Howard Rollins

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

In 1970, Rollins left college to play the role of Slick Robinson in the PBS soap opera Our Street. In 1974, Rollins moved to New York City, where he appeared in the Broadway productions of We Interrupt This Program... (1975), The Mighty Gents (1978) and G. R. Point (1979). He also appeared in the TV miniseries King and Roots: The Next Generations.^[2] 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, Rollins was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his role on Another World. In 1983, Rollins portrayed civil rights activist Medgar Evers in the PBS American Playhouse production of For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story , which earned him a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. 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. In 1989, Rollins's performance on the show earned him the NAACP 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 and driving 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 1991 In the Heat of the Night Christmas CD, Christmas Time's A Comin', produced by his co-stars Randall Franks and Alan 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 from In 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 on New York Undercover, followed by a role in the film Drunks. In 1996 (his last television acting role in his lifetime), he appeared in a guest role on Remember WENN. Rollins's final acting role was in the 1996 television movie Harambee!.