Jimmy Kimmel Crushed by Death of Beloved Colleague

Jimmy Kimmel is mourning another heartbreaking loss after the death of longtime costume designer Rodney Muñoz, a friend and colleague who worked alongside the late-night host for nearly three decades.

Muñoz, an Emmy-winning costume designer best known for his work on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” died Oct. 2 at age 60.

Kimmel honored his longtime friend in an emotional social media post Friday, remembering the man behind countless memorable costumes and joking that “no man saw me in my underpants more.”

But Kimmel’s tribute quickly turned serious as he described Muñoz as an exceptionally talented and generous person who became far more than just a member of his television crew.

“He was a devoted son, brother and uncle; a great baker, and a caring friend,” Kimmel wrote.

The host remembered Muñoz as funny, hardworking and sometimes gruff, but said that beneath his tough exterior was an enormous heart.

Muñoz helped create some of the elaborate and deliberately ridiculous costumes used throughout Kimmel’s comedy sketches over the years. Photos shared by Kimmel showed the designer helping transform the host into various characters, including Mr. Potato Head.

His work extended well beyond comedy sketches.

Muñoz styled Kimmel when the late-night star hosted the Academy Awards in 2018 and spent years overseeing wardrobe for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

His work earned national recognition in 2010, when he won a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Costumes for a Variety, Music Program or Special.

Before joining Kimmel’s team, Muñoz worked in costume design on “Late Show with David Letterman” and later contributed to other television productions, including “Fear Factor.”

A cause of death has not been publicly announced.

Muñoz’s friend Joe Dietl said in a tribute that the designer suffered a severe case of COVID-19 during the pandemic, at one point requiring a ventilator and medically induced coma, and experienced health problems afterward. However, neither Dietl nor Kimmel has said those health problems were responsible for his death.

Kimmel said Muñoz had been there for many people during difficult moments in their lives.

“Rodney helped many of us through difficult times,” Kimmel wrote. “We will miss Rodney as he joins his beloved parents in whatever comes next.”

The death marks another painful loss for Kimmel and the close-knit group surrounding his longtime ABC show.

Less than a year ago, Kimmel lost childhood friend and longtime “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” bandleader Cleto Escobedo III.

Escobedo died Nov. 11, 2025, at 59. He and Kimmel had known each other since childhood in Las Vegas, decades before Kimmel chose him to lead the show’s house band, Cleto and the Cletones, when the program launched in 2003.

Kimmel was visibly devastated by Escobedo’s death, calling him a great friend, father, son and musician and telling fans the two had been “inseparable” since Kimmel was 9 years old.

Now, less than 11 months later, Kimmel is saying goodbye to another person who spent decades working by his side.

Muñoz leaves behind a television career filled with memorable creations, an Emmy Award and, judging by the tributes from those closest to him, an impact that went far beyond what viewers ever saw on screen.