Lorenzo Lamas: What is he doing today?

If you remember the prime time soap Falcon Crest, then you’ll remember Lorenzo Lamas on the series.  Falcon Crest ran from December 4, 1981 until May 17, 1990 on CBS.  Its setting was the luscious Napa Valley region in northern California.  The series chronicled the lives of a wealthy wine-producing family.  The matriarch was Angela Channing, played by Jane Wyman, a veteran actress and Ronald Regan’s first wife.  Angela Channing was a powerful woman and she ruled the Falcon Crest winery with an iron hand.  Angela’s lazy grandson, Lance Cumson, played by Lorenzo Lamas, was a handsome but irresponsible playboy. 

Lorenzo Lamas in his Falcon Crest days

After Falcon Crest, Lamas portrayed Reno Raines on the 1990s crime drama Renegade.  From February 2004 until February 2007, he played the role of Hector Ramirez on the daytime soap opera The Bold and The Beautiful.  In May of 2008, he began appearing in the Zaxby restaurant chain television commercials.  Now 53 years old, he stars as himself in Leave it to Lamas, a realty show on E! that is centred on his real-life family.

Lorenzo de Santos-Lamas was born on January 20, 1958 in Santa Monica, California.  He is the son of the late Argentine actor Fernando Lamas and Norwegian-American actress Arlene Dahl.  He is also the stepson of swimming film starlet, Esther Williams.  Fernando Lamas and Dahl were divorced in 1960 and Fernando married Williams in 1960 when Lorenzo was 11 years old.  The marriage lasted until the death of Fernando Lamas on October 8, 1982. 

Lorenzo Lamas has a string of broken marriages.  He has been wed and divorced four times and is the father of six children by three different women.  His first marriage was to Victoria Hilbert from 1981 until 1982.  He then married Michele Smith in 1982.  Lamas and Smith had two children, a son named Alvaro Joshua “A.J.” Lamas (born December 19, 1983) and a daughter named Shayne Lamas (born November 9, 1985).  Lorenzo split with his second wife in 1985. 

In 1989, Lamas married Kathleen Kinmont, the daughter of his Falcon Crest co-star Abby Dalton (Dalton played Lorenzo’s television mother, Julia Cumson).  Lorenzo and Kathleen Kinmont divorced in 1993.  Lamas then married for a fourth time in 1996 to Playmate of the Month Shauna Sand.  That marriage produced three daughters: Alexandra Lynne Lamas (born November 22, 1997), Victoria Lamas (born April 24, 1999) and Isabella Lorenza Lamas (born February 2, 2001).  Lorenzo and Sand divorced in 2002.  Lamas is also the father of a daughter, Paton Lee (born 1998), with actress Daphne Ashbrook.

Check out Lorenzo Lamas’ official website at http://www.lorenzo-lamas.com/html/current_projects.html  

EDITOR'S UPDATE (June 6, 2013) - Lorenzo Lamas, married Shawna Craig at the Casa Dorada Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on April 30, 2011.  It was his fifth marriage.  He proposed to Shawna, 29 years his junior, at Mr. Chow's restaurant in Beverly Hills, California. 

- Joanne

FLINTSTONES QUIZ

TV BANTER QUIZ #4

If you are a Flintstones fanatic, TV Banter has a treat for you today.  In honour of the 48^th birthday of Pebbles Flintstone (she was born on an episode called “The Blessed Event” which aired on February 22, 1963), here is a 15-question quiz on the series.  Good luck!

Ann-Margrock

 
















1.  What was the name of the lullaby that Ann-Margrock (the  voice of Ann-Margret) sang to baby Pebbles Flintstone?

A.  Rock-a-bye Baby

B. Counting Sheep

C.  The Littlest Lamb

D.  An Irish Lullaby

E.  Go to Sleep, My Baby

2.  In a November 12, 1964 episode of The Flintstones, a strange family (similar to the Addams Family and The Munsters) moves into a cave nearby Fred and Wilma.  What was the last name of this weird family?

