June 22, 2025 • 29 mins
What happened to Little Ricky from I Love Lucy? In this powerful and inspiring episode of Behind the Mike Podcast, host Mike Stone sits down with Keith Thibodeaux, the former child star of I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show. Keith shares his extraordinary journey—from drumming prodigy and Hollywood fame to depression, addiction, and ultimately finding hope in Jesus Christ.
Keith opens up about:
🎬 Working with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
🎬 His time as Opie’s best friend on The Andy Griffith Show
🎬 Becoming the drummer for David and the Giants, a Christian rock band
🎬 His spiritual transformation after a vision of Jesus
🎬 Co-leading Ballet Magnificat, the world’s largest Christian ballet company with his wife, Cathy
This is more than a nostalgic trip down memory lane—it's a testimony of redemption, purpose, and God’s unfailing love.
Whether you're a fan of classic TV, Christian music, or stories of faith, this episode will touch your heart and remind you that no one is too far gone for God.
📌 Visit Ballet Magnificat: https://www.balletmagnificat.com
🎧 Listen to David and the Giants: “See You There” – now streaming on Spotify and other platforms. https://open.spotify.com/album/2lnCGV4BZzdmprA9DiwZJi?si=fgNFoQHRTAi8vR5BbgLMOA
📆 Interested in Summer Dance Intensives? Info at Ballet Magnificat’s site above!
👍 Like, 💬 Comment, 🔔 Subscribe for more episodes filled with faith, hope, and transformation.
#KeithThibodeaux #ILoveLucy #ChristianTestimony #BehindTheMikePodcast #DavidAndTheGiants #BalletMagnificat #ChildStar #JesusSaves #ClassicTV #FaithStory
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - What Happens When Little Ricky Meets Jesus?
01:00 - Keith’s Hollywood Start: Drumming & Desi Arnaz
03:00 - Cast Life on I Love Lucy
05:30 - Transitioning to The Andy Griffith Show
08:00 - Surviving Hollywood as a Child Actor
10:15 - College Years & Struggles with Identity
13:00 - Joining David and the Giants
15:00 - Keith’s Spiral: Depression & Crying Out to God
17:00 - Life-Changing Vision of Jesus Christ
18:45 - From Secular Rock to Christian Music
20:00 - The Birth of Ballet Magnificat with Cathy
22:00 - Taking Christian Ballet Worldwide
24:00 - Encouragement for Parents, Artists, and Believers
26:00 - Final Thoughts from Keith: Trust, Pray, Don’t Give Up
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
So what happens when achild star from
one of the most iconicTV shows of all time
meets the risen Savior?
Well, today on Behindthe Mike Podcast, I'm
talking with Keith Thibodeaux,better known to millions
as Little Ricky fromI Love Lucy.
He was also Johnny PaulJason, Opie's best friend,
(00:21):
on The Andy Griffith Show.
But his story didn't endwith fame and childhood stardom.
Keith opens up about the yearsthat followed his college life
and searching for meaning,and how Jesus met him right
in the middle of his mess.
We also dive into his journeyas the drummer for the legendary
(00:42):
Christian rock bandDavid and the Giants.
See how God's callchanged everything.
This episode ismore than a trip down
memory lane.
It's a powerful reminderthat no matter where you've
been, God knows exactlywhere to find you.
Let's go Behind the Mikewith Keith Thibodeaux.
(01:05):
Keith.
And I'm so excited tohave you on the show.
Keith.
You know, I've done a lot ofresearch on you.
I knew that you were onI Love Lucy.
I also knew that you were onthe Andy Griffith Show.
I didn't know.
We'll talk aboutyour music career.
(01:26):
I didn't knowyou were with David
and the Giants.
And you got some thingsgoing on now.
So this is going to bea great conversation.
Thank you so muchfor joining us today.
Well my pleasure Mike.
I have been a big fan.
I watched I Love Lucy.
It was it was probably reallybefore my time.
I just turned 60,but was always a fan
(01:47):
of the reruns.
Watched them a lot.
And same with Andy Griffith.
So you you really,you struck it well
when you started.
So we got to talk aboutthe starting of, really what
changed your life?
And that is a little boyfrom Louisiana.
Ended up as Little Rickyon the I Love Lucy show.
Tell us a little bit about that.
(02:08):
What was that like for you?
I was a little little guyborn in Louisiana, and,
I had a talentfor playing drums.
And so I ended up playingprofessionally with the Horace
Heidt Orchestra in the 1950s,doing one night stands
across the nation in Canadaand ended up
in California and in LA.
(02:29):
And then from that point,a friend of my dad's,
found out about an interview,for The Lucy Show.
They were looking to expandthe part of their son,
Little Ricky, on the show.
And, from that pointon, you know, I got the part
about 200 little boys, my ageaudition, and and,
(02:51):
I played the drums.
Lucy and Desi, and they,they really dug that.
And Desi stood up and said,I think we found
little Ricky. And,I was signed with Desilu
for a seven year contract. Wow.
How old were youwhen you auditioned?
You were already playing drums,which is pretty
incredible, anyway.
(03:11):
But how old were you then?
I was about four or somethingfor four years
and a couple months, ormaybe four and a half.
And, so I was on the showfrom, 1956 to 1960.
And during that time,you know, I was on,
(03:32):
three seasons.
First season was out of Lucy,and then I did the Lucy
Desi Comedy Hour,which was an expanded
type of version of it.
And, their playhouse, you know,on that, on that at time
was about ten.
(03:53):
Yeah.
Tell us aboutten years old. Wow.
You spent a lot of timewith them then.
Not just them, but I remember,William Frawley, was it,
some of those,some of those key people
that we just don'tnormally talk about
when we talk about I Love Lucy.
But what was your experiencehanging around
all of those peopleat such a young age?
(04:14):
Well, you know, like,like I said, I was a little
drummer boy, so I wasn't reallymade to act as such.
So I got kind of throwninto that position.
