McDonald was discovered when his mother wrote a letter, dictated from his father to Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, in which they enclosed a newspaper article of Buddy's local spelling bee win.
In later years, McDonald joined the United States Marine Corps, during World War II but broke his leg in boot camp and was honorably discharged.
Upon his release from jail in March 1953, Buddy attended his first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous and stayed sober until the end of his life.
After more than 10 years of being sober, he and a friend, Judge Leon Emerson, started what they named the "Dana" School (Drugs, Alcohol, Narcotics, Awareness) in Downey, California.
Women who were separated from their children and labeled "unfit mothers", due to their substance abuse problems, now had a chance to succeed and keep their families together.
After Marcia's death in 1996, Buddy McDonald moved to the retirement community of Leisure World in Seal Beach, California.