Webrollins, who had a history of drug and alcohol abuse problems, had appeared opposite o’connor as virgil tibbs, a black detective from philadelphia. Webthroughout his time on the show, rollins was arrested for drug and alcohol offenses a total of four times and served a month in jail for dui and reckless driving. Weblooking to find out more about howard rollins? We have a full biography, photos, theatre credits, tv and movies listings, videos and more! Webthe tv adaptation of in the heat of the night starring carroll o’connor and howard rollins celebrated its 30 th anniversary in 2018. But did you know that the story of chief bill gillespie and detective virgil tibbs has been going on for more than half a century? Webhoward rollins, an actor who was nominated for an academy award in 1981 for his work in the film ''ragtime'' and was written out of the hit television series ''in.
