Lucille Ball's Last Surviving Co-Star Recalls Her Demanding Nature and the Joy of Working on I Love Lucy
Keith Thibodeux, the last surviving cast member of I Love Lucy, shares his cherished memories of working with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. At just four years old, he joined the show as Little Ricky, the Ricardos' son, in 1953, shortly after the couple welcomed their own first son, Desi Arnaz Jr. Now, at 74, he reflects on the pressure of filming with Lucille and the fun times with Desi.
In an interview with the CW's TV We Love series, Keith recalled how Lucille and Desi "took me in as their own child and introduced me to their children, Lucie Jr. and Desi Jr., who I became really good friends with as a kid." He added that the three of them "grew up together." I Love Lucy ran for six seasons from 1951 to 1956.
Keith shared how he landed the gig, noting that he started playing drums at two years old on trash cans in his backyard. At the audition, Lucille Ball herself looked at him and said, "Well, he's cute. But what does he do?" When his dad mentioned his drumming skills, Lucille and Desi joined in, and Desi said, "I think we found our Little Ricky."
Keith also revealed the demanding nature of filming with Lucille. "It's a lot of pressure for a little kid. You did one take and that was it," he said. "Lucy was very demanding of everybody being right on cue. Desi treated me really, really good. He'd teach us how to fish and ride horses and swim. I had a heart for him."
The book 'Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television' by Todd S. Purdum revealed a surprising detail about Lucille and Desi's relationship. When Lucille gave birth to their first daughter, Lucie, Desi secretly put a different name on the birth certificate than the one Lucille had chosen, honoring her mother and maternal grandmother, Lucie Desiree.
Lucille had initially picked the names Susan and Desi Jr. for their first child. However, she experienced multiple miscarriages early in her marriage, and doctors discovered a fallopian tube had been accidentally closed during treatment. Lucie was born via cesarean section on July 17, 1951, and Desi named her Lucie Desiree without consulting his wife, who was surprised but didn't make a fuss.
