Title: In the Heat of the Night (TV series)
Content:  In the Heat of the Night is an American police procedural crime drama television series loosely based on the 1967 film and 1965 novel of the same title. It starred Carroll O'Connor as police chief Bill Gillespie and Howard Rollins as police detective Virgil Tibbs, and was broadcast on NBC from March 6, 1988 until May 19, 1992, then on CBS from October 28, 1992 until May 16, 1995. Its executive producers were Fred Silverman, Juanita Bartlett and O'Connor.
Title: In the Heat of the Night (film)
Content:  In the Heat of the Night is a 1967 American mystery drama film directed by Norman Jewison. It is based on John Ball's 1965 novel of the same name and tells the story of Virgil Tibbs, a black police detective from Philadelphia, who becomes involved in a murder investigation in a small town in Mississippi. It stars Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, and was produced by Walter Mirisch. The screenplay was written by Stirling Silliphant. The film won five Academy Awards, including the 1967 awards for Best Picture and Rod Steiger for Best Actor. The quote "They call me Mister Tibbs! was listed as number 16 on the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes, a list of top film quotes. The film also appears on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies, a list of the 100 greatest movies in American cinema. In 2002, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Title: In the Heat of the Night (TV series)
Content:  name, he first becomes a target, then framed for murder himself. Chief Gillespie travels to Philly to get Virgil out of jail, help him solve the mystery of what happened to his friend and seek justice for him, expose the corrupt officers and make it back home to Sparta in time for the twins' birth. William and Sarah Tibbs were welcomed into the world on September 18, 1990. Other stories include Bubba going to Los Angeles to extradite a Sparta resident responsible for a fire that killed two people, which was actually the first of two backdoor pilots for a series that featured Alan Autry, but neither were picked up by the network.
Title: In the Heat of the Night (TV series)
Content:  their twins to be near her parents. Through the hard work of Sparta Councilwoman Harriet DeLong, Tibbs is able to retire and keep his city pension, although he was two months shy of the qualifying period. He begins practicing law when he accepts a position in Ben Taylor's law office. Rollins' final appearance on the series was February 2, 1994. Meanwhile, the Sparta city council dismisses Gillespie as chief of police. The council selects Hampton Forbes (Carl Weathers) to take Gillespie's place. Forbes is the town's first African American to serve in that position. Gillespie finds a new post of equivalent authority as county sheriff. The two senior police officials find that they get along excellently, in both professional and personal spheres.
Title: Sweet, Sweet Blues
Content:  "Sweet, Sweet Blues" is an episode of the NBC drama series In the Heat of the Night, starring Carroll O'Connor as Chief Bill Gillespie and Howard Rollins as Detective Virgil Tibbs. In the Heat of the Night was based on the 1965 novel by John Ball, which was also the basis for the Academy Award winning film of the same name starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, directed by Norman Jewison.
Title: In the Heat of the Night (film)
Content:  of the factory unless Tibbs leads the investigation, so the town's leading citizens are forced to comply with her demand. Tibbs initially suspects the murderer is plantation owner Endicott, a genteel racist and one of the town's most powerful citizens, who publicly opposed Colbert's new factory. When Tibbs interrogates him, Endicott slaps him in the face. Tibbs slaps him back, so Endicott sends a gang of thugs after him. Gillespie rescues him and tells him to leave town to save himself, but Tibbs is convinced he can solve the case. Tibbs asks Wood to re-trace his patrol car route during the night of 
Title: In the Heat of the Night (TV series)
Content:  Ian Griffith ; Renée Jones ; Michael Beck ; Kevin Conway ; Randy Brooks ; Art Evans ; Nicolas Cowan ; Lou Walker ; Alan Arbus ; Robert Goulet ; Kenny Leon ; Bobby Short ; William Sadler ; Michael Spound ; Bill McKinney ; Lisa Pelikan ; Mark Rolston ; Susan Blakely ; Jennifer Bassey ; Marc Macaulay ; Jean Simmons ; Thomas Jefferson Byrd ; Vanessa Bell Calloway ; J.D. Hall ; John Davis Chandler ; George C. Scott ; Willie Gault ; Joe Seneca ; Stephen Root ; Bruce Kirby ; Lisa Rieffel ; Marla Gibbs ; Ernest Lee Thomas ; Ken Marshall ; Kim Hawthorne ; Logan Ramsey 
Title: In the Heat of the Night (TV series)
Content:  guest appearances, and others were newcomers who went on to become well-known. Some of those appearing in In The Heat of the Night episodes were:  Future Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman stars, Helene Udy, William Shockley and Chad Allen made guest appearances. Future Desperate Housewives star Doug Savant and veteran actor Kevin McCarthy also made their guest appearances on the two-part pilot episode, as well as O. J. Simpson (whom NBC executives originally wanted for the role of Virgil Tibbs, but O'Connor selected Rollins), who made a cameo appearance in Season 2. William Schallert, who played Mayor Schubert in the original 1967 film, also made an appearance on the show in Season 4.
Title: In the Heat of the Night (TV series)
Content:  Stella Stevens ; Josh Lucas (as Joshua Lucas) ; Ted Manson ; Jason Beghe ; Christopher Templeton ; Eric Pierpoint ; Barbara Stock ; Meshach Taylor ; Francesco Quinn ; Jeffrey Buckner Ford ; Gary Anthony Williams ; Richard McKenzie ; Michael Horton ; Craig Shoemaker ; Traci Wolfe ; Elizabeth Ashley ; Stephen Nichols ; Darnell Williams ; Stacy Keach ; Mitchell Anderson ; James Best ; Sonny Shroyer ; Michael Warren ; Byron Cherry ; Whitman Mayo ; John Diehl ; Ken Curtis ; Louise Fletcher ; Jerry Stiller ; Clifton Powell ; Franklin Cover During the series' 7-season run, many familiar, unfamiliar, and longtime character actors and actresses have 
Title: In the Heat of the Night (TV series)
Content: Mariska Hargitay ; Walton Goggins ; Wayne Brady ; Claude Akins ; Gary Crosby ; Ed Ames ; Melvin Van Peebles ; Frances Fisher ; Ken Kercheval ; Iman ; Rod Masterson ; Tony Burton ; Mel Stewart ; Nana Visitor ; Gail O'Grady ; Peter Fonda ; Tiger Haynes ; Diane Ladd ; Paul Benjamin ; Geoffrey Lewis ; Don Galloway ; Corbin Bernsen ; Tippi Hedren ; Taurean Blacque ; Dana Barron ; Marco St. John ; Larry Black ; Ted Lange ; Adrienne-Joi Johnson ; Mickey Jones ; Mitchell Laurance ; Laura Johnson ; Jordan Vaughn ; Martha Byrne ; Maury Covington ; Earl Holliman ; Ketty Lester ; 

Question: who played tibbs on in the heat of the night?
Answer: Howard Ellsworth Rollins Jr.