Yeah, as a young boyand had to learn
the ropes of that.
And, you know, William Frawley,who played Fred
and then Vivian Vance,who played Ethel, and of course,
(04:35):
Lucy and Desi.
I mean, these were all prosfrom way back.
Adult, you know, had a wholelifetime of of experience.
And so they were very,very professional and very,
very easygoing.
And I think the greater,you know, a person
is, is the easier they are toget along with.
(04:57):
I think that, you know,sometimes people that don't have
a lot of talentand have attitudes,
or can have attitudes,but they didn't have that.
They treated me like their son.
And, you know, I got to knowtheir, their daughter
and their son and becamefast friends
with Lucy and Desi Jr.
Well, and kind ofgrew up with them, at their
(05:22):
different homes.
And so I knew Lucy,Lucy and Desi, apart
from the actual show.
That's pretty amazing.
Not many people can say that.
And, again, such an iconic show,and iconic people.
And you started reallybecause of the of the drumming.
So let's talk about,how did you get started
(05:44):
with with music?
You're you're stillinvolved in that.
And we'll talk about thatin a bit here.
But, God,God had a plan for you,
no doubt.
And, he used thatas a platform to really,
use you in a big way.
Yeah.
You know, I began playing drumson pots and pans
and then finally,the old tin trash cans in the
(06:06):
backyard, and, the neighborheard it and tell my dad and mom
that they needed to buy mea set of drums.
So my dad bought mea little toy drum, and then I.
I kind of wore that out,and I told my dad
I wanted a real drum,and I would, you know,
I'd go to parades and I'd listento big band jazz on the radio.
(06:28):
My dad was very into that.
And, I just it just alljust assimilated.
And I just hadthis innate rhythm
that God gave me.
And, that's always been with meever since I can remember.
And so it was just kindof a natural thing for me to do
and progress in.
So you're you're aboutten years old and and you're
(06:50):
you're done with that.
You said contract seven years.
You're done with that.
But you weren't done inthe acting career.
Like I said, you went on toAndy Griffith.
Talk about that a little bit.
Tell us how that came about.
I know theyshot out in California.
But that's, I guess backthen we didn't think about it,
but it was very family.
(07:11):
Family friendly.
Those both of those shows.
So, you know, like I said,two of my favorite shows,
and I'm talking to you,and so how cool is that?
But how that.
So how did that transition fromI Love Lucy and, Lucy and Desi
and all those overto Andy Griffith.
At some point that,I Love Lucy was, over,
(07:34):
that happened because of Lucyand Desi divorce.
It was still the number oneshow in the country.
And, so I left therewithout a job at nine years old,
but I was still undercontract to Desilu.
So I actually did other,you know, guest type shots,
(07:57):
or appearances on the HazelFarmer's Daughter, Route 66,
Joey Bishop Show,Bill Dana Show.
Shirley Temple Pllayhousewith Shirley Temple.
Wow.
But, the the Andy Griffith Show,the part that I played
was Opie's best friend,Johnny Paul Jason.
And so I auditioned for that,and I got that part,
(08:21):
and I was ableto be on that show.
But 13 episodes as,as that pal of Opie.
Yeah. On that show.
I remember that.
Do you, are you still in contactwith Ron Howard today?
Well, by proxy, he actuallyasked me to be in, a documentary
they were doing on,I guess he was doing
(08:43):
it on The Lucy Show or theLucille Ball or.
Yeah, one of those things.
And, I wasn't able to do it,and, but, we we were good
friends on the show, me and Ron,and he would ask the writers
to write me in a partso you can play with me.
And, we hung out, you know,went to the commissary,
(09:05):
ate hamburgers,cheeseburgers, malts, and then
Dick Van Dike and Mary TylerMoore would be in
the next booth,and it would just be that was
that was the environmentI was in. Wow.
You know, so manywe hear all the time.
We don't we don't often heargood things in the world,
but we hear all the bad things.
And many times we hearabout child actors
(09:27):
who have just gotten,off on the wrong path.
Can you speak tothat a little bit?
What what caused you to turn outthe way you did
and, be successfuleven even today,
with what you're doing?
Well, like you said, I mean,there were so many child
actors that that,didn't make it.
(09:47):
You know, There wasthere was one child
actor, Rusty Hamer,who was on The Danny
Thomas Show, and hecommitted suicide. Yeah.
And then you hear stories,all these other, you know,
later shows and laterchild actors that
that really didn't it,they didn't make it,
you know, for one reasonor the other.
(10:08):
They just did not, end up good.
But if it were not forfor God, for
Jesus Christ in my life,I would not be here today.
Speaking of mixed in.
Wow.
Well, we'll talk about that.
Want to get intoyour faith journey as well?
At one point, I.
(10:29):
I didn't know it at the time,but in the 80s, I was listening
to a lot of Christiancontemporary music and,
David and the Giants and justfound out recently that you were
a part of thatfor a number of years.
Talk a little bit about whatled you to that direction,
because I know that you weren't.
I think you grew up in ain a Roman Catholic
household, correct?
(10:51):
That's right.
Yeah.
But you you said,things that I've read anyway.
I'm going to ask youbecause I don't trust everything
I've read, but, But what Iwhat I've seen is that you
had your moments in collegewhere you definitely were not
following Christ.
What made that transition fromcollege, which most of us
struggle at that age, anyway?
(11:13):
To ending up with Davidin the Giants?
Well, you know, I met David,and then when I was 16 years old
in Biloxi, Mississippi,they were the club band
at the Vapors Club,which is a pretty famous club
down on the Gulf Coast.
And, I became friends withthem and followed them.
And when they came to town,I would go see them.
(11:34):
And then I got into collegeand I played and, you know,
I played in various bandsin Lafayette, Louisiana.
After I ended up movingbecause my own
parents separated,when I was 15 years old,
we moved back to Louisiana,where I started and, finished
high school was in, you know,little high school bands
(11:55):
which actually playedat the same club
that David and then did.
