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Keith
Thibodeaux "Opie's pal Johnny Paul Jason" Keith Thibodeaux was born on December 1, 1950, in Lafayette, Louisiana. He was the oldest of five children. Even though he did not come from a musical family, he remembers listening to music and keeping time by beating on pots and pans with sticks, knives, and forks. Afterwards, he graduated to banging on metal trash cans in the family's back yard. By age three, Thibodeaux was playing drums professionally. "I never had a lesson," Thibodeaux says. "My talent for playing the drums was a gift from God." Thibodeaux competed in the Horace Heidt Traveling Variety Show when it came to Lafayette, La., in 1954. Thibodeaux won the contest and Heidt hired him as a regular for his Saturday television show two weeks later. Keith's father quit his job and accompanied him as they toured the U.S. and Canada. It wasn't until two years later that the father and son would walk into Desilu Studios in California and change television history. That was the day Keith Thibodeaux auditioned for the part of "Little Ricky." In 1956, Keith got the part of when he started to play the drums and Desi was so impressed he asked to join him. The two alternated back and forth on the drums for a while before Lucy exclaim, "This is the kid! This is him! This is Little Ricky!" He was unaware that over two hundred youngsters had auditioned for the part of the new TV son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Keith's stage name was changed to Richard Keith, because Thibodeaux (tib-uh-dough) was a hard name to pronounce. Though never listed in the credits, Thibodeaux would use the stage name during his tenure on the show. Keith loved both Desi and Lucy and he reminds the general public today that Desi had a lot more to do with the formation of the show. 'He set up the three-camera sitcom arrangement that shows still use today." About Lucy, he says, "Lucy took care of me on the set, and made sure that none of the crew cussed around me. She and Desi gave me many gifts over the years." The role of Little Ricky had made Thibodeaux the most well-known child actor on television for over four years. "I Love Lucy" ended in 1960 when Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz divorced. Thibodeaux continued his acting career by appearing on a number of television episodes, including "The Shirley Temple Playhouse," "The Joey Bishop Show," and many others. In 1962, he appeared on another weekly television show that was to make TV history. Thibodeaux auditioned for "The Andy Griffith Show" and won the role of "Johnny Paul Jason," Opie's best friend. For four year, Thibodeaux's smaller part made several appearances on the show. Keith said, "I would rather have played a character like Opie than Little Ricky. Little Ricky was the All-American boy in a New York kind of way, but I'm an old southern boy." Thibodeaux appeared on a dozen or so episodes of TAGS. One was titled "Opie and His Merry Men". Opie and his pals befriend a lazy hobo who tells them that lawmen cannot be trusted. Thibodeaux is seen wearing a Robin Hood-type hat, and appears as a member of Opie's merry men. The hobo claims to have a game leg, but takes off running when Andy offers to get him a job that will accommodate his bad leg. Thibodeaux and Ron Howard became good friends on the set. "Ron asked them to cast me in episodes with him whenever they could." His appearances on TAGS ended in 1966 when his parents divorced and the young drummer/actor moved back to Louisiana from California with his mother and siblings. He graduated from Lafayette high school in 1968 and attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana for a while. He also helped support his mother by playing drums in a variety of bands. Thibodeaux spent his years after college as a member of "David and the Giants" - a popular rock band that played mostly around the south and would later become a more Christian based band. During that time, he met his wife Kathy. Years later, Keith became executive director of Ballet Magnificat! which was founded by his wife in 1986. Ballet Magnificat is the world's premier Christian ballet company that travels throughout the U.S. and Canada. Keith and Kathy live in Jackson, Mississippi and have one child, a daughter named Tara. |
