Director Guerdon Trueblood and co-star Vince Martorano had been best friends at George Washington University in Virginia and, both being interested in the film industry, had a bet as to who would find success first. Trueblood became an in-demand writer for TV shows and movies-of-the-week, and when he got the job of directing "The Candy Snatchers," asked writer Bryan Gindoff to create the character of Eddy specifically for Martorano, who was working as a commercial fisherman when he was summoned by Trueblood to appear in the film.