A.  The Gruesomes

B.  The Weirdlys

C.  The Creepsters

D.  The Ghostlys

E.  The Grimlys

3.  Who provided the yapping voice for Dino the Dinosaur?

A.  Ted Knight

B.  Rich Little

C.  Jackie Gleason

D.  Mel Blanc

E.  Buddy Ebsen

4.  What was the name of the paperboy who often annoyed and outsmarted Fred?

A.  Elmer

B.  Arnold

C.  Eddie

D.  Billy

E.  Bobby

5.  What year did The Flinstones make its debut on the ABC network?

A.  1962

B.  1963

C.  1960

D.  1961

E.  1959

6.  What was the name of Wilma’s mother, Fred’s antagonistic mother-in-law?

A.  Jane Rockstone

B.  Mona Chiprock

C.  Margaret Soapstone

D.  Ethel Cragg

E.  Pearl Slaghoople

The Great Gazoo

7.  The Great Gazoo was a tiny, green alien who first appeared on the show on October 29, 1965.  Who provided the voice for the Great Gazoo?

A.  Bob Newhart

B.  Harvey Korman

C.  Tim Conway

D.  Ed Asner

E.  Tony Randall

8.  What was the name of the Great Gazoo’s native planet?  (This is your bonus question.  Give yourself an extra point if you answer it correctly)

A.  Zetox

B.  Xerox

C.  Plutarch

D.  X-Rock

E.  Marstone

9.   What was the name of the Flintsones’ sabre-toothed tiger?

A.  Kitty

B.  Sparky

C.  Pussy Cat

D.  Baby Puss

E.  Tiger-rock

10.  What was the name of Fred’s wealthy uncle from Texas.

A.  Roy Oilrock

B.  Howard Texstone

C.  Tex Hardrock

D.  Wild Bill Hickrock

E.  Eugene Rockstone

11.  Where was Pebbles Flintstone born?

A.  Bedrock Hospital

B.  Bedrock Memorial Hospital

C.  Rock Creek Memorial Hospital

D.  Boulder Maternity Hospital

E.  Bedrock General Hospital




Bamm Bamm Rubble

12.  What did Barney and Betty do before they found baby Bamm Bamm on their doorstep?

A.  They knocked on wood

B.  The ate dinner

C.  They built a nursery

D.  They both had a dream they would find a child

E.  They wished upon a star

13.  Where did Fred fall asleep and have a Rip Van Winkle dream?

A.  At the opera

B.  At his company picnic

C.  In his backyard hammock

D.  On his porch

E.  Watching television in his living room

14.  What was the name of the dance craze created by Fred Flintstone after accidentally dropping a bowling ball on his foot.

A.  The Flintstone

B.  The Freddie

C.  The Frantic

D.  The Bowling Ball Rock

E.  The Fred Rock

15.  Fred and Barney attend an international Boy Scouts (Cave Scouts) Jamboree.  They join the scouts in a multilingual rousing rendition of which song?

A.  Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore

B.  Row Row Row Your Boat

C.  If I Had a Hammer

D. Old MacDonald Had a Farm

E.  Kumbaya

ANSWERS

1.  C.  Ann-Margrock sang “The Littlest Lamb” to Pebbles.

To view a video of Ann-Margrock singing “The Littlest Lamb”, click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fsrPtNdjcw

2.  A.  The Gruesomes

Weirdly and Creepella Gruesome, and their son Gobby, move into Tombstone Manor.

To view a Flintstones promo with the Gruesomes, click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-JnMNIcOBM

3.  D.  Mel Blanc

Famed voice actor Mel Blanc, “The Man of a Thousand Voices” provided the yapping sound of Dino the Dinosaur.  Mel was also the voice of Barney Rubble, although Daws Butler assumed the role briefly while Mel recovered from a car accident.

4.  B.  Arnold



Arnold the paperboy



5.  C.  1960

The Flintstones ran from September 30, 1960 until September 2, 1966.

6.  E.  Pearl Slaghoople

Wilma Flintstone’s maiden is a source of dispute.  In early episodes of the 1960-1966 series, it is clearly Wilma Pebble.  For example, in the episode “The Entertainer”, Wilma’s old friend Greta Gravel refers to her as Wilma Pebble.  In later episodes, however, Wilma’s maiden name is Slaghoople, based upon the name of her mother, Pearl Slaghoople,  in the original series.

7.  B.  Harvey Korman

Harvey Korman of The Carol Burnett Show famed voiced The Great Gazoo.

8.  A.  Zetox

Gazoo was exiled from his home planet, Zetox, as a punishment for having invented a doomsday machine, a weapon of mass destruction.

9.  D.  Baby Puss

The name of the Flintstones’ sabre-toothed tiger was Baby Puss.

10.  A.  Tex Hardrock

Fred’s rich Texas uncle on his mother’s side was named Tex Hardrock.

