 In 1964 Budd was contacted by friend James Drury, who is best known for his title role in The Virginian.Drury told Budd that Clu Gulager was producing Bye Bye Birdie for summer stock in North Carolina and Budd got the part of Conrad Birdie, one of the leads.In 1966, he appeared in two episodes during the first season of as an actor and was killed off in both shows