Keith Thibodeaux, the last surviving member of the main “I Love Lucy” cast, is looking back on his life-changing experience on the show.
Thibodeaux, who was credited as Richard Keith on the beloved sitcom, shared his memories from playing Lucy and Ricky Ricardo’s son, Little Ricky, during The CW’s new eight-part special, “TV We Love.”
The now-74-year-old actor recalled that Lucille Ball, who played Lucy, created pressure for the rest of the cast during film.
“Lucy was very demanding of everybody being right on cue,” Thibodeaux said of his former TV mom.
But Desi Arnaz, who played Ricky, “treated me really, really good,” Thibodeaux remembered.
“He’d teach us how to fish and ride horses and swim,” Thibodeaux added. “I had a heart for him.”
Thibodeaux also said that Ball and Arnaz — who were married in real life and had two kids together —”took me in as their own child and introduced me to their children, Lucie Jr. and Desi Jr., who I became really good friends with as a kid.”
“We grew up together,” Thibodeaux shared.
Thibodeaux, who was 4 years old when he started on the show, admitted that the job was “a lot of pressure for a little kid.”
“I did other shows after that, but this was the big one, in front of a live audience,” he explained. “You did one take, and that was it. It hurt my hand so much to do, because I wasn’t used to doing that, playing the congas.”
Thibodeaux also looked back on his audition for “I Love Lucy” and his first-ever interactions with Ball and Arnaz.
“I started playing drums when I was like two years old on trash cans in my backyard in Lafayette, Louisiana. At the audition for the I Love Lucy show, they were looking to expand the part of Little Ricky,” he said. “I went to meet Lucy there in her glory, there she was in the flesh, and she looked at me and she said, ‘Well, he’s cute. But what does he do?’ and my dad said, ‘He plays the drums.’”
“So I started jamming on the drums… finally Desi himself came over, started playing with me, stood up after a while, laughed and said, ‘I think we found our Little Ricky,’” Thibodeaux added.
“I Love Lucy” aired on CBS from 1951 to 1957. The series also starred Vivian Vance and William Frawley as Lucy’s friends and landlords, Ethel and Fred Mertz.
Ball and Arnaz were married for 20 years before they split in 1960. The stars had a turbulent relationship that involved frequent arguments and Arnaz having alleged affairs.
Arnaz died at age 69 in 1986, while Ball died at age 77 in 1989.