11.  A.  Bedrock Hospital

Pebbles Flintstone was born at Bedrock Hospital in an episode entitled "The Blessed Event" (Season 3, Episode 23, Air Date: February 22, 1963).

12.  E.  They wished upon a star.

Barney and Betty wished upon a star and then found their super strong child, Bamm Bamm.

13.  B.  At his company picnic

In an episode titled “Rip Van Flintstone" (Season 6, Episode 8, Air Date: November 5, 1965), Fred falls asleep under a tree at his company picnic.  When he awakens, it seems as if twenty years have passed.  Barney is a wealthy tycoon and Pebbles and Bamm Bamm are married.

14.  C.  The Frantic

In a 1965 episode “Shinrock-A-Go-Go”, Fred drops a bowling ball on his foot.  He jumps around, howls in pain and creates a dance sensation called The Frantic.  The episode is a takeoff of the then-popular TV music show Shindig.

15.  D.  Old MacDonald Had a Farm

The Boy Scouts (Cave Scouts) sing Old MacDonald Had a Farm in a 1964 episode entitled "Cave Scout Jubilee."

- Joanne

Kristin Harmon Nelson and her sister, Kelly Harmon

On January 17, 2011, I wrote about Kristin Harmon Nelson and her years on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.  I also wrote about her life as an artist in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  The response I have received to that posting has been overwhelming. It was viewed by far more people than anything else I have written on TV Banter.  I had no idea there was so much interest in Kris.  It appears that many readers would like to see more current photos of her.  If that includes you, click on the link below to read a 2008 interview (including more recent pictures) with Kris Harmon Nelson on santafe.com

http://www.santafe.com/articles/for-kristin-nelson-life-and-art-finally-come-together-peacefully-in-santa-fe

In my blog entry of January 17, I failed to mention a couple of noteworthy items about Kris Harmon Nelson.

* In 1975, Kris played the role of Jean Reed, the wife of Officer Jim Reed (Kent McCord) in four episodes of the police series Adam-12.

* I also neglected to mention that in addition to her famous brother Mark Harmon, Kristin has a younger sister, actress Kelly Harmon.  Kelly was born in Los Angeles County, California on November 9, 1948 and is 62 years old.   At 59, brother Mark is the baby of the family.

In the 1980s, Kelly Harmon made appearances on such television series as Barnaby Jones (1980), The Incredible Hulk (1980), Nero Wolfe (1981) and T.J. Hooker (1982).  In 1981, she played the role of Jane Lewis on the popular daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless.  In the 1980s and 1990s, Kelly Harmon appeared in television commercials for Tic-Tac and was known as the Tic-Tac girl.  To view videos of her Tic Tac ads, click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwf37CRZUNk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQtfnfr4V38&NR=1

Kelly Harmon

Kelly has the distinction of being the second of the four wives of automobile magnate, John DeLorean.  They married on May 31, 1969 and divorced in 1972.  DeLorean, born January 6, 1925, was much older than Kelly.  The car mogul died at the age of 80 in 2005.  

On June 23, 1984, Kelly Harmon married publisher Robert L. "Bob" Miller.  According to.a report in The New  York Times, the wedding ceremony took place at the bride's home in Brentwood, California. The couple divorced in 1985.

Since 2002, Kelly Harmon has been an artist and interior designer in Los Angeles. 

 - Joanne

Humans versus computer on Jeopardy!

As I mentioned in my last posting, I am a huge fan of Jeopardy!.  This week, I watched two human beings play against an IBM supercomputer known as Watson.  The contest took place over two days and there were three rounds of play.  The human contestants consisted of top Jeopardy! winners Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings.

I have to say that I was cheering for my fellow humans.  Alas, it was not to be!  After the first round of the competition, the contest was too close to call.  Rutter was tied with Watson while Jennings was only a few thousand dollars behind.  In the second round, known as Double Jeopardy, the complexion of the game changed dramatically.  The supercomputer pulled ahead and took a massive lead of more than $30,000.  It managed to buzz in ahead of the humans almost all the time and it usually answered correctly. 

Then came the third round, known as Final Jeopardy!.  The category was U.S. cities and the question was, “This U.S. city’s largest airport is named for a famous World War II hero, its second largest for a famous World War II battle."  Both human contestants answered correctly with Chicago (O’Hare Airport and Midway Airport).  Supercomputer Watson, on the other hand, wrote down, “What is Toronto???” and the audience was shocked.  I sat there in disbelief.  Instead of an American city, this technological marvel had chosen the largest city in Canada, which just happens to be my hometown.  The show's Canadian-born host, Alex Trebek. was also clearly taken aback. 

