Howard Rollins

Howard Rollins Jr.
Rollins in Ragtime, 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. Howard Rollins was 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 NBC/CBS television crime drama In the Heat of the Night (1988–1994).

Over the span of his acting career, Rollins was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and an Emmy.