So I got to kind ofknow them through that.
And there's a whole storyabout how I tried out
for my band and at 16 years oldand, and, and David and them
didn't know me from Adamand they said,
you know, it was likeI kind of nailed the audition
for my band. So, but wecarried on a good relationship.
(12:20):
And then finally,when I was about 19 years old,
I went to college,went to ULL, University
of Louisiana-Lafayette now.
And, I tell peopleI majored in drinking
beer and playing pooland, that's really what I was
really good atand just playing music.
But, the funny thing, I just gotrecently honored
(12:42):
by this Universityof Louisiana-Lafayette
as, 24, I mean, the 2024most outstanding alumni,
of, University of Louisiana,this year,
this past year. That's.
So that was kind of interestingbeing that,
(13:02):
the kind of lifestyleI had in college.
But, I went on to,to to get asked by David,
the leader of the band,he called me one day
and he said, hey,we'd love to you
to join the band.
We're, we're changingdrummers out.
And so I jumped at the prospectof that of leaving home, kind of
(13:26):
doing my own thing.
You know, I, I did a littlebit of college.
I was ready just to play musicfull time because that's
really what I was made to do.
And so I ended upplaying with this, rock band,
David in the Giants, who had,you know, record deals with
Capital United Artists.
(13:48):
They recorded in Muscle ShoalsSound in Alabama and,
went on to just they had thatkind of sex,
drugs and rock and roll,hedonistic lifestyle,
got into drugs and really,really pretty bad.
One of my best friendsended up, not making it.
(14:10):
He was in a mental institution,and he's he's in a
handicapped areanow that he lives in.
Just my best friend,talented musician.
But this was kind of my make up.
And of course, Hollywood was wayin the past, and I just didn't
want to be reminded of itbecause of such
as some bad memoriesof my dad and mom.
(14:31):
Divorce. Sure.
And and it just went on,went on, and I kind of
spun out of controland began to just become
what's now known as beingclinically depressed and, when
actually suicidal inmy thoughts.
And it was at that pointthat I lost contact with reality
(14:55):
and, didn't know who I was, hadno purpose, had no plan.
I didn't thinkthere was any hope.
And so onenight in a waterbed in
Laurel, Mississippi,which is where
the band was based,I cried out to God one night.
As you said, I wasraised Catholic,
but I kind of leftthe idea of God behind when I.
(15:16):
When I became about, you know,I was a later teen.
And just wanted to dowhatever I wanted to do,
you know, I dated, which is,I got into occultic books.
I was really searching andall these things sort of,
sort of compounded to toto make me fall further
(15:37):
and further down.
Instead of being happyabout all these things
and, I did cry out to God, prayto God that one night,
and I said, God, I said,I made a mess out of my life.
I said, if you're real saved meout of this mess.
(15:58):
I made of myself.
And, I said these, these words.
I said, I'll serve you and theLord answer that prayer.
Two weeks later,I was invited to,
a spiritual meetingin Louisiana.
My mother invited me to that,and I got filled
with the Holy Spirit.
(16:19):
And I had a vision,a heavenly vision of Jesus.
Of Nazareth, the one who died2000 years ago
and rose from the dead.
And, I came up out ofthat experience.
The Bible began to,I just was hungry.
Hungry for his word,hungry for the.
So the God who I finally found,or he found me
(16:42):
and had mercy on me.
And I repented of my sins.
And just God just changedmy life around and began
to have a whole newperspective on life
purpose plans.
And I went back to the vanand I said, you know,
God is real.
There's more to the Biblethan what men have led us
to believe.
You know, coming from aCatholic background, that's
(17:04):
that's where I was.
It was all ritual.
I was all ritualisticand religious.
But God gave mea relationship with him,
and I told them about it,and they they, they said, Keith,
you're going to be okay.
You know, in a couple of weeks,you'll be all right.
I said, we've got tochange our music.
We got to change the lyricsto more godly lyrics.
(17:26):
And so we could still playthe same kind of music,
but just change the lyrics.
So we're we'rewe're doing something
that's positiveand uplifting to people.
And, so they didn't they didn'tget into that at first.
But eventually, David,after my constant
witnessing to him because I wasstill playing secular music
(17:48):
at the time, sure,he he came to the Lord
and then eventuallyhis brothers did too,
who were in the band.
And, they started Davidin the Giants,
the Christian band.
I guess it was in 1977.
And then I joined them in 79,after I'd married my wife
(18:09):
Cathy, and, we were marriedtwo years and, and so,
I joined them as a,as a revamped, reborn David
in the Giants.
And, yeah.
And that's a history.
I didn't know about them either.
I thought that they werea Christian band all along.
Until I did some research.
(18:30):
And, you know, I think, Keith,what what you describe here,
at some level,in all of our lives, we struggle
with somethinglike we just don't measure up
in our own eyesor with other people
or whatever that may beand leads us astray.
But so many of us stay there.
And so it's it's soheartening to hear that you just
(18:51):
turned to Godand he met you there.
And I think that's what whatmany people don't understand
is that you don't needto clean yourself up.
You don't needto get right with God
before you come to him.
He knows all your past.
He wants to make you new again.
So I'm so encouragedby that story.
Yeah, he's he'sready, he's ready.
Baba says, you know,the word is is near.
(19:12):
It's not far off.
It's in your mouth.
Yeah. It's in.
You're basicallydeclaring his salvation
of Jesus Christ and and saying,yes, Lord, I take that on.
You did it for me.
I don't have to do anything butjust accept that.
And then once you dothat, God begins to work on you
(19:34):
and begins to renew your mind,and you begin thinking
like he does instead oflike our own ideas
on what things are.
Yeah, you know, we live ina fallen world, and so it's hard
sometimes.
Even as a Christian,I came to Christ in 77.
One of my inspirationsat the time, he was on our show,
Dallas HolmI'm sure you've heard of
(19:56):
him, and.
