Buddy Campbell grew up in the Ozark Foothills of Arkansas. While getting his degree from Arkansas Tech University he took several jobs including a position with his hometown newspaper as a movie critic.

While getting paid to watch every movie that came to town, he became hooked on the cinema. He got leads in college plays but when he graduated he thought his acting career was over. For the next twenty years or so he made a living in the real world doing "real" jobs but his love for movies never died.