Ricky Ricardo, JR (AKA: "Little ricky") was born on January 19th, 1953 at 11 am. He was probably conceived sometime in the spring of 1952 in the first season of I Love Lucy, around episodes #32-35, when Lucy and Ricky were still sharing a single bed. He was born at least 2 weeks before his due date, because Lucy's baby was supposed to be due in February. Little Ricky is the apple of his parents' eyes, being that he is the Ricardos' only child. Fred and Ethel Mertz are his godparents, and he is so close to them that he calls them "Aunt Ethel and Uncle Fred." He even named his dog "Fred" after his godfather. As for other pets, he has Hopalong the frog, turtles Tommy and Jimmy, parakeets Alice and Phil, and fish Mildred and Charles. He once had a pet lizard, too, but it accidentally fell out the window.
TRIVIA
The episode when he is born, "Lucy goes to the Hospital" was aired on the same day as Lucille Ball's real son, Desi Arnaz, Jr. was born — Monday, January 19, 1953.
About Little Ricky[]
For the first five years of his life, he lived in a small brownstone apartment building in Manhattan, located at 623 East 68th Street. He was a mischievous toddler, often getting into things he shouldn't have. He usually was being watched by neighbor Mrs. Trumbull or his maternal grandmother, so his parents could go have fun with the Mertzes. When his parents and godparents set off on their road trip to Hollywood, Little Ricky stayed behind in New York, being cared for by his grandmother. A few weeks after the Ricardos and Mertzes arrived in Hollywood, Mrs. McGillicuddy flew out to California with Little Ricky.
Little Ricky celebrated his third birthday with only his grandmother Mrs. McGillicuddy (Lucy's mother), as his parents were vactioning in Europe at the time. Lucy sent him to nursery school shortly before his third birthday. There, he contracted another bout of tonsillitis and had to have his tonsils removed. He turned five years old a year before he should have, in 1957, so nobody knows what happened to him during most of his fourth year of life. Right before he turned five, Little Ricky discovered he has a true talent playing the drums, just like his father. He entered music school under the instruction of Mr. Crawford shortly after he first started playing drums. His first public recital was only a month after he started playing. Little Ricky has since performed playing the drums many times, both in a six-piece Dixieland band while in New York, as well as for several performances with his dad. Besides his drum playing, Little Ricky's Dixieland band included Buddy Noble on bass, Earl Robie on ukulele, Robert Norman on trumpet, Jeff Woodruff on trombone, and Larry Gleason on accordion. While in kindergarten, his teacher Miss Pringle ended up giving him the lead role of Billy Brown in the school play called "The Enchanted Forest."
His last months in New York saw him playing drums and playing with his New York best friend, Stevie Appleby. Little Ricky was lucky enough to have Superman appear at his fifth birthday party. But in 1957, his parents decided to move to the country, so Little Ricky started life anew in Westport, Connecticut. His parents feel that the country lifestyle will be healthier and more beneficial to their son's well-being. He quickly became good friends with the neighbor boy, Bruce Ramsey, and they often played together and slept over at each others' houses. He also appears to be friends with the Munsons' boy, Billy. Little Ricky and Fred the dog even stayed overnight with the Munsons one night. He stayed friends with Stevie Appleby, though, and one weekend, he visited the Applebys in New York and supposedly went to the zoo and to a Dodgers' game. As he got older, his Connecticut best friend became Billy Thompson, he won a pet racehorse named Whirling Jet in a cereal contest, became a proud member of Cub Scout Pack 714, and he supposedly got two new pet lizards.