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Howard Ellsworth Rollins Jr. (October 17, 1950 – December 8, 1996) was an American actor.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he studied theater at Towson State College.

He was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama Series for his role on Another World. Rollins was also nominated for the 1981 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the Dino De Laurentiis/Miloš Forman motion picture, Ragtime.

In 1984, he 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 motion picture of the same name.

In 1993, Rollins spent about a month in jail for driving under the influence and reckless driving. Because of continued legal problems, Rollins was ultimately dropped from In the Heat of the Night and was replaced by Carl Weathers. Rollins was invited back as a guest star on several episodes in the seventh season, but further legal problems led to his being totally banned from the county where the series was filmed.

In the last years of his life, Rollins worked hard to address his drug and alcohol problems and began to rebuild his career. He appeared in the TV shows New York Undercover and Remember WENN, in the PBS film Harambee, and in the theatrical film Drunks. His superb acting throughout his career inspired subsequent generations of African American actors, playwrights, and filmmakers.

Rollins died in 1996 after complications from lymphoma and was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery in his native Baltimore. He had been diagnosed with the condition approximately six weeks earlier.

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