Howard Rollins Video | Celebrity Interview and Paparazzi

Howard Ellsworth Rollins, Jr. (October 17, 1950 – December 8, 1996) was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was perhaps best known for his portrayal of Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in the film Ragtime, and as Virgil Tibbs on the NBC/CBS television series In the Heat of the Night. The youngest of four children, Rollins was born in Baltimore, Maryland where he studied theater at Towson State College nearby. In 1970, he left college early to play the role of "Slick" in the PBS soap opera Our Street. In 1974, he moved to New York where he went on to appear on Broadway and in... MORE

Howard Ellsworth Rollins, Jr. (October 17, 1950 – December 8, 1996) was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was perhaps best known for his portrayal of Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in the film Ragtime, and as Virgil Tibbs on the NBC/CBS television series In the Heat of the Night. The youngest of four children, Rollins was born in Baltimore, Maryland where he studied theater at Towson State College nearby. In 1970, he left college early to play the role of "Slick" in the PBS soap opera Our Street. In 1974, he moved to New York where he went on to appear on Broadway and in television films including Roots: The Next Generations. In 1982, Rollins was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the Dino De Laurentiis/Miloš Forman motion picture, Ragtime (1981). The following year, he was nominated for an 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 the In the Heat of the Night television series based on Jewison's acclaimed film In the Heat of the Night. In the last years of his life, Rollins appeared on the TV shows New York LESS