What Is Keith Thibodeaux’s Net Worth?

Keith Thibodeaux, also known by his stage name Richard Keith, is an American former child actor and musician with an estimated net worth of $1 million. He gained fame for portraying Little Ricky on the iconic TV show “I Love Lucy” from 1956 to 1957 and continued in “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” until 1960. Notably, Thibodeaux is the last surviving regular cast member of “I Love Lucy.” Between 1963 and 1966, he appeared as Johnny Paul Jason on “The Andy Griffith Show.” His television appearances also include roles in “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 to acting in the film “C Me Dance.” A talented drummer from a young age, he toured with the Horace Heidt Orchestra and joined the rock band David and the Giants in 1969. His autobiography, “Life After Lucy,” was published in 1994, and he became the executive director of Ballet Magnificat!, his wife Kathy’s company, in 1993.

Early Life

Born Keith Raymond Thibodeaux on December 1, 1950, in Lafayette, Louisiana, he was raised in a Roman Catholic family in Los Angeles. He attended St. Victor’s Elementary School, St. Jane Frances de Chantal School, and Notre Dame High School. Following his parents’ separation in 1966, Keith moved back to Lafayette with his mother and siblings, enrolling at Lafayette High School, where he played drums in various rock and R&B bands. Thibodeaux briefly attended college in Mississippi, humorously noting he “majored in drinking beer and playing pool,” while also performing with the band David and the Giants.

Acting Career

Demonstrating a natural talent for drumming, Thibodeaux began playing at a very young age. By the age of three, he was already earning $500 a week (equivalent to $6,017 in 2025 dollars) while touring with the Horace Heidt Orchestra.

In 1955, Keith’s father took him to audition for the role of Little Ricky on “I Love Lucy.” Reflecting on that day, Thibodeaux recalled, “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.'” Lucie Arnaz, Lucy and Desi’s daughter, remarked that Thibodeaux was like family, saying, “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 on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” from 1957 to 1960. Due to the complexity of his last name, he was credited as “Richard Keith.” Between 1963 and 1966, he appeared as Johnny Paul Jason on “The Andy Griffith Show” and made guest appearances on shows like “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 also appeared in the 1975 TV movie “A Shadow in the Streets,” the 2009 film “C Me Dance,” and voiced a character in 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 performed with the group from 1969 to 1977 and from 1979 to 1989, rejoining them in 2007. The band released over 15 albums between 1977 and 1996, with Thibodeaux contributing to later albums such as “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, he became a born-again Christian. In 2017, the band received a Jimmie Rodgers Award for their contributions to Mississippi music, performing at Peavey Electronics Corporate headquarters with fellow honorees. In 1993, Keith took on the role of executive director at Ballet Magnificat!, his wife’s company. The company’s website notes his role as the “all-purpose worker,” handling tasks from driving the bus to operating equipment. Ballet Magnificat! tours both domestically and globally, and in 2017, Keith and his wife Kathy established a branch of the 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.”