Oh, yeah.
So he inspired me,through his music back then when
I turned my life over to Christ.
It's it's difficultbecause we live in
this fallen world,and that fallen world
is constantly tryingto pull us in.
And sometimes, you know,we have to have jobs.
We have to do thingsin the world.
But we'rewe're told in Scripture
not to be of the world.
And sometimes we canif we're not constantly
(20:18):
focused on Christ and pursuinga relationship with him,
it's easy to get off track.
And so, yeah.
And I want to talkabout your ministry
now, you and your wife,are involved in a ministry
now that I, I was it'sgreat to hear, again.
I didn't know about this.
(20:38):
Tell us about Ballet Magnificat.
Yeah, well. Well, I was going tojump on back.
Just what you said.
Just just a second.
Sure. Yeah.
We've got, Yeah.
David and the Giants.
We just recorded a new albumand it will be out.
It's called See You There.
And, it'll be out probably inthe next week or two.
(20:59):
And, it's a brand new album,ten songs, and we're excited
about that.
So we're still playing.
We're still doing concerts.
We're still, out there.
But my wife is a ballet dancer,and she's, an award winning
ballet dancer that,won the silver medal
back in 1982,in the International
USA Ballet competition.
(21:20):
Wow.
And, she, she came actually,she came from a,
a Christian family,but they weren't really
born again.
And there was no real realityto the faith.
And she came to one of Davidin the Giants concerts after we,
became a Christian band,and she gave her
(21:42):
life to the Lord.
And she saw that you could,you know,
that her husband, Keith,was using his gifts and talents
for the Lord.
So why couldn't you do it with,you know, ballet?
Yeah.
And so she started,and we began Ballet
Magnificat in 1986 as,a Christian ballet company.
(22:07):
And, started outreally small with
the Lord has grown it.
We have a tour companyright now, two tour companies
in Europe right nowthat are performing,
and my wife and Iare going to meet him
in Prague this, this weekend.
That's all.
To see the performances.
And, we have a ballet.
(22:27):
Same Ballet Magnificat.
Another version of it in Brazil,which is Ballet Magnificat.
Brazil that we started.
Back in 2017.
So we the purpose of the balletis to present the gospel
through dance, through ballet,through ballet stories.
(22:48):
And so we areprobably the world's largest
Christian ballet company.
And have been to over50 countries all over the world.
And, we have a school herein Jackson, Mississippi and
trainee program and it's justit's amazing really, you know,
starting for from scratch.
(23:09):
But but reallyit was really started
from a visionthat God gave Cathy
that she could do thatand that we could,
biblically do thatfrom Psalm 149 and 150,
says to praise his nameat the dance
in both of those psalms.
And so, sort of retaking the,the ballet and the dance world
(23:34):
and even Christian musicwas sort of retaking it
for the Lord, you know?
And, doing somethingthat's glorifying him.
That's awesome.
And you are now,I believe your title is
is executive producer.
Is that right?
Well, yeah.
Executive director, but,I Cathy's Cathy
is the artistic directorand founder.
(23:55):
Yeah. And, so,yeah, we've been blessed
to be a part of this amazing,ballet Christian ballet company.
People say, what isChristian ballet?
You know what?
What do you mean,Christian ballet?
And, you know, you have togive them
a definition of it, but,it's something that
(24:16):
the Lord has been,using since 1986.
Do you, you also do US tours?
We do U.S.
tours, all over the U.S.
we've been probably,probably in every state
in the Union except, maybe.
Yeah, I think maybe even Alaska.
We've been away.
(24:38):
But we go all over.
We're interdenominational.
So we're not just one.
We have many different,you know, people go to Baptist,
Presbyterian,charismatic, Assembly.
God. Yeah.
You know, you name it.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
You know, I think that that Godis the Creator
(24:59):
and Satan pervertseverything that God does.
So it's really encouragingto hear that that there are
those Christian formsof, of art out there that,
that people can go to and,and glean from.
So I'm gratefulfor you guys doing that.
And we want to point themto your website that will be in
the show notes.
(25:19):
So the descriptionand so make sure you
check that out.
And we want to watch.
And when you guysare back around, I know my wife
and I would love to, to,to attend, so. Yeah.
Where are you located?
I'm in Findlay, Ohio,northwest Ohio.
So I've been there.
I'm sure if you've been toall 50 states,
I'm sure you've probablybeen through Findlay.
(25:41):
And then been there.
Yeah, we played a concert therewith them. Wow.
After research that.
That's pretty cool.
Yeah.
So back in the day.
Yeah.
Well, listen, I knowyou're a busy guy.
You guys are headingoverseas here soon.
I did see thaton your Instagram.
And, I like thatbecause that's exciting.
I would love to see thethe performances,
(26:03):
and, we'll plan on doing thatnext time
you guys are in the areaanywhere close.
And, Keith, I want to thank youfor joining us.
I know, as I said, you're busy.
I connected with you in anunconventional way.
I was looking throughyour Instagram,
and I just decidedto message you, and that just
doesn't workmost of the time for me.
But, you responded,and I'm grateful
(26:25):
for that because, wewe both share
a love of the Lord.
And I wanted to hear moreabout your story.
I love to have youguys back on again.
Maybe have Kathyjoin us as well.
Talk about,what you guys are up to.
And, Yeah, again, I want tothank you so much.
And, blessingsto you and your wife.
Yeah.
Just one last thing.
I just want to say that,you know, if people have
(26:46):
any dancers in their familythat are listening
to this podcast,young dancers, we
have a summer danceintensive at Ballet Magnificat.
Every summerin the month of July.
And so they're welcometo come for a 2
or 4 week session.
And, just check our website out.
We've got a lot.
And check outDavid in the Giant,
(27:07):
See You There, on Spotifyand other things.
Absolutely.
We'll we'll put that in the,in the show notes as well.
Make sure you checkall this stuff out.
