“I Love Lucy” was in many ways TV’s first solid-gold hit, and it wasn’t just because the show premiered when there were few television programs on the air. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, then a real-life married couple, made magic together on screen as clever but ridiculous Lucy Ricardo and her straight man of a husband, Ricky. Their chemistry and comedy made the show an enduring, medium-changing hit, rocketing it to the top of the Nielsen charts (it was the first show to ever end its run still the most-watched program on TV, according to the Daily News) and beaming it into the hearts and homes of millions of people worldwide.
The show came to a close in 1957, and while Ball and Arnaz would continue dominating television in other sitcoms and specials — not to mention their powerhouse production company Desilu — for years to come, no follow-ups ever held the same unique magic as the original series. Arnaz passed away in 1986, and Ball followed three years later. Today, only three actors who appeared in a significant number of “I Love Lucy” episodes are still with us, and all three shared the same role: Little Ricky, the beloved son of the dynamic duo whose presence helped make the show a classic.
Keith Thibodeaux AKA Richard Keith (Little Ricky Ricardo)
