Which 'I Love Lucy' Actor Also Was Part of 'The Andy Griffith Show' Cast?

Known as two of the most enduring comedies of their time, I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show boasted top-rate ensemble casts that worked in harmony together on camera.

Being part of one of these sitcoms is incredible enough. But to appear in both, for an actor, is a distinct privilege and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The performer who figured prominently in these legendary series shared his career memories in both casts.

Little Ricky was introduced on ‘I Love Lucy’ to accommodate Lucille Ball’s pregnancy

In his book I Love Lucy: The Untold Story, the show’s producer Jess Oppenheimer explained how the show’s writers had to get creative to explain Lucille Ball’s growing abdomen in real life.

“On Jan. 19, 1963, Lucille Ball gave birth to two baby boys. One was born in the morning in Los Angeles and the other that night, three thousand miles away in New York City,” Oppenheimer wrote.

“Although I can’t claim to be [Little Ricky’s] father, I feel I’m responsible for his being here…,” the producer concluded. “Television, still in its own infancy, was about to give birth to its first baby.”

Keith Thibodeaux played Little Ricky on ‘I Love Lucy’ and was very aware of on-set tensions

Keith Thibodeaux as a child actor earned the role of Little Ricky on I Love Lucy. Once Desi Arnaz heard him on the drums, he knew they had found their Little Ricky.

But even at his young age, Thibodeaux told the Archive of American Television, he was aware of tension between the two stars.

“Yes, you couldn’t help but feel [the tension],” he said. “Of course, I knew it; they kept things under wraps, you know, on the show but it was definitely big-time tension in the air.”

Thibodeaux also had a role on ‘The Andy Griffith Show’

In 1963, Thibodeaux, who up until now had gone by the stage name of Richard Keith because of what others felt was his difficult Cajun last name, began acting on The Andy Griffith Show.

Also filmed at the Desilu studios, on this show the actor portrayed Johnny Paul Jason, best friend to Opie Taylor, played by Ron Howard.

“Johnny Paul Jason was kind of like the sage of all the kids on The Andy Griffith Show,” Thibodeaux explained. “But my character never did turn into that. He was just a normal kid from Mayberry.”

The actor, summing up his experience on The Andy Griffith Show, seemed to bring the fictional town of Mayberry into reality.

“That show is almost like, if you’re on that show, it doesn’t matter who you were, or what you were on the show: you’re a part of Mayberry forever.”

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