Keith Thibodeaux,want to make sure
that you check outall the things that he's done,
that he's doing, and how God'susing him and his wife.
Last thing I want toI want to ask you, Keith, is
(27:28):
do you have any encouragementor wisdom to share with
the those who are listeningand watching?
Based on all that you'veseen God do in your life?
Well, I would saythe first thing is,
is to trust the Lordand put your trust in Him.
And, secondly,we live in a world
that we're good isevil, and evil is
(27:50):
said to be good.
Yeah. And, the other thingthat I would say
would be to pray always.
Don't give up.
Yes, pray.
That's whatJesus implored us to do.
Don't give up on prayer.
And, when you feel likenot praying, just speak a prayer
to the Lord.
And, and just there'sso many needs going on
(28:14):
now in the world, so manypeople that are hurting
and various ways.
But, God is faithful.
And as long as youstay next to him, he'll he
he will be all that you need.
He is the good shepherdof the sheep, and he takes care
of his sheep.
Amen, Amen.
(28:34):
Great words of wisdom.
And, Keith, I want tothank you again.
You guys havea safe trip over there.
Enjoy. Thanks.
Time, in Prague.
And, let's talk againsometime soon,
and I hope to meet youon the road.
Be great. Mike.
Thanks, Keith.
Thank you.
Keith.
So what happens when achild star from
one of the most iconicTV shows of all time
meets the risen Savior?
Well, today on Behindthe Mike Podcast, I'm
talking with Keith Thibodeaux,better known to millions
as Little Ricky fromI Love Lucy.
He was also Johnny PaulJason, Opie's best friend,
(00:21):
on The Andy Griffith Show.
But his story didn't endwith fame and childhood stardom.
Keith opens up about the yearsthat followed his college life
and searching for meaning,and how Jesus met him right
in the middle of his mess.
We also dive into his journeyas the drummer for the legendary
(00:42):
Christian rock bandDavid and the Giants.
See how God's callchanged everything.
This episode ismore than a trip down
memory lane.
It's a powerful reminderthat no matter where you've
been, God knows exactlywhere to find you.
Let's go Behind the Mikewith Keith Thibodeaux.
(01:05):
Keith.
And I'm so excited tohave you on the show.
Keith.
You know, I've done a lot ofresearch on you.
I knew that you were onI Love Lucy.
I also knew that you were onthe Andy Griffith Show.
I didn't know.
We'll talk aboutyour music career.
(01:26):
I didn't knowyou were with David
and the Giants.
And you got some thingsgoing on now.
So this is going to bea great conversation.
Thank you so muchfor joining us today.
Well my pleasure Mike.
I have been a big fan.
I watched I Love Lucy.
It was it was probably reallybefore my time.
I just turned 60,but was always a fan
(01:47):
of the reruns.
Watched them a lot.
And same with Andy Griffith.
So you you really,you struck it well
when you started.
So we got to talk aboutthe starting of, really what
changed your life?
And that is a little boyfrom Louisiana.
Ended up as Little Rickyon the I Love Lucy show.
Tell us a little bit about that.
(02:08):
What was that like for you?
I was a little little guyborn in Louisiana, and,
I had a talentfor playing drums.
And so I ended up playingprofessionally with the Horace
Heidt Orchestra in the 1950s,doing one night stands
across the nation in Canadaand ended up
in California and in LA.
(02:29):
And then from that point,a friend of my dad's,
found out about an interview,for The Lucy Show.
They were looking to expandthe part of their son,
Little Ricky, on the show.
And, from that pointon, you know, I got the part
about 200 little boys, my ageaudition, and and,
(02:51):
I played the drums.
Lucy and Desi, and they,they really dug that.
And Desi stood up and said,I think we found
little Ricky. And,I was signed with Desilu
for a seven year contract. Wow.
How old were youwhen you auditioned?
You were already playing drums,which is pretty
incredible, anyway.
(03:11):
But how old were you then?
I was about four or somethingfor four years
and a couple months, ormaybe four and a half.
And, so I was on the showfrom, 1956 to 1960.
And during that time,you know, I was on,
(03:32):
three seasons.
First season was out of Lucy,and then I did the Lucy
Desi Comedy Hour,which was an expanded
type of version of it.
And, their playhouse, you know,on that, on that at time
was about ten.
(03:53):
Yeah.
Tell us aboutten years old. Wow.
You spent a lot of timewith them then.
Not just them, but I remember,William Frawley, was it,
some of those,some of those key people
that we just don'tnormally talk about
when we talk about I Love Lucy.
But what was your experiencehanging around
all of those peopleat such a young age?
(04:14):
Well, you know, like,like I said, I was a little
drummer boy, so I wasn't reallymade to act as such.
So I got kind of throwninto that position.
Yeah, as a young boyand had to learn
the ropes of that.
And, you know, William Frawley,who played Fred
and then Vivian Vance,who played Ethel, and of course,
(04:35):
Lucy and Desi.
I mean, these were all prosfrom way back.
Adult, you know, had a wholelifetime of of experience.
And so they were very,very professional and very,
very easygoing.
And I think the greater,you know, a person
is, is the easier they are toget along with.
(04:57):
I think that, you know,sometimes people that don't have
a lot of talentand have attitudes,
or can have attitudes,but they didn't have that.
They treated me like their son.
And, you know, I got to knowtheir, their daughter
and their son and becamefast friends
with Lucy and Desi Jr.
Well, and kind ofgrew up with them, at their
(05:22):
different homes.
And so I knew Lucy,Lucy and Desi, apart
from the actual show.
That's pretty amazing.
Not many people can say that.
And, again, such an iconic show,and iconic people.
And you started reallybecause of the of the drumming.
So let's talk about,how did you get started
(05:44):
with with music?
You're you're stillinvolved in that.
And we'll talk about thatin a bit here.
But, God,God had a plan for you,
no doubt.
And, he used thatas a platform to really,
use you in a big way.
Yeah.
