At 14, Staten Island-born Glenn Scarpelli achieved official teen hearthrob status as Alex on the long-running sitcom, One Day at a Time. In part one of our interview, he discussed his childhood experiences performing on Broadway; as Archie comic-strip character; and as part of the Bloodhound Gang on PBS’s educational show, 3-2-1 Contact.
Since his pinup days, Glenn has gone on to start his own TV station and personal lubricant company with longtime partner Jude. He discusses how coming to terms with his sexuality has paved his unique personal and career path; as well as the premises behind Sedona Now TV and Green Love Lube.
So, just to clarify, you were just telling your business handlers that you were quitting—you weren’t telling them you were gay at that point?
No, I was totally in the closet still. In fact, I stayed as far away from that as possible. But I got my privacy. I lived in Manhattan; I actually fell in love with someone and we moved in together—and of course, in those days we were “roommates,” you know…
Well, I know you had mentioned—I think it was in the interview that you did with Out.com—that you felt really isolated as a result of not being out, at least in the entertainment industry. So was that a daily thing weighing on you, or to what degree did the actual pressure of having to be in the closet affect your decision to kind of go away from it for a while?
It was the main reason for my decision. When everybody knows your every move—I mean, today, it’s worse. My God, with the way the media is. People who are famous today, it’s so, so tough. Everybody knows everybody’s little move. But in those days, for me it was… stay the hell away. I wanted to someday walk into a gay club, or a gay bar, and if I did, it would be known. And I did not want that. It was more about my privacy, that was driving me crazy
I loved the business, I loved acting—I still do, but what you have to put up with — it’s part of the job. If you’re going to be famous, you’re not going to have privacy, period. And if you don’t like it, don’t be famous. And that’s when I got realistic and said, “Okay, I don’t want to be famous!”
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