Enrique Alberto Ricardo IV, better known as Little Ricky, is a fictional character from the American television series ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...

'' (1951–57, with Ricky Jr. becoming a part of the show as of his birth in 1953) and ''

The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' (1957–60). Little Ricky is the son of

Lucy Ricardo Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, ...

and

Ricky Ricardo Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, also known simply as Lucy and Ricky or the Ricardos, are fictional characters from the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', portrayed respectively by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The Ricardos also appear in ''The ...

. Little Ricky lives with his parents in a New York

brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Type ...

apartment building, which is owned and run by his godparents. During the series' final season, the family moves to a suburban house in

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census. History ...

. Little Ricky was played by a number of actors, including James John Ganzer, twins Richard and Ronald Lee Simmons, twins Michael and Joseph Mayer and, most notably, Keith Thibodeaux, billed as Little Ricky. Although the ''I Love Lucy'' announcer and the opening credits of ''The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour'' gave his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

as "Little Ricky", in his post-''Lucy'' acting career, particularly his four-year irregular stint on ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. Th ...

'', he was billed as Richard Keith.

Fictional character biography

Lucy finds out she was expecting Little Ricky on the Season 2 episode "Lucy is Enceinte." The episode in which he is born, "Lucy goes to the Hospital," was aired on January 19, 1953, the same day as the birth of Lucille Ball's actual son,

Desi Arnaz Jr. Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV (born January 19, 1953), known professionally as Desi Arnaz Jr., is an American actor and musician. He is the son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Early life Arnaz was born on January 19, 1953, at Cedars-Sinai Medical ...

*Mother:

, played by Lucille Ball *Father:

, played by Desi Arnaz *Maternal Grandmother: Mrs. MacGillicuddy, played by

Kathryn Card Kathryn Card (October 4, 1892 – March 1, 1964) was an American radio, television, and film actress who may be best remembered for her role as Mrs. McGillicuddy, Lucy's mother on ''I Love Lucy''. Radio Born in Butte, Montana one of the four ch ...

*Godfather:

Fred Mertz Frederick Hobart Mertz, played by William Frawley, is a fictional character in the 1950s American sitcom ''I Love Lucy''. Character Fred was born and raised on a farm in the Midwest; in one episode, Ethel says that Fred's mother comes to visit on ...

played by

William Frawley William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best remembered for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the American television sitcom '' I Love Lucy'', "Bub" O'Casey in the television comedy ser ...

*Godmother:

Ethel Mertz Ethel Mae Mertz (née Potter) (alternately Ethel Louise, Ethel May, and Ethel Roberta), played by Vivian Vance, is one of the four main fictional characters in the highly popular 1950s American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy''. Ethel is the middle ...

played by

Vivian Vance Vivian Vance (born Vivian Roberta Jones; July 26, 1909 – August 17, 1979) was an American actress and singer best known for playing Ethel Mertz on the sitcom ''I Love Lucy'' (1951–1957), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Out ...

*Babysitter: Mrs. Matilda Trumball played by Elizabeth Patterson *Classmates: Stevie Appleby and Bruce Ramsey. Little Ricky's father buys him a set of drums in the season 6 episode "Little Ricky Learns to play the Drums," after he shows he can carry a beat while tapping his spoon on a glass during a family breakfast. His parents enroll him in a music school where he is the only drummer, where he forms a band named "Ricky Ricardo and the Dixieland Band." Little Ricky experiences stage fright before his first music school recital but seems to overcome stage fright as he performs comfortably in many other episodes, such as "The Ricardos Visit Cuba," where he plays the conga drum alongside his father; "Little Ricky's School Pageant," where he plays the lead; and "Ragtime Band," where Little Ricky plays the drums alongside his mother and godparents.

Episode appearances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricardo, Ricky Jr. Child characters in television Fictional characters from Connecticut Fictional characters from New York City I Love Lucy characters Television characters introduced in 1953