A Guide To I Love Lucy
During the series' sixth and final season, the character of Little Ricky became a regular character. He was played by a five-year-old boy. His real name was Keith Thibodeaux, but he acted under the pseudonym of Richard Keith.
Keith Thibodeaux was born on December 1, 1950 in Lafayette, Louisiana. He was a child prodigy on drums. When he was three years old, he was discovered by bandleader Horace Heidt, and hired to play in his band. At the age of three, Keith was already touring with a national orchestra! (Now that's a prodigy.) He was earning $500 a week, and he was billed as "The World's Tiniest Professional Drummer".
In the spring of 1956, Lucy and Desi were planning the last season of I Love Lucy. Among the changes that they made for the season was involving the character of Little Ricky more in the stories. Little Ricky's age was jumped up to four, and they needed a new actor to play him. In May of 1956, they interviewed almost two hundred boys for the role. One of them was Keith, who was now five years old.
Besides his incredible drumming ability, Keith actually looked like a miniature Desi Arnaz. Desi took one look at Keith, and he knew that he had found the actor to play Little Ricky. He said that Keith was "...a remarkably talented youngster, and there will be plenty for him to do besides Lucy". Keith was signed on at $300 a week. It was a comedown in salary, but it gave him his most famous role. For the role, Keith Thibodeaux's name was changed to Richard Keith.
After Lucy, Keith occasionally appeared on The Andy Griffith Show. He played Johnny Paul Jason, a friend of Opie Taylor's. But by age fifteen, his Hollywood career was over. So he moved back to Louisiana with his mother. In he, Thibodeaux joined a rock group called David and the Giants. The group primarily toured throughout southern states and enjoyed a few regional hits.
In 1971, when he became 21, he received the final payment of $8,000 from a trust fund set up during his days on I Love Lucy. He spent half of that payment on a sports car and the rest on sound equipment for the band.
In 1976, he married a ballet dancer named Kathy Denton, and they moved to Southern California. In 1979, he returned to Louisiana and rejoined David and the Giants. The band became a Christian rock band. In 1989, he left the band a second time to pursue other interests.
In January of 1991, Keith became the manager for his wife’s company, Ballet Magnificat! As of 2005, he was their executive director.
Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Vivian Vance William Frawley Jerry Hausner
Elizabeth Patterson Doris Singleton Richard Keith Mary Jane Croft Frank Nelson