You know, I began playing drumson pots and pans
and then finally,the old tin trash cans in the
(06:06):
backyard, and, the neighborheard it and tell my dad and mom
that they needed to buy mea set of drums.
So my dad bought mea little toy drum, and then I.
I kind of wore that out,and I told my dad
I wanted a real drum,and I would, you know,
I'd go to parades and I'd listento big band jazz on the radio.
(06:28):
My dad was very into that.
And, I just it just alljust assimilated.
And I just hadthis innate rhythm
that God gave me.
And, that's always been with meever since I can remember.
And so it was just kindof a natural thing for me to do
and progress in.
So you're you're aboutten years old and and you're
(06:50):
you're done with that.
You said contract seven years.
You're done with that.
But you weren't done inthe acting career.
Like I said, you went on toAndy Griffith.
Talk about that a little bit.
Tell us how that came about.
I know theyshot out in California.
But that's, I guess backthen we didn't think about it,
but it was very family.
(07:11):
Family friendly.
Those both of those shows.
So, you know, like I said,two of my favorite shows,
and I'm talking to you,and so how cool is that?
But how that.
So how did that transition fromI Love Lucy and, Lucy and Desi
and all those overto Andy Griffith.
At some point that,I Love Lucy was, over,
(07:34):
that happened because of Lucyand Desi divorce.
It was still the number oneshow in the country.
And, so I left therewithout a job at nine years old,
but I was still undercontract to Desilu.
So I actually did other,you know, guest type shots,
(07:57):
or appearances on the HazelFarmer's Daughter, Route 66,
Joey Bishop Show,Bill Dana Show.
Shirley Temple Pllayhousewith Shirley Temple.
Wow.
But, the the Andy Griffith Show,the part that I played
was Opie's best friend,Johnny Paul Jason.
And so I auditioned for that,and I got that part,
(08:21):
and I was ableto be on that show.
But 13 episodes as,as that pal of Opie.
Yeah. On that show.
I remember that.
Do you, are you still in contactwith Ron Howard today?
Well, by proxy, he actuallyasked me to be in, a documentary
they were doing on,I guess he was doing
(08:43):
it on The Lucy Show or theLucille Ball or.
Yeah, one of those things.
And, I wasn't able to do it,and, but, we we were good
friends on the show, me and Ron,and he would ask the writers
to write me in a partso you can play with me.
And, we hung out, you know,went to the commissary,
(09:05):
ate hamburgers,cheeseburgers, malts, and then
Dick Van Dike and Mary TylerMoore would be in
the next booth,and it would just be that was
that was the environmentI was in. Wow.
You know, so manywe hear all the time.
We don't we don't often heargood things in the world,
but we hear all the bad things.
And many times we hearabout child actors
(09:27):
who have just gotten,off on the wrong path.
Can you speak tothat a little bit?
What what caused you to turn outthe way you did
and, be successfuleven even today,
with what you're doing?
Well, like you said, I mean,there were so many child
actors that that,didn't make it.
(09:47):
You know, There wasthere was one child
actor, Rusty Hamer,who was on The Danny
Thomas Show, and hecommitted suicide. Yeah.
And then you hear stories,all these other, you know,
later shows and laterchild actors that
that really didn't it,they didn't make it,
you know, for one reasonor the other.
(10:08):
They just did not, end up good.
But if it were not forfor God, for
Jesus Christ in my life,I would not be here today.
Speaking of mixed in.
Wow.
Well, we'll talk about that.
Want to get intoyour faith journey as well?
At one point, I.
(10:29):
I didn't know it at the time,but in the 80s, I was listening
to a lot of Christiancontemporary music and,
David and the Giants and justfound out recently that you were
a part of thatfor a number of years.
Talk a little bit about whatled you to that direction,
because I know that you weren't.
I think you grew up in ain a Roman Catholic
household, correct?
(10:51):
That's right.
Yeah.
But you you said,things that I've read anyway.
I'm going to ask youbecause I don't trust everything
I've read, but, But what Iwhat I've seen is that you
had your moments in collegewhere you definitely were not
following Christ.
What made that transition fromcollege, which most of us
struggle at that age, anyway?
(11:13):
To ending up with Davidin the Giants?
Well, you know, I met David,and then when I was 16 years old
in Biloxi, Mississippi,they were the club band
at the Vapors Club,which is a pretty famous club
down on the Gulf Coast.
And, I became friends withthem and followed them.
And when they came to town,I would go see them.
(11:34):
And then I got into collegeand I played and, you know,
I played in various bandsin Lafayette, Louisiana.
After I ended up movingbecause my own
parents separated,when I was 15 years old,
we moved back to Louisiana,where I started and, finished
high school was in, you know,little high school bands
(11:55):
which actually playedat the same club
that David and then did.
So I got to kind ofknow them through that.
And there's a whole storyabout how I tried out
for my band and at 16 years oldand, and, and David and them
didn't know me from Adamand they said,
you know, it was likeI kind of nailed the audition
for my band. So, but wecarried on a good relationship.
(12:20):
And then finally,when I was about 19 years old,
I went to college,went to ULL, University
of Louisiana-Lafayette now.
And, I tell peopleI majored in drinking
beer and playing pooland, that's really what I was
really good atand just playing music.
But, the funny thing, I just gotrecently honored
(12:42):
by this Universityof Louisiana-Lafayette
as, 24, I mean, the 2024most outstanding alumni,
of, University of Louisiana,this year,
this past year. That's.
So that was kind of interestingbeing that,
(13:02):
the kind of lifestyleI had in college.
But, I went on to,to to get asked by David,
the leader of the band,he called me one day
and he said, hey,we'd love to you
to join the band.
We're, we're changingdrummers out.
And so I jumped at the prospectof that of leaving home, kind of
(13:26):
doing my own thing.
You know, I, I did a littlebit of college.
I was ready just to play musicfull time because that's
really what I was made to do.
And so I ended upplaying with this, rock band,
David in the Giants, who had,you know, record deals with
Capital United Artists.
