Rising to prominence among teenage audiences as an adolescent, he is also known for his multiple guest-starring roles throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s on such television series as the ABC Afterschool Special, Little House on the Prairie, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, CHiPs, and Dallas, among others.
[1] He has one younger sibling, a sister named Annaliesa (born in 1969), who was also a child actor, appearing in numerous commercials as well as guest-starring with him in an episode of Little House on the Prairie.
In the episode's storyline entitled "Hit Man", Scribner portrayed Greg Forbush, the son of a desperate businessman (David Doyle) whose wish is to be killed so that his family can collect on his life insurance.
Airing on September 22, 1979, and titled "The Contest Kid Strikes Again", it was one of the rare times ABC produced a sequel episode to one of their live-action Weekend Special stories.
[4] In the episode entitled "The Lost Child", Scribner played Luke Middens, a lonely young boy who develops a special relationship with Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy), after his father is hired as a ranch hand at Southfork.
[4] The moments when Salem's Lot's Glick brothers, with their ghastly pale faces, eyes burning with an intelligence deeply rooted in something both evil and ancient, float outside the window tapping on the glass and whispering, 'Let me in,' are among the most captivatingly sinister sequences ever put to film.
On November 17, 1979, Scribner starred in what would become his most famous role, that of the child vampire Ralphie Glick in the two-part CBS television movie Salem's Lot.
[7] For the list, horror writer-director James Gunn wrote of Scribner's performance - "The moment with the little vampire brother knocking on the window, scraping and making that horrible sound.
[4] In the episode's storyline entitled "Tres Amigos", Scribner played Keith Gaines, a boy who befriends Vicki (Jill Whelan) while the two try to hide a young stowaway (Tony Ramirez) on his way to Mexico to visit his mother.
[3] As indicated by the episode's title, Scribner played Terry, a new friend who causes anxiety for Norman (Joe Santos) when he spends the night as a sleepover guest of the series' young female titular character, Maxx (Melissa Michaelsen).
[2][4] Premiering on April 8, 1980, Scribner originated the role of Jeremiah Hawkes (later played by Charles Fields and Kris Kamm in subsequent film installments), the long-lost son of a gambler (Kenny Rogers) who seeks out his father after learning of his true identity.
[2][3] In the allegorical coming-of-age story, Scribner played Daniel Cooper, a Jewish boy who prepares to fight a bully when his family faces antisemitism in 1938 Bridgeport, Connecticut.
[2][4] In the film, Scribner portrayed Sean Stetson, the adolescent brother of a young man (Michael O'Keefe) whose family struggles to bring him home after he joins a religious "commune".
[4] In the episode entitled "Rage", Scribner guest-starred as Randall Page, a teenage boy in Walnut Grove who falls in love with a girl (Tammy Lauren) whose father, plagued by personal and financial troubles, becomes unhinged after learning of the young lovers' budding romance.
[2] In 1985, he was reportedly set to co-star in the feature film The Falcon and the Snowman,[11] but his role was subsequently cut from the final edit and interest from the teen magazines eventually waned.