The supercomputer still won the game easily because it wagered only a pittance on its Final Jeopardy! answer.  I felt pleased, however, that Watson performed so poorly on the Final Jeopardy! segment.  It was rather reassuring to see the machine come up with a head-scratching answer.  The system obviously has some glitches.

Although the supercomputer outplayed Ken and Brad, it was still gratifying to watch a couple of flesh-and-blood human beings outperform a computer in at least one segment of the competition.  Yet, I still wonder why, of all the non-American cities in the entire world, Watson chose Toronto. 

Humans make mistakes, but when computers err, they mess up big time.  It seemed quite fitting that at the end of the show, Alex Trebek was only able to shake hands with the two human.  Watson was visually represented by a face/avatar created with Adobe Flash. 

By the way, Watson earned a total prize of $1 million for defeating his opponents.  IBM said that the money will be donated to charities World Vision and World Community Grid.

END NOTES

Here is some trivia about Jeopardy. How ironic is that, trivia about a trivia contest?

Jeopardy! made its debut on NBC on March 30, 1964.  The show’s creator was Merv Griffin.  Merv also composed “Think”, the theme song for Final Jeopardy!.  The song was originally titled “A Time for Tony” and was a lullaby which Griffin created for his son, Tony.

Art Fleming

Art Fleming was the show’s original host.  Fleming died of pancreatic cancer on April 25, 1995 at the age of 70.  Alex Trebek has hosted the show since 1984.

- Joanne

Why I Watch the CBC

Okay, I admit it!  I actually enjoy watching the CBC.  Is that un-Canadian or something?  Am I not supposed to confess that I only watch the Mother Corp. out of duty or obligation?  Wouldn't I really prefer to be viewing Glee or Dancing with the Stars or Two and a Half Men?

Well, first of all, why does it have to be either/or?  I watch the CBC, but I also enjoy American television too.  Secondly, the CBC provides me with programming that I just can’t get on any other network.  It is a window to my own country. 

So what do I watch on the CBC?  Well, I always tune in The Rick Mercer Report.  He’s very funny and I just love his satirical wit, and his weekly rant.  Yes, I look forward to "Rick’s Rant" as he walks through an alley filled with graffiti art.

Another favourite of mine is This Hour Has 22 Minutes.  There is no doubt that Newfoundlanders are the finest comedians in Canada.  From Rick to Cathy Jones to Mark Critch and Shawn Majumder, they are the leaders in comedy in this country.  So, here’s to The Rock!  Speaking of Newfoundland, another native of the province is making a name for himself on CBC’s Republic of Doyle.  Alan Hawko plays Jake Doyle who runs a private investigations agency with his father in St. John’s.

As I’ve mentioned before, I am a fan of Little Mosque on the Prairie.  This season, Amaar Rashid (Zaib Shaikh) and Rayyan Hamoudi (Sitara Hewitt) are finally together and they are engaged. 
Now the show is exploring the complications and nuances of their relationship as they prepare for their wedding.  Where else but on the CBC could I watch a series about a group of Muslims in a small prairie town who rent some space for a mosque at a local church?  Would U.S. audiences be ready for a show based on this premise?  My guess is probably not.

This season on Little Mosque, Carlo Rota has not appeared as Yasir Hamoudi.  Rota has been working in the United States and has appeared on such programs as Human Target and Goldilocks.  He is best known to American audiences for his five seasons as Mick Schtoppel on the USA Netoworks’s hit show Nikita.  I miss his presence on Little Mosque.

For news and current events, I watch Peter Mansbridge and The National.  I met Peter once at a retirement party for former Toronto Star entertainment writer Jim Bawden.  I asked him why you never see snow and winter scenes on Little Mosque.  He told me that the show is not filmed during the winter.  Okay, but couldn’t they use artificial snow?  How can you depict a little town in Saskatchewan without snow?

One of my favourite segments of The National is the “At Issue” discussions on Thursday nights.  I enjoy Peter’s political banter with a panel of pundits consisting of Andrew Coyne, Chantal Hebert and Allan Gregg.  It is incisive and thought-provoking.  After the National, there’s George Stroumboulopoulo Tonight (formerly The Hour).  Strombo is entertaining and usually has good guests.  Not only that, but I’ve grown accustomed to the red chairs on his set.

