Scardino was born in New York City, to jazz musician parents. His first Broadway credit was as an understudy in The Playroom in 1965. Additional Broadway acting credits include Johnny No-Trump, Godspell, and King of Hearts. Off-Broadway he appeared in The Rimers of Eldritch, The Comedy of Errors, Moonchildren, and I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road, he was also the lead in a B horror movie titled Squirm in 1976. He additionally starred in several episodes of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, which ran from 1974 to 1982. In addition, he served as artistic Director at Playwrights Horizons from 1991 to 1996. On television he appeared on the daytime soap operas The Guiding Light, All My Children, Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, and Another World and the primetime series The Ghost & Mrs. Muir and The Name of the Game. Feature film credits include The People Next Door, Rip-off, Homer, Squirm, Cruising and He Knows You're Alone.