Howard Ellsworth Rollins Jr. (October 17, 1950 -- December 8, 1996) was an American stage, film and television actor. Howard Rollins was best 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 crime drama In the Heat of the Night.
who played virgil tibbs on heat of the night
Howard Ellsworth Rollins Jr.