I am partial to the CBC because the other networks mostly just simulcast American programming. Why should I watch a Canadian network for that when I can just as easily watch CBS or NBC?  The CBC isn’t perfect, but it is ours, and it reflects this country.  Like Canadians, it is often self-deprecating.  It doesn’t take itself too seriously.  Often, on programs such as The Rick Mercer Report and 22 Minutes, CBC personalities and their shows are parodied.

 END NOTES

* I have to say that I am not big on realty shows.  Yes, I know they are popular, but I don’t get anything out of them.  Most of them don’t cost much money to make, but they can be pretty awful.  Right from the beginning, I was never a fan of the Survivor series.

* For the record, my current favourite American programs are Mad Men and The Good Wife.

* As you can tell, I revel in political humour.  It is my favourite type of comedy.  One CBC programs I really miss is Royal Canadian Air Farce.  I was very disappointed when it ended its run.  I still watch the Air Farce New Year’s special.

* I don’t often watch game shows, but I am avid fan of Jeopardy.  I used to watch it way back when Art Fleming was the host.  Its current host, Alex Trebek, was born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario.  On a recent edition of the show, Alex made reference to his Canadian roots and declared that he had a bone to pick with one of the contestants.  The contestant, a female, revealed that she passes herself off as a Canadian when travelling.  She feels that Americans get a bad rap which they don’t deserve.  At the end of her explanation, she added rather sheepishly and apologetically to Alex, “Sorry.”  Hey, maybe she really is Canadian, or perhaps she’s been imitating Canadians so long that she is beginning to sound like one.

KRIS HARMON NELSON PHOTOS

On January 17, 2011, I wrote about Kristin Harmon Nelson.  I received far more response to that posting than to anything else I have written on TV Banter.  There is obviously a great interest in Kris.  It seems that some people would like to see more current pictures of her.  If you are one of them, click on this October, 2008 interview she did with Hal Wingo on santafe.com

http://www.santafe.com/articles/for-kristin-nelson-life-and-art-finally-come-together-peacefully-in-santa-fe

I promise to keep you informed of any news or updates regarding Kristin Harmon Nelson.

- Joanne

Golly, Jack Larson, it's your birthday!

Jeepers, Superman!  Jimmy Olsen turns 82 years old today.  I’d like to wish a Happy Birthday to Jack Larson, the man who portrayed the young cub reporter in The Adventures of Superman from 1952 until 1958.  Jack Edward Larson was born in Los Angeles, California on February 8, 1928 (He has at times claimed 1933 as his birth year, so he may only be 78 years old).  His father was a milk-truck driver in East Los Angeles and his mother was a Western Union clerk.

Jack was an only child and his parents divorced.  He attended Pasadena Junior College (now Pasadena City College) as did his co-star in The Adventures of Superman, George Reeves.  At Pasadena College, Larson was motivated to write plays and he also took to the stage

In 1948, Larson had the lead role in a musical comedy he had written called Balguna del Mar and was spotted by an agent from Warner Brothers.  He became a contract player at the studio and was cast in the post-World War II film Fighter Squadron.  The film was directed by Raoul Walsh and featured another newcomer by the name of Rock Hudson.

In 1951, Larson’s agent suggested to him that he audition for the role of Jimmy Olsen in the new Superman television series.  Larson was reluctant to try out for the part because he was determined to be a serious actor.  The casting director assured him that nobody would see the show and compared it to a Saturday morning serial.   Larson was advised to take the money and run, so he accepted the job.  He never dreamed how popular the series would become.

Due to his Jimmy Olsen role, however, the actor became typecast.  He was recognized everywhere as Jimmy and he felt trapped by the character.  Although the role brought Jack much fame, it became a detriment to his acting career.  The Superman series ended abruptly when its star, George Reeves, apparently committed suicide in June of 1959 (Some believe he was murdered or the victim of an accidental shooting).

After the demise of the show, Jack Larson had great difficulty finding work.  He eventually quit acting to concentrate on writing plays and musical librettos. Through the years, however, Larson has made some notable television appearances.  In 1960, he played the role of Buzz in an instalment of The Millionaire.  He also appeared as a corporal named Tommy in a Gomer Pyle USMC episode entitled “PFC Gomer Pyle”.  The episode aired on September 17, 1965.  In more recent years, Larson has taken cameo roles associated with Superman and his Jimmy Olsen character.

