For the football player, see Keith Thibodeaux (American football).

Keith Thibodeaux (born December 1, 1950) is a former child actor

Child actor

The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...

 and musician, best known for playing "Little Ricky" in the I Love Lucy

I Love Lucy

I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...

and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour

The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour

The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour is a CBS television situation comedy. The show is a collection of occasional specials rather than a regular series and originally served as part of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse...

television shows.

Career

He is credited for those series as Richard Keith. His last name is Cajun French and was changed by Desi Arnaz for the show since "Thibodeaux" was thought to be somewhat difficult to pronounce for the average American viewer.

As a child Thibodeaux also made numerous appearances on The Andy Griffith Show

The Andy Griffith Show

The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...

, between 1962 and 1966, as Opie's friend "Johnny Paul Jason". He also accepted small roles on other popular television shows.

Thibodeaux is also a musician who showed skill on the drums at a young age. Thibodeaux was making $500 a week at the age of 3, touring with the Horace Heidt Orchestra, when he was "discovered" by Desi Arnaz

Desi Arnaz

Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is probably best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American TV series I Love Lucy, starring with Lucille Ball, to...

 and Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball

Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...

, who hired him for the role of "Little Ricky" because he looked so much like Desi. He frequently played the drums on the show.

In 1969, Thibodeaux joined a rock group called David and the Giants

David and the Giants

David and the Giants began as a rock band in Laurel, Mississippi; with the Huff brothers: David, Clay, and Ray—with Jerry Parker on drums, touring the Southeast during the 1960s. In 1977 they switched to a Christian rock format. They continued to sing and record together through 1999. Recording...

. The group primarily toured throughout southern states and enjoyed a few regional hits. In 1971, when he reached the age of 21, he received the final payment of $8,000 from a trust fund set up during his days on I Love Lucy

I Love Lucy

I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...

. He spent half of that payment on a sports car and the rest on sound equipment for the band.

Thibodeaux developed a drug problem and left the band, which broke up. His difficulties led to his becoming a Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

. Other band members converted and the group got back together. The band released nearly ten albums in the 1980s and 1990s for Epic Records

Epic Records

Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

 and the band's own label Giant Records.

In 1990, he became the manager for his wife’s company, Ballet Magnificat.

Thibodeaux's role in I Love Lucy is featured in the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center

Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center

The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center is a museum in Jamestown, New York, dedicated to the lives and careers of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The museum officially opened in 1996 "to preserve and celebrate the legacy of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and enrich the world through the healing powers of love...

 in Jamestown, New York

Jamestown, New York

Jamestown is a city in Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. The population was 31,146 at the 2010 census.The City of Jamestown is adjacent to Town of Ellicott and is at the southern tip of Chautauqua Lake...

.

Personal life

In 1976, Thibodeaux married a ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 dancer named Kathy Denton

Kathy Thibodeaux

Kathy Thibodeaux is co-founder and Artistic Director of Ballet Magnificat!.Born Kathy Denton, she studied under American Ballet Theater’s Albia Kavan and Rex Cooper at the Jackson Ballet School...

. The couple then moved to Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

. It was around this time that Thibodeaux converted to Protestant Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

.

Thibodeaux returned to the southern United States in 1979, where he and his wife settled in Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...

.

External links

• Ballet Magnificat! website