Remember the little boy from 'I Love Lucy'? He's 67 and we can hardly recognize him now
Many grew up loving the cute little boy who acted as Little Ricky on I Love Lucy. But since he’s been out of the limelight for a while, not a lot of people know what he looks like now.
He started his career as a child actor and rose to fame on the show on May 6, 1957. Here’s an update on what happened to him and where he is now.
Keith Thibodeaux, 66, stole our hearts over 60 years ago on the comedy series. Now he is one of the last surviving members of the show.
Thibodeaux revealed that he was thankful to everyone who allowed him to be part of the cult classic. The former child actor also admitted that he still missed his TV parents, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball.
They both passed away in 1986 and 1989 respectively. He spoke about how the pair was kind towards him as he was very young.
The former child actor shared that Arnaz had been kind while Ball was "naturally very motherly." He revealed that they both occasionally gave him treats.
They would even give him occasional treats. Thibodeaux also shared that he had a very good relationship with his TV parents' real children.
"It was an interesting show, but it was a very special show. It seems to be very memorable and people of any different generation can appreciate the humor and silliness of it."
Keith Thibodeaux
The star first got into the entertainment business on the Horace Heidt variety show when he was just 4-years-old. At the time, he was praised for his amazing drumming skills.
In 1995, his father took him for an audition for the part of Ricky Ricardo Jr. Ball came up to him and his father and asked the father what his son could do other than being so small and cute.
His father replied that Thibodeaux was a drummer. After Arnaz saw what the 4-year-old could do, he told the executives of the show that he was perfect for the role.
The former child actor appeared in over 35 episodes of the show that lasted 5 years. Thibodeaux revealed that his favorite episode of the show was Lucy and Superman.
It was his favorite because he got to work with George Reeves who played Superman at the time. He was starstruck because he had acted with Superman.
Thibodeaux also had the opportunity to meet great actors like Jimmy Durante and French actor Maurice Chevalier because of Arnaz. The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour was a sequel to the popular show and the former child actor returned to his role a few years later.
But the show didn’t last long as Arnaz and Ball announced that they were getting a divorce. Things didn’t go so well for Thibodeaux after the completion of the show and he suffered from depression at one point.
In 1974, he decided that it was time to end it all and he became a Christian. This, he felt, helped to look at things from a different point of view and he has been better ever since.
He quit acting and joined his wife Kathy, a professional ballet dancer, and became the executive director of Ballet Magnificat! Thibodeaux claimed that he hadn’t watched the popular sitcom in years but said that he was very proud of the show's success and his own accomplishments.