In 1991, he appeared on the television series Superboy along with Noel Neill, the actress who played Lois Lane in The Adventures of Superman.  He was also featured as an older Jimmy Olsen in an episode of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.  The episode was entitled “Brutal Youth” and was first telecast on October 20, 1996.  In the late 1990s, Larson had a cameo alongside Jerry Seinfeld and an animated Superman in an American Express commercial.  In his most recent television appearance, he guest starred on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit in an episode which aired on January 26, 2010.

Golly, Mr Kent, here are a few other tidbits about Jack Larson. 

* During the late 1969 and early 1970s, he adamantly opposed the Vietnam War.  That was not a popular stance at the time and it most certainly did not help his career.

* His partner for 35 years was screenwriter and film director James Bridges.  Larson served as co-producer of such Bridges’ films as The Paper Chase (1973) and Urban Cowboy (1980).  Their relationship lasted until Bridges died of cancer in 1993. 

* He lives in Brentwood, California in a home designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

-  Joanne

EDITOR'S UPDATE (September 22, 2015): On September 20, 2015, Jack Larson died at his home in the the Brentwood neighbourhood of Los Angeles.  He was 87 years old.

Keith Thibodeaux: The Actor Who Played Little Ricky

There seems to be some confusion about who portrayed Little Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy.  Many people are under the mistaken belief that Lucille Ball’s real-life son, Desi Arnaz, Jr. played the role.  The part was actually played by Keith Thibodeaux (his stage name was Richard Keith).  It’s not really surprising that Keith’s name is not well known.  He was not even billed on I Love Lucy, and on the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, he was credited as “Little Ricky” rather than Richard Keith.

Keith Raymond Thibodeaux was born on December 1, 1950 in Lafayette, Louisiana.  He is of Cajun French background. His last name was considered too difficult for American television viewers to pronounce and he was given the stage name of Richard Keith.

 Thibodeaux was a child prodigy and learned to play the drums at a very early age.  He started with banging spoons and was touring as a professional drummer when he was just 3 years of age.  He played in a national Big Band tour and was discovered by The Horace Heidt Show, a 1950s version of American Idol.  He was billed as “the world’s tiniest drummer” and toured with the Horace Heidt Orchestra.

As the sixth season of I Love Lucy approached, it was evident that a child actor would be needed to portray Little Ricky.  The babies used in the previous seasons would no longer do.  Little Ricky was older now and the search for someone to portray him was on.   In May of 1956, auditions for the coveted role of Little Ricky took place and nobody qualified. 

It happened that Keith Thibodeaux was in Hollywood to perform in a band.  Keith’s father, a fan of I Love Lucy, had heard about Desilu’s search for a boy to play Little Ricky.  He decided to bring his five-year old son to the casting department.  Keith was hired because of his talent for playing the drums and his resemblance to Desi Arnaz.  His initial salary was about $461 dollars a week. 

After Keith completed his appearances on I Love Lucy and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour in 1960, he made appearances on other television shows and continued with his drumming and performing arts.  In 1961, he appeared in episodes of Ben Casey (“An Expensive Glass of Water”) and Route 66 (“Trap at Cordova”).  Most notably, Keith played Opie Taylor’s friend Johnny Paul Jason in 12 episodes of The Andy Griffith Show spanning from 1962 until 1966.

When Thibodeaux was 15, his parents divorced and he returned to Louisiana with his mother. During high school and a brief time in college, he worked as a drummer in a rock band.  By the age of 24, he had developed a serious drug problem and his life was so unhappy that he entertained suicidal thoughts.

Fortunately, Keith was able to turn things around.  He won his battle with drugs and became a devout Christian.  He married a ballet dancer named Kathy Denton in 1976 and the couple moved to Southern California.  In 1979, they returned to the Southern U.S. and settled in Jackson, Mississippi where their daughter Tara was born.  He spent a decade touring with the Christian band, David and the Giants.

Now 60 years old, Thibodeaux still entertains with dance groups and drums.  He also manages his wife’s ballet company, Ballet Magnificat.  Of his childhood years with Lucille Ball, he recalled in a 2008 article by Audrey T. Hingley entitled “From Lucy to the Lord" that "Lucy was very demanding as far as what she expected from people, but she was also a mother figure to me on the set.  I didn’t see myself as a celebrity.  I was there to do a job.”

- Joanne