'I Love Lucy' Child Actor Keith Thibodeaux Muses On His Time With Lucille Ball And Desi Arnaz

May 14, 2020

I Love Lucy is one of the most legendary comedy shows of all time. Starring the real-life couple of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as Lucy and Ricky, the show is now considered a classic.

While Lucy and Ricky might have been the stars of the show, Keith Thibodeaux’s Little Ricky was an important part of the show’s later seasons. In an interview with the New York Post, Thibodeaux talked about some of his most important memories from the show and how he got along with stars as big as Ball and Arnaz.

Now the last surviving cast member, Thibodeaux first reflected on the show’s most famous Christmas episode, which aired on December 24, 1956 and is still a staple of the holiday season each year. In the episode, the family decorates the Christmas tree as Lucy and Ricky reminisce on holidays past with their friends Fred and Ethel Mertz, who were played by William Frawley and Vivian Vance, respectively. Among the presents waiting for Little Ricky were a bicycle and a drum set.

Thibodeaux recalls how Ball gifted him two sets of drums for the episode. One set was his to keep and one was for the show. At 69-years-old, Thibodeaux says that he still has one of the drum sets, which he recently restored. Other than the drum set, Thibodeaux says that his most powerful memories of the episode revolve around all the toys on the show’s set. In a moment of excitement for a kid, Thibodeaux says that I Love Lucy writers Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr. gave him a Lionel train set for Christmas that year.

Aside from the Christmas episode, Thibodeaux says that many of his most fond memories revolve around Ball and Arnaz themselves. When he first met Ball, Thibodeaux recalled how kind she was, telling him to call her Lucy instead of the more formal Miss Ball. Ball also made sure that no one ever used any bad language when Thibodeaux was nearby. Treating him like her real child, Thibodeaux says that Ball took care of him while they were filming and gave him presents for his birthday.

Thibodeaux also felt a personal connection to Arnaz. Since Thibodeaux is Cajun and Arnaz was Latin, the young child star felt an instant rapport with the seasoned actor. The two also shared a love of percussion instruments, which was regularly featured on the show. In a solemn moment, Thibodeaux says that Arnaz’s death in 1986 hit him particularly hard.

Closing out his interview, Thibodeaux says that while he will occasionally watch reruns of I Love Lucy, he mostly changes the channel when he sees it on his television screen. Nevertheless, Thibodeaux’s daughter and grandson have a great appreciation for the series, which makes the former child star happy that other generations are interested in his work.

In sum, Thibodeaux’s interview is a window into the daily behind the scenes operations at I Love Lucy. Thibodeaux’s insights show how much fun it was for him to work on the series and how kind his costars were to an up-and-coming actor.

What do you think of Thibodeaux’s interview? What are your favorite I Love Lucy episodes? Send this on to any friends and family who are fans of the show!