Keith Thibodeaux Net Worth | Celebrity Net Worth

What is Keith Thibodeaux’s net worth?

Keith Thibodeaux (also known as Richard Keith) is an American former child actor and musician who has a net worth of $1 million. Keith Thibodeaux is best known for playing the role of Little Ricky in the television series “I Love Lucy” (1956-1957) and “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” (1957-1960). Thibodeaux is the last living regular cast member of “I Love Lucy.” From 1963 to 1966, he had a recurring role as Johnny Paul Jason on the television series “The Andy Griffith Show.” Keith also appeared in episodes of the television series “Shirley Temple’s Storybook,” “Route 66,” “Ben Casey,” “The Bill Dana Show,” “The Lucy Show,” “The Joey Bishop Show” and “The Farmer’s Daughter.” In 2009, Thibodeaux returned and appeared in the film “C Me Dance.” He began playing drums at a young age and toured with the Horace Heidt Orchestra. He joined the rock band David and the Giants in 1969. His autobiography, “Life After Lucy,” was published in 1994. Keith became executive director of his wife Kathy’s Ballet Magnificat company. in 1993.

Early life

Keith Thibodeaux was born Keith Raymond Thibodeaux on December 1, 1950 in Lafayette, Louisiana. She grew up in a Roman Catholic home in Los Angeles and attended St. Victor Elementary School, St. Jane Frances de Chantal School, and Notre Dame High School. In 1966, Keith’s parents separated and he returned to Lafayette with his mother and siblings. There he attended Lafayette High School and was a drummer in several rock and R&B bands. Thibodeaux briefly attended college in Mississippi, where he “majored in drinking beer and playing pool” and played with the band David and the Giants.

acting career

Thibodeaux began showing skill on the drums at a very young age, and by the time he was just three years old, he was earning $500 a week ($6,017 in 2025 dollars) when touring with the Horace Heidt Orchestra.

In 1955, Keith’s father took him to audition for the role of Little Ricky in “I Love Lucy.” Thibodeaux said of that day: “I walked on set and there was Lucy, she was standing there and looking at me. She said, ‘Okay, he’s cute, but what is he doing?’ My dad said, ‘Well, he plays drums,’ and she said, ‘Oh, come on, I can’t believe it.’ Then she says, ‘Look, we’ve got a drum kit there, go ahead and let him play.’ Finally, Desi Arnaz himself came up and started playing with me on the drums and then he got up and said, ‘Well, I think we found little Ricky.'” Lucy and Desi’s daughter, Lucie Arnaz, said Thibodeaux became part of their family, stating: “For a long time I thought Keith was related to us, because he went everywhere with us. Desi (Jr.) considered him his best friend and [Keith] He was in charge of teaching him the drums. He came to our house many weekends and traveled with them during the summer. My mother adopted him. He’s in all of our home movies and pictures growing up and being a great kid, and he still is.”

Thibodeaux played Little Ricky in “I Love Lucy” from 1956 to 1957 and in “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” from 1957 to 1960. He was billed as “Richard Keith” in “I Love Lucy” because Desi Arnaz thought “Thibodeaux” was too difficult to pronounce. From 1963 to 1966, Keith had a recurring role as Johnny Paul Jason on “The Andy Griffith Show.” He also guest starred on “The Sheriff of Cochise” (1958), “Shirley Temple’s Storybook” (1961), “Route 66” (1961), “Ben Casey” (1961), “The Bill Dana Show” (1963), “The Joey Bishop Show” (1964) and “The Farmer’s Daughter” (1966). Thibodeaux appeared in the 1975 television movie “A Shadow in the Streets” and the 2009 film “C Me Dance,” and lent his voice to a 2019 episode of the “Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures” podcast.

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musical career

In the late ’60s, Thibodeaux joined the Mississippi-based rock band David and the Giants. He played with the group from 1969 to 1977 and from 1979 to 1989, then began playing with them again in 2007. David and the Giants released over 15 albums between 1977 and 1996, and Keith later played on the albums “Still Rockin” (2014), “Live in Pearl” (2017), “The Best Is Yet To Come” (2017) and “What are you waiting for?” (2019). Thibodeaux left the band after developing a drug problem and, in 1974, became a born-again Christian. In 2017, the band was honored with a Jimmie Rodgers Award for their contributions as Mississippi musicians, and performed with their fellow honorees at the Peavey Electronics Corporate headquarters. In 1993, Keith became executive director of Ballet Magnificat!, his wife’s company. According to the company website, “He started out as a ‘jack of all trades’, doing whatever it took to help out, from driving the bus to operating lighting and sound equipment and working in the office.” Magnificent Ballet! He tours both nationally and internationally, and in 2017, Keith and his wife, Kathy, formed a Ballet Magnificat. Brazilian dance company.

personal life

Keith met ballet dancer Kathy Denton in Mississippi in 1976 and they married that same year. The couple has a daughter named Tara. In 1977, they lived briefly in Southern California, where Thibodeaux was a member of the pop group Starbuck, known for the 1976 hit “Moonlight Feels Right.” In 1994, he published the autobiography “Life After Lucy,” which he co-wrote with Audrey T. Hingley. In the book, Keith “reveals his life with Lucy, Desi and his family, his struggles with fame, insecurity, drugs and rock and roll, and how he found a new beginning in Jesus.”