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 on the TV 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 TV 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 made a comeback, appearing in the film “C Me Dance.” He started 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 the executive director of his wife Kathy’s company Ballet Magnificat! in 1993.

Early Life

Keith Thibodeaux was born Keith Raymond Thibodeaux on December 1, 1950, in Lafayette, Louisiana. He grew up in a Roman Catholic household in Los Angeles, and he attended St. Victor’s elementary school, St. Jane Frances de Chantal School, and Notre Dame High School. In 1966, Keith’s parents split up, and he moved back to Lafayette with his mother and siblings. There, he attended Lafayette High School and was the drummer in various 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 early age, and when he was just three years old, he made $500 per week ($6,017 in 2025 dollars) when he toured with the Horace Heidt Orchestra.

In 1955, Keith’s father took him to an audition for the role of Little Ricky on “I Love Lucy.” Thibodeaux said of that day, “I walked on the set and there was Lucy, she was standing there and she was looking at me. She said ‘OK he’s cute, but what does he do?’ My dad said, ‘Well he plays the drums’ and she said, ‘Oh, come on–I can’t believe that.’ Then, she says ‘Look, we have a drum set over there, go ahead and let him play.’ Eventually Desi Arnaz himself came over and started jamming with me on the drums and then he kind of stood up and said ‘Well, I think we found Little Ricky.'” Lucy and Desi’s daughter, Lucie Arnaz, said that Thibodeaux became a part of her 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] was responsible for teaching him the drums. He came over to our house on many weekends and traveled with them during the summer. My mother kind of adopted him. He is in all of our home movies and photographs growing up and was a great kid, and still is.”

Thibodeaux played Little Ricky on “I Love Lucy” from 1956 to 1957 and “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” from 1957 to 1960. He was billed as “Richard Keith” on “I Love Lucy” because Desi Arnaz thought that “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 TV movie “A Shadow in the Streets” and the 2009 film “C Me Dance,” and he lent his voice to a 2019 episode of the podcast “Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures.”

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Music 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 1979 to 1989, then he began playing with them again in 2007. David and the Giants released more than 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 he developed a drug problem, and in 1974, he became a born again Christian. In 2017, the band was honored with a Jimmie Rodgers Award for their contributions as Mississippi musicians, and they performed with their fellow honorees at Peavey Electronics Corporate headquarters. In 1993, Keith became the executive director of Ballet Magnificat!, his wife’s company. According to the company’s website, “He started as the ‘all-purpose worker,’ doing whatever was necessary to help, from driving the bus to operating light and sound equipment to office work.” Ballet Magnificat! tours both nationally and internationally, and in 2017, Keith and his wife, Kathy, formed a Ballet Magnificat! dance company in Brazil.

Personal Life

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