Howard E. Jr. Rollins
Howard E. Jr. Rollins
Towson State College graduate Howard E. Rollins Jr. has been a stage leading man since the mid-1970s. The tall, imposing African-American actor earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of fiercely proud Coalhouse Walker Jr. in Ragtime (1981). As impressive as his theatre and film resumés are his TV credits, including such roles as Andrew Young in the 1978 miniseries King and George Haley in the 1979 multiparter Roots: The Next Generation. Howard E. Rollins was seen on a more regular basis on the ABC daytime drama Another World (for which he was Emmy-nominated); as explosives expert Bannister Parks on the 1985 "buddy western" series Wildside; and as Virgil Tibbs on the long-running (1988-92) TV adaptation of In the Heat of the Night. He made his final feature film appearance in Drunks (1995), a slice-of-life drama set at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Six weeks before he died on December 8, 1997, the 42-year-old Rollins had been diagnosed with lymphoid. Complications from the disease caused his demise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Filmography of Howard E. Jr. Rollins:
- Ragtime with James Cagney , Brad Dourif , Moses Gunn , Elizabeth McGovern , Kenneth McMillan , Pat O'Brien , Donald O'Connor , James Olson , Mandy Patinkin , Mary Steenburgen , Debbie Allen , Norman Mailer , Jeff Daniels , Bessie Love , Samuel L. Jackson , Richard Griffiths , John Ratzenberger , Michael Jeter
- Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam with Tom Berenger , Ellen Burstyn , Willem Dafoe , Robert DeNiro , Brian Dennehy , Kevin Dillon , Matt Dillon , Robert Jr. Downey , Michael J. Fox , Mark Harmon , John Heard , Harvey Keitel , Elizabeth McGovern , Judd Nelson , Sean Penn , Randy Quaid , Eric Roberts , John Savage , Raphael Sbarge , Martin Sheen , Kathleen Turner , Robin Williams
- Roots: The Next Generations with Georg Stanford Brown , Olivia DeHavilland , Henry Fonda , Paul Koslo , Lynne Moody , Richard Thomas , Roger E. Mosley , Irene Cara , Ruby Dee , Dorian Harewood , Beah Richards , Paul Winfield , Debbie Allen , Marlon Brando , Al Jr. Freeman , James Earl Jones , Barbara Barrie , James Broderick , Diahann Carroll , Bernie Casey , Michael Constantine , Robert Culp , James Daly , Norman Fell , Pam Grier , Andy Griffith , Kene Holliday , Claudia McNeil , Dina Merrill , Gerald S. O'Loughlin , Brock Peters , Logan Ramsey , Johnny Sekka , George Voskovec , Ossie Davis , John Rubinstein
Howard E. Jr. Rollins Trivia