(13:48):
They recorded in Muscle ShoalsSound in Alabama and,
went on to just they had thatkind of sex,
drugs and rock and roll,hedonistic lifestyle,
got into drugs and really,really pretty bad.
One of my best friendsended up, not making it.
(14:10):
He was in a mental institution,and he's he's in a
handicapped areanow that he lives in.
Just my best friend,talented musician.
But this was kind of my make up.
And of course, Hollywood was wayin the past, and I just didn't
want to be reminded of itbecause of such
as some bad memoriesof my dad and mom.
(14:31):
Divorce. Sure.
And and it just went on,went on, and I kind of
spun out of controland began to just become
what's now known as beingclinically depressed and, when
actually suicidal inmy thoughts.
And it was at that pointthat I lost contact with reality
(14:55):
and, didn't know who I was, hadno purpose, had no plan.
I didn't thinkthere was any hope.
And so onenight in a waterbed in
Laurel, Mississippi,which is where
the band was based,I cried out to God one night.
As you said, I wasraised Catholic,
but I kind of leftthe idea of God behind when I.
(15:16):
When I became about, you know,I was a later teen.
And just wanted to dowhatever I wanted to do,
you know, I dated, which is,I got into occultic books.
I was really searching andall these things sort of,
sort of compounded to toto make me fall further
(15:37):
and further down.
Instead of being happyabout all these things
and, I did cry out to God, prayto God that one night,
and I said, God, I said,I made a mess out of my life.
I said, if you're real saved meout of this mess.
(15:58):
I made of myself.
And, I said these, these words.
I said, I'll serve you and theLord answer that prayer.
Two weeks later,I was invited to,
a spiritual meetingin Louisiana.
My mother invited me to that,and I got filled
with the Holy Spirit.
(16:19):
And I had a vision,a heavenly vision of Jesus.
Of Nazareth, the one who died2000 years ago
and rose from the dead.
And, I came up out ofthat experience.
The Bible began to,I just was hungry.
Hungry for his word,hungry for the.
So the God who I finally found,or he found me
(16:42):
and had mercy on me.
And I repented of my sins.
And just God just changedmy life around and began
to have a whole newperspective on life
purpose plans.
And I went back to the vanand I said, you know,
God is real.
There's more to the Biblethan what men have led us
to believe.
You know, coming from aCatholic background, that's
(17:04):
that's where I was.
It was all ritual.
I was all ritualisticand religious.
But God gave mea relationship with him,
and I told them about it,and they they, they said, Keith,
you're going to be okay.
You know, in a couple of weeks,you'll be all right.
I said, we've got tochange our music.
We got to change the lyricsto more godly lyrics.
(17:26):
And so we could still playthe same kind of music,
but just change the lyrics.
So we're we'rewe're doing something
that's positiveand uplifting to people.
And, so they didn't they didn'tget into that at first.
But eventually, David,after my constant
witnessing to him because I wasstill playing secular music
(17:48):
at the time, sure,he he came to the Lord
and then eventuallyhis brothers did too,
who were in the band.
And, they started Davidin the Giants,
the Christian band.
I guess it was in 1977.
And then I joined them in 79,after I'd married my wife
(18:09):
Cathy, and, we were marriedtwo years and, and so,
I joined them as a,as a revamped, reborn David
in the Giants.
And, yeah.
And that's a history.
I didn't know about them either.
I thought that they werea Christian band all along.
Until I did some research.
(18:30):
And, you know, I think, Keith,what what you describe here,
at some level,in all of our lives, we struggle
with somethinglike we just don't measure up
in our own eyesor with other people
or whatever that may beand leads us astray.
But so many of us stay there.
And so it's it's soheartening to hear that you just
(18:51):
turned to Godand he met you there.
And I think that's what whatmany people don't understand
is that you don't needto clean yourself up.
You don't needto get right with God
before you come to him.
He knows all your past.
He wants to make you new again.
So I'm so encouragedby that story.
Yeah, he's he'sready, he's ready.
Baba says, you know,the word is is near.
(19:12):
It's not far off.
It's in your mouth.
Yeah. It's in.
You're basicallydeclaring his salvation
of Jesus Christ and and saying,yes, Lord, I take that on.
You did it for me.
I don't have to do anything butjust accept that.
And then once you dothat, God begins to work on you
(19:34):
and begins to renew your mind,and you begin thinking
like he does instead oflike our own ideas
on what things are.
Yeah, you know, we live ina fallen world, and so it's hard
sometimes.
Even as a Christian,I came to Christ in 77.
One of my inspirationsat the time, he was on our show,
Dallas HolmI'm sure you've heard of
(19:56):
him, and.
Oh, yeah.
So he inspired me,through his music back then when
I turned my life over to Christ.
It's it's difficultbecause we live in
this fallen world,and that fallen world
is constantly tryingto pull us in.
And sometimes, you know,we have to have jobs.
We have to do thingsin the world.
But we'rewe're told in Scripture
not to be of the world.
And sometimes we canif we're not constantly
(20:18):
focused on Christ and pursuinga relationship with him,
it's easy to get off track.
And so, yeah.
And I want to talkabout your ministry
now, you and your wife,are involved in a ministry
now that I, I was it'sgreat to hear, again.
I didn't know about this.
(20:38):
Tell us about Ballet Magnificat.
Yeah, well. Well, I was going tojump on back.
Just what you said.
Just just a second.
Sure. Yeah.
We've got, Yeah.
David and the Giants.
We just recorded a new albumand it will be out.
It's called See You There.
And, it'll be out probably inthe next week or two.
(20:59):
And, it's a brand new album,ten songs, and we're excited
about that.
So we're still playing.
We're still doing concerts.
We're still, out there.
But my wife is a ballet dancer,and she's, an award winning
ballet dancer that,won the silver medal
back in 1982,in the International
USA Ballet competition.
(21:20):
Wow.
