Dennis Rush obit

Child Star Mourns Death of Fellow ‘Andy Griffith Show’ Actor and Close Friend Dennis Rush

Former child actor Keith Thibodeaux is mourning the loss of fellow ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ actor Dennis Rush after decades of friendship and appearances together at Mayberry fan events. 

He was not on the list.

Keith Thibodeaux mourns Dennis Rush, longtime friend and Andy Griffith Show co-star.

Thibodeaux recalls praying with Rush after Rush's leukemia diagnosis at a festival.

Rush appeared in classic 1950s-60s TV, including eight Andy Griffith Show episodes.

Former child star Keith Thibodeaux is mourning the loss of fellow actor Dennis Rush, his longtime friend and former co-star from The Andy Griffith Show.

Thibodeaux, who famously played Little Ricky on I Love Lucy under the stage name Richard Keith, shared the news in an emotional Facebook post alongside a photo of the two actors together at a fan event.

“I just got word that my old buddy Dennis Rush, a fine actor and a great friend passed away,” Thibodeaux wrote. “What a shock.”

He continued by remembering Rush’s connection to The Andy Griffith Show, where the two appeared together as part of Opie Taylor’s (Ron Howard) circle of childhood friends.

“He was with us as one of Opie’s buddies,” Thibodeaux wrote. “He’s the one sitting down. I will miss him at the Andy Griffith festivals as we had so many stories to tell.”

In a 2022 interview with WRAL, Rush said working on The Andy Griffith Show was “the best.”

“I got to be in eight episodes over about a two-and-a-half year period. It was just the best of the best,” said Rush in the interview. He also said that he got his start playing James Cagney’s son in the movie Man of a Thousand Faces and that he and the Oscar-winning actor exchanged Christmas cards every year until Cagney died in 1986.

Thibodeaux also revealed that he had recently prayed with Rush after learning of his leukemia diagnosis.

“I’m just glad that I was able to pray with him last month at one of the festivals when he found out that he was diagnosed with leukemia,” he added. “Mayberry has lost a great citizen and a great friend!”

Fans and former colleagues quickly filled the comments section with condolences. Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill, daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, wrote, “Sorry, Keith. Those decades long friendships are the best. He will save a nice place for you where he’s going, I’m sure.”

Another fan commented, “My condolences for the loss of a long time friend. It seems there is much loss of our generation these days.”

Rush appeared in eight episodes of The Andy Griffith Show as Howie Pruitt, one of Opie Taylor’s close friends. Thibodeaux played Johnny Paul Jason, another recurring member of Opie’s group.

According to his IMDb biography, Rush was born in California in 1951 and appeared in a number of classic television series during the 1950s and 1960s, including Wagon Train, Laramie, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, The Lucy Show and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. His final listed acting credit came in 1966, but it sounds like he routinely attended Andy Griffith Show fan events.

Dennis Rush was born on June 10, 1951 in California, USA. He is an actor, known for Man of a Thousand Faces (1957), My Favorite Martian (1963) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955).

Actor

Kurt Russell and Fred MacMurray in Follow Me, Boys! (1966)

Follow Me, Boys!

7.1

Jimmy (uncredited)

1966

 

And Baby Makes Three (1966)

And Baby Makes Three

7.3

TV Movie

Buddy

1966

 

Ron Howard, Frances Bavier, and Andy Griffith in The Andy Griffith Show (1960)

The Andy Griffith Show

8.4

TV Series

Howie PruittHowie Williams

1963–1965

8 episodes

 

Walt Disney in The Magical World of Disney (1954)

The Magical World of Disney

8.3

TV Series

Freckles

1965

2 episodes

 

Robert Cummings and Julie Newmar in My Living Doll (1964)

My Living Doll

7.4

TV Series

Boy

1964

1 episode

 

Kraft Suspense Theatre (1963)

Kraft Suspense Theatre

7.7

TV Series

Billy

1964

1 episode

 

My Favorite Martian (1963)

My Favorite Martian

7.2

TV Series

Horace

1964

1 episode

 

Breaking Point (1963)

Breaking Point

7.1

TV Series

Billy Carson

1964

1 episode

 

Laramie (1959)

Laramie

7.7

TV Series

BoyBit BoyTeddy

1962–1963

3 episodes

 

Gunsmoke (1955)

Gunsmoke

8.1

TV Series

Kid (uncredited)

1962

1 episode

 

Going My Way (1962)

Going My Way

7.6

TV Series

Terry Donnely

1962

1 episode

 

Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance in The Lucy Show (1962)

The Lucy Show

7.2

TV Series

Tony Lawrence

1962

1 episode

 

Raymond Burr in Perry Mason (1957)

Perry Mason

8.3

TV Series

Timmy

1962

1 episode

 

John McIntire in Wagon Train (1957)

Wagon Train

7.6

TV Series

Ham StrykerDavey AdamsHomer ...

1960–1962

7 episodes

 

John Derek, Richard Jaeckel, and Chill Wills in Frontier Circus (1961)

Frontier Circus

7.7

TV Series

1st Boy

1962

1 episode

 

Alfred Hitchcock in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

8.5

TV Series

Bob Darby

1961

1 episode

 

Checkmate (1960)

Checkmate

7.4

TV Series

Tommy LakoFreighter Blaisden

1961

2 episodes

 

Ronald Reagan in General Electric Theater (1953)

General Electric Theater

6.8

TV Series

Bobby Galloway

1960

2 episodes

 

Henry Fonda in The Deputy (1959)

The Deputy

7.0

TV Series

Timmy Jackson

1959

1 episode

 

Frank McHugh and Marvin Miller in The Millionaire (1955)

The Millionaire

7.8

TV Series

Boy Fishing on Beach (uncredited)

1959

1 episode

 

Audie Murphy in No Name on the Bullet (1959)

No Name on the Bullet

7.2

Billy Chaffee (uncredited)

1959

 

Lang Jeffries in Rescue 8 (1958)

Rescue 8

7.8

TV Series

Jim Hickey

1958

1 episode

 

James Cagney, Jim Backus, Robert Arthur, R. Wright Campbell, Robert Evans, Ivan Goff, Jane Greer, Dorothy Malone, Joseph Pevney, Marjorie Rambeau, Ben Roberts, and Ralph Wheelwright in Man of a Thousand Faces (1957)

Man of a Thousand Faces

7.1

Creighton Chaney at 4

1957

 

Archive Footage

Walt Disney in The Magical World of Disney (1954)

The Magical World of Disney

8.3

TV Series

Jimmy (archive footage)

1981

2 episodes