Howard Rollins Jr.
Rollins inRagtime, 1981.
Born	Howard Ellsworth Rollins Jr. (1950-10-17)October 17, 1950 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died	December 8, 1996(1996-12-08) (aged 46) New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Woodlawn Cemetery (Baltimore, Maryland)
Alma mater	Northern High School Towson State University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1970–1996
Known for	Virgil Tibbs –In the Heat of the Night

Howard Ellsworth Rollins Jr. (October 17, 1950 – December 8, 1996) was an American stage, film and television actor. He was best known for his role asAndrew Young in 1978'sKing, George Haley in the 1979 miniseriesRoots: The Next Generations, Coalhouse Walker Jr. in the 1981 filmRagtime, as civil rights activistMedgar Evers inPBS'American Playhouse production ofFor Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story in 1983, Captain Davenport in the 1984 filmA Soldier's Story, and asVirgil Tibbs on theNBC/CBS television crime dramaIn the Heat of the Night (1988–1995).

Over the span of his acting career, Rollins was nominated for anAcademy Award, aGolden Globe and anEmmy.

Born to Ruth and Howard Ellsworth Rollins Sr. on October 17, 1950, inBaltimore, Maryland, Rollins was the youngest of four children. His mother was a domestic worker and his father a steelworker who died in 1975. Rollins attendedNorthern High School, graduating in 1968.^[1] After his high school graduation, Rollins studied theatre atTowson University.^[2][3]

In 1970, Rollins left college to play the role of Slick Robinson in thePBS soap operaOur Street. In 1974, Rollins moved toNew York City, where he appeared in theBroadway productions ofWe Interrupt This Program... (1975),The Mighty Gents (1978) andG. R. Point (1979). He also appeared in the TV miniseriesKing andRoots: The Next Generations.^[2] In 1981, Rollins made his film debut in theDino De Laurentiis/Miloš Forman motion pictureRagtime. His performance in the film earned him anAcademy Award nomination forBest Supporting Actor as well asGolden Globe nominations forBest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture andNew Star of the Year in a Motion Picture. The following year, Rollins was nominated for aDaytime Emmy for his role onAnother World. In 1983, Rollins portrayed civil rights activistMedgar Evers in the PBSAmerican Playhouse production ofFor Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story , which earned him aNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. In 1984, Rollins starred in directorNorman Jewison's filmA Soldier's Story, which led to his role asVirgil Tibbs onIn the Heat of the Night, the television series based on Jewison's acclaimed1967 film of the same name.

In the Heat of the Night began airing onNBC in 1988. In 1989, Rollins' performance on the show earned him theNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series. However, during the show's run, Rollins struggled with addiction to drugs and alcohol. He was arrested four times for drug and alcohol-related crimes, spending one month in jail for reckless driving anddriving under the influence. Due to his ongoing personal and legal issues, Rollins was dismissed from the series at the end of season 6.^[3] Rollins returned for several guest appearances in the seventh season of the show in 1993 through 1994. While on the series, Rollins recorded "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" for the 1991In the Heat of the Night Christmas CD,Christmas Time's A Comin', produced by his co-starsRandall Franks andAlan Autry. Franks wrote the musical score for the classic Christmas story that featured Rollins telling the story to children related to fellow cast members.^[4] After being fired fromIn the Heat of the Night, Rollins achieved sobriety and worked on rebuilding his career and reputation.^[3] In 1995, he appeared in a guest role onNew York Undercover, followed by a role in the filmDrunks. In 1996 (his last television acting role in his lifetime), he appeared in a guest role onRemember WENN. Rollins's final acting role was in the 1996 television movieHarambee!.

In 1988, Rollins pled guilty to cocaine possession in Louisiana. In 1992 and 1993, Rollins was arrested on three occasions for driving under the influence. In 1994, he served a month in jail for reckless driving and driving under the influence. Because of his legal problems, Rollins was dropped fromIn the Heat of the Night.^[5] After attendingdrug rehab, he returned toIn the Heat of the Night as a guest star.^[6]

In the fall of 1996, Rollins was diagnosed withAIDS. Six weeks later, on December 8, Rollins died at age 46 atSt. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City fromlymphoma-related complications.^[7][8][9] His funeral was held on December 13 in Baltimore.^[10][11] Rollins was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in his native Baltimore. On October 25, 2006, a wax statue of Rollins was unveiled at theSenator Theatre in Baltimore. The statue is now at Baltimore'sNational Great Blacks in Wax Museum.^[12]

• The Howard E. Rollins FoundationArchived 2016-01-10 at theWayback Machine
• Howard Rollins atIMDb
• Howard Rollins at theInternet Broadway Database
• Howard Rollins atFind a Grave

• 1950 births
• 1996 deaths
• 20th-century African-American male actors
• 20th-century American male actors
• Male actors from New York (state)
• American male film actors
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• AIDS-related deaths in New York (state)
• Deaths from lymphoma in New York (state)
• Male actors from Baltimore
• Towson University alumni
• American male stage actors
• American male television actors

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