbly, straight-A student with a bright future ahead."
The FBI is investigating the mysterious deathof the young woman, who was set to graduate from high school in May, according to ABC. The death was reported as the ship was returning to Miami, Florida from a trip through the Caribbean.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver called Wilkens "one of the game's respected ambassadors" ... adding his on-court contributions were incredible -- yet paled in comparison to his influence on the community of Seattle.
Betty Harford, known for appearances on "Dynasty" and "The Paper Chase," has died.
According to her friend Wendy Mitchell, who confirmed the news in a Facebook post, Harford passed away November 2 with her family at her side.
Harford spent 9 years recurring on the hit '80s soap opera "Dynasty" as cook Hilda Gunnerson. She also appeared in episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "The Twilight Zone" and "The Paper Chase" for which she appeared in 45 episodes as Ms. Nottingham.
Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue reportedly died Sunday morning in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, his death followed a battle with Parkinson's disease. Schefter reports the apparent cause of death was heart failure complicated by the disease.
Tagliabue, a lawyer from Georgetown University, became commissioner of the NFL in 1989 and reigned until September 1, 2006. Under his leadership, the league expanded not only in popularity but in sheer number of teams.
The FBI is probing the death of a passenger aboard a Carnival Cruise Line, according to authorities in Florida.
A rep for Carnival Cruise Line tells TMZ … company executives are working with FBI Miami agents to investigate the death of the guest who was traveling on a Carnival Horizon ship.
The spokesperson also said the ship sailed back to Port Miami as scheduled Saturday morning, but he wouldn't provide further details, citing the ongoing FBI investigation.
The search is over for missing College of Charleston student Owen Kenney, as police have confirmed they found his body.
The Charleston Police Department recovered Kenney's body Saturday morning after receiving a call around 8:45 AM local time about a body in the water near Patriots Point in South Carolina.
The Charleston County Coroner’s Office was able to confirm the identity of the body, police say.
Los Angeles Dodgers player Alex Vesia is mourning the death of his baby daughter, Sterling Sol ... who tragically passed away just two days after the team announced he would not participate in the World Series.
"Our little angel we love you forever & you’re with us always," Alex and his wife, Kayla, said in a shared post on Instagram.
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"Our beautiful daughter went to heaven Sunday October 26th. There are no words to describe the pain we're going through but we hold her in our hearts and cherish every second we had with her."
