Born on December 1, 1950, in Lafayette, LA (his family would later move to Bunkie, LA), Keith Thibodeaux is arguably the most famous child actor in television history. A prodigy drummer, he was discovered at 3 by bandleader Horace Heidt and was cast as Little Ricky Ricardo in 1956.

Thibodeaux continued to act after I Love Lucy went off the air, appearing in other sitcoms and playing Opie's friend Johnny Paul Jason on The Andy Griffith Show. In 1966 Thibodeaux’s parents divorced and the young drummer/actor moved back to Louisiana with his mother and siblings. He graduated from Lafayette high school in 1968 and attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

As many former child actors seem to, Thibodeaux struggled with alcohol and drugs, and his abuse escalated when he joined David and the Giants -- a popular rock band that played mostly around the American south. Two events eventually turned his life around: In 1976 he met Kathy Denton at a David and the Giants concert in Jackson, Mississippi. The couple married after a short whirlwind courtship, and Thibodeaux left the band. Then, in 1978, Thibodeaux was baptized as a Christian. Separately, the leader of David and the Giants, David Huff, and his twin brothers, Clayborn and Rayborn, also became Christians, and in 1979 David and the Giants reformed and went on to become one of the nation’s top contemporary Christian music groups.

Thibodeaux has been Executive Director of Ballet Magnificat!, a Christian ballet company, since 1993. His wife, Kathy, a ballet dancer, is the Founder and Artistic Director of the company. Together they have one child, a daughter named Tara. In 1994 Thibodeaux published his autobiography, Life After Lucy.