Scarpelli's role as Alex Handris (1980–83) on the long-running television situation comedy One Day at a Time is his most prominent. He left that sitcom to appear in the NBC sitcom Jennifer Slept Here. Other television appearances include 3-2-1 Contact, Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories, MacGyver and The Love Boat. He was also a co-host in summer 1983 of the NBC game show/human interest show Fantasy.
He released a self-titled pop album in 1983, which included the single "Get a Love On".