And, she, she came actually,she came from a,
a Christian family,but they weren't really
born again.
And there was no real realityto the faith.
And she came to one of Davidin the Giants concerts after we,
became a Christian band,and she gave her
(21:42):
life to the Lord.
And she saw that you could,you know,
that her husband, Keith,was using his gifts and talents
for the Lord.
So why couldn't you do it with,you know, ballet?
Yeah.
And so she started,and we began Ballet
Magnificat in 1986 as,a Christian ballet company.
(22:07):
And, started outreally small with
the Lord has grown it.
We have a tour companyright now, two tour companies
in Europe right nowthat are performing,
and my wife and Iare going to meet him
in Prague this, this weekend.
That's all.
To see the performances.
And, we have a ballet.
(22:27):
Same Ballet Magnificat.
Another version of it in Brazil,which is Ballet Magnificat.
Brazil that we started.
Back in 2017.
So we the purpose of the balletis to present the gospel
through dance, through ballet,through ballet stories.
(22:48):
And so we areprobably the world's largest
Christian ballet company.
And have been to over50 countries all over the world.
And, we have a school herein Jackson, Mississippi and
trainee program and it's justit's amazing really, you know,
starting for from scratch.
(23:09):
But but reallyit was really started
from a visionthat God gave Cathy
that she could do thatand that we could,
biblically do thatfrom Psalm 149 and 150,
says to praise his nameat the dance
in both of those psalms.
And so, sort of retaking the,the ballet and the dance world
(23:34):
and even Christian musicwas sort of retaking it
for the Lord, you know?
And, doing somethingthat's glorifying him.
That's awesome.
And you are now,I believe your title is
is executive producer.
Is that right?
Well, yeah.
Executive director, but,I Cathy's Cathy
is the artistic directorand founder.
(23:55):
Yeah. And, so,yeah, we've been blessed
to be a part of this amazing,ballet Christian ballet company.
People say, what isChristian ballet?
You know what?
What do you mean,Christian ballet?
And, you know, you have togive them
a definition of it, but,it's something that
(24:16):
the Lord has been,using since 1986.
Do you, you also do US tours?
We do U.S.
tours, all over the U.S.
we've been probably,probably in every state
in the Union except, maybe.
Yeah, I think maybe even Alaska.
We've been away.
(24:38):
But we go all over.
We're interdenominational.
So we're not just one.
We have many different,you know, people go to Baptist,
Presbyterian,charismatic, Assembly.
God. Yeah.
You know, you name it.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
You know, I think that that Godis the Creator
(24:59):
and Satan pervertseverything that God does.
So it's really encouragingto hear that that there are
those Christian formsof, of art out there that,
that people can go to and,and glean from.
So I'm gratefulfor you guys doing that.
And we want to point themto your website that will be in
the show notes.
(25:19):
So the descriptionand so make sure you
check that out.
And we want to watch.
And when you guysare back around, I know my wife
and I would love to, to,to attend, so. Yeah.
Where are you located?
I'm in Findlay, Ohio,northwest Ohio.
So I've been there.
I'm sure if you've been toall 50 states,
I'm sure you've probablybeen through Findlay.
(25:41):
And then been there.
Yeah, we played a concert therewith them. Wow.
After research that.
That's pretty cool.
Yeah.
So back in the day.
Yeah.
Well, listen, I knowyou're a busy guy.
You guys are headingoverseas here soon.
I did see thaton your Instagram.
And, I like thatbecause that's exciting.
I would love to see thethe performances,
(26:03):
and, we'll plan on doing thatnext time
you guys are in the areaanywhere close.
And, Keith, I want to thank youfor joining us.
I know, as I said, you're busy.
I connected with you in anunconventional way.
I was looking throughyour Instagram,
and I just decidedto message you, and that just
doesn't workmost of the time for me.
But, you responded,and I'm grateful
(26:25):
for that because, wewe both share
a love of the Lord.
And I wanted to hear moreabout your story.
I love to have youguys back on again.
Maybe have Kathyjoin us as well.
Talk about,what you guys are up to.
And, Yeah, again, I want tothank you so much.
And, blessingsto you and your wife.
Yeah.
Just one last thing.
I just want to say that,you know, if people have
(26:46):
any dancers in their familythat are listening
to this podcast,young dancers, we
have a summer danceintensive at Ballet Magnificat.
Every summerin the month of July.
And so they're welcometo come for a 2
or 4 week session.
And, just check our website out.
We've got a lot.
And check outDavid in the Giant,
(27:07):
See You There, on Spotifyand other things.
Absolutely.
We'll we'll put that in the,in the show notes as well.
Make sure you checkall this stuff out.
Keith Thibodeaux,want to make sure
that you check outall the things that he's done,
that he's doing, and how God'susing him and his wife.
Last thing I want toI want to ask you, Keith, is
(27:28):
do you have any encouragementor wisdom to share with
the those who are listeningand watching?
Based on all that you'veseen God do in your life?
Well, I would saythe first thing is,
is to trust the Lordand put your trust in Him.
And, secondly,we live in a world
that we're good isevil, and evil is
(27:50):
said to be good.
Yeah. And, the other thingthat I would say
would be to pray always.
Don't give up.
Yes, pray.
That's whatJesus implored us to do.
Don't give up on prayer.
And, when you feel likenot praying, just speak a prayer
to the Lord.
And, and just there'sso many needs going on
(28:14):
now in the world, so manypeople that are hurting
and various ways.
But, God is faithful.
And as long as youstay next to him, he'll he
he will be all that you need.
He is the good shepherdof the sheep, and he takes care
of his sheep.
Amen, Amen.
(28:34):
Great words of wisdom.
And, Keith, I want tothank you again.
You guys havea safe trip over there.
Enjoy. Thanks.
Time, in Prague.
And, let's talk againsometime soon,
and I hope to meet youon the road.
Be great. Mike.
Thanks, Keith.
Thank you.
Keith.
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