Howard Rollins - wikipedia Howard Rollins Howard Rollins Rollins in Ragtime, 1981 Howard Ellsworth Rollins Jr. ( 1950 - 10 - 17 ) October 17, 1950 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. December 8, 1996 ( 1996 - 12 - 08 ) ( aged 46 ) New York, New York, U.S. Cause of death Lymphoma Resting place Woodlawn Cemetery, Baltimore Nationality American Other names Howard Rollins Jr. Howard E. Rollins Howard E. Rollins Jr. Alma mater Towson State University Occupation Actor Years active 1970 -- 1996 Howard Ellsworth Rollins Jr. ( October 17, 1950 -- December 8, 1996 ) was an American stage, film and television actor. Howard Rollins was best known for his role as Andrew Young in 1978 's King, George Haley in the 1979 miniseries Roots : The Next Generations, Coalhouse Walker Jr. in the 1981 film Ragtime, Captain Davenport in the 1984 film A Soldier 's Story, and as Virgil Tibbs on the crime drama In the Heat of the Night. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 3.1 Legal issues 4 Death 5 Legacy 6 Filmography 7 References 8 External links Early life Rollins was the youngest of four children born to Ruth and Howard Ellsworth Rollins Sr. in Baltimore, Maryland. His mother was a domestic worker while his father was a steelworker. Rollins Sr. died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 1980. Upon his high school graduation, Rollins studied theater at Towson University. Career In 1970, Rollins left college early to play the role of `` Slick '' in the PBS soap opera Our Street. In 1974, he moved to New York City where he went on to appear in the Broadway productions of We Interrupt This Program..., in 1975, The Mighty Gents in 1978, and G.R. Point in 1979. He also appeared in the miniseries King and Roots : The Next Generations. In 1981, Rollins made his film debut in the Dino De Laurentiis / Miloš Forman motion picture, Ragtime. His performance in the film earned him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor, as well as Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture and New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture. The following year, he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his role on Another World. In 1984, Rollins starred in director Norman Jewison 's film, A Soldier 's Story which led to his role as Virgil Tibbs on In the Heat of the Night, the television series based on Jewison 's acclaimed 1967 film of the same name. In the Heat of the Night began airing on NBC in 1988. During the show 's run, Rollins struggled with an addiction to drugs and alcohol. He was arrested four times for drug and alcohol - related crimes and spent one month in jail for reckless driving and driving under the influence. Due to his ongoing personal and legal issues, Rollins was let go from the series in 1994 and replaced by Carl Weathers. After being let go from In the Heat of the Night, Rollins got sober and worked on rebuilding his career and reputation. In 1995, he appeared in a guest role on New York Undercover, followed by a role in the theatrical film, Drunks. In 1996, he appeared in a guest role on Remember WENN. His final acting role was in the 1996 PBS television movie Harambee !. Personal life Legal issues In 1988, Rollins was arrested and pled guilty to cocaine possession in Louisiana. In 1992 and 1993, he was arrested on three separate occasions for driving under the influence. In 1994, he served a month in jail for reckless driving and driving under the influence. Because of continued legal problems, Rollins was ultimately dropped from In the Heat of the Night. After attending drug rehab, he returned to In the Heat of the Night as a guest star. Death On December 8, 1996, Rollins died at St. Luke 's - Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City of complications from lymphoma. He had been diagnosed with the disease approximately six weeks earlier. His funeral was held on December 13 in Baltimore. Legacy On October 25, 2006, a wax statue of Rollins was unveiled at the Senator Theatre in Baltimore. The statue is now at Baltimore 's Great Blacks in Wax Museum. Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1981 Ragtime Coalhouse Walker Jr. Nominated -- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated -- Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Nominated -- Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor Nominated -- New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor ( 4th place ) 1984 A Soldier 's Story Captain Davenport 1984 The House of God Chuck Johnston On the Block Clay Beasley 1995 Drunks Joseph Television Year Title Role Notes 1978 The Trial of the Moke Television movie 1978 King Andrew Young Miniseries Credited as Howard Rollins 1979 Roots : The Next Generations George Haley Miniseries 1979 My Old Man Doctor Television movie 1981 Thornwell Carson Television movie 1982 The Neighborhood Allen Campbell Television movie 1982 The Member of the Wedding Honey Brown Television movie 1982 Another World Ed Harding Unknown episodes Nominated - Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series For Us the Living : The Medgar Evers Story Medgar Evers Television movie Moving Right Along Unknown episodes 1984 House of Dies Drear Walter Small Television movie 1984 A Doctor 's Story Dr. Zack Williams Television movie 1984 He 's Fired, She 's Hired Raoul Television movie 1985 Wildside Bannister Sparks 6 episodes 1986 The Boy King Martin Luther King Sr. Television movie 1986 The Children of Times Square Otis Travis Television movie 1986 Johnnie Mae Gibson : FBI T.C. Russell Television movie 1988 - 1995 In the Heat of the Night Chief of Detectives Virgil Tibbs 121 episodes With Murder in Mind Samuel Carver Television movie In the Heat of the Night : Who Was Geli Bendl ? Virgil Tibbs Television movie 1995 New York Undercover Reverend Hundley Episode : `` The Smoking Section '' Remember WENN George Smith Episode : `` The Emperor Smith '' Harambee ! Chimbuko Television movie, ( final film role ) References ^ Jump up to : Eady, Brenda ( 1984 - 10 - 01 ). `` Howard Rollins ' Stalled Career Marches on with a Soldier 's Story ''. People. Retrieved 2008 - 06 - 06. ^ Jump up to : Cerio, Gregory ( December 23, 1996 ). `` Requiem for Mister Tibbs ''. people.com. Retrieved January 30, 2013. Jump up ^ Blumenthal, Ralph ( 1996 - 12 - 10 ). `` Howard Rollins Is Dead at 50 Star in TV 's ' Heat of the Night ' ''. New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Actor Howard Rollins, 46, succumbs in New York ''. Jet. December 23, 1996. Retrieved 2008 - 06 - 06. Jump up ^ `` ' Heat of the Night ' actor dies ''. The Robesonian. December 10, 1996. p. 5A. Retrieved January 30, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Howard Rollins Unveiling at Senator Theater ''. National Great Blacks In Wax Museum. Retrieved October 8, 2007. External links The Howard E. Rollins Foundation Howard Rollins on IMDb Howard Rollins at the Internet Broadway Database Howard Rollins at Find a Grave VIAF : 212245 LCCN : n85376605 ISNI : 0000 0000 7839 9067 GND : 173896472 BNF : cb14043053v ( data ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Howard_Rollins&oldid=814915134 '' Categories : 1950 births 1996 deaths 20th - century American male actors Male actors from New York ( state ) American male film actors African - American male actors American male soap opera actors Deaths from cancer in New York ( state ) AIDS - related deaths in New York ( state ) Deaths from lymphoma Male actors from Baltimore Towson University alumni American male stage actors American male television actors Hidden categories : Pages to import images to Wikidata Articles with hCards Articles with IBDb links Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Dansk Deutsch فارسی Français Italiano עברית Nederlands Polski Tagalog Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 11 December 2017, at 17 : 48. 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Question: who played virgil tibbs on heat of the night
Answer: Howard Ellsworth Rollins Jr.