Arbuckle was born in Galveston, Texas to a family of Scottish descent.

Arbuckle made his film debut in Little Mary Sunshine (1916), playing Bob's father.

Arbuckle married Blanche Duquesne, the daughter of French immigrants, in October 1915.

Andrew Arbuckle died on September 21, 1938, in Los Angeles, aged 51, of a suspected heart attack, as had his cousin, Roscoe, in 1933.

Andrew Arbuckle was buried in an unmarked grave, plot #470, at Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery Garden of Ancestors.