In the Heat of the Night (TV)

In the Heat of the Night was a 1988 television series based on the motion picture, In the Heat of the Night. It starred Carroll O'Connor as William Gillespie and Howard Rollins as Virgil Tibbs. Tibbs had traveled to the Sparta area for his mother's funeral. He was persuaded to remain by the city government, who had felt the need to make the city's police department more diverse. Gillespie was a crusty small town police chief.

Trivia

The show used creative measures to explain the abscences of its key characters at times. Howard Rollins also had problems of his own with drugs. While Rollins was in rehab, Rollins absence was explained as Virgil being in New Orleans doing work with the FBI. When Carroll O'Connor had open heart surgery during the closing weeks of the second season, his absence was explained as Gillespie having traveled out of town to attend a police convention. During this time Joe Don Baker was brought in to replace him as the acting chief.

Related Topics:
Drugs - New Orleans - FBI - Joe Don Baker

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In the seventh and final season of the series, a number of changes were made to the show. Both Anne-Marie Johnson and Howard Rollins had left the show, and their characters were written out of the series. The police uniforms had undergone subtle alterations. Gillespie was finally fired by the city council after several of its members conspired to remove him from the police force. Gillespie was replaced by former FBI agent Hampton Forbes, played by Carl Weathers. Gillespie was soon appointed Sheriff by the county after the previous Sheriff had become too ill to continue his duties.

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Three of the actors who played main characters in the series have since died. Hugh O'Connor, who had played Jamison, committed suicide on March 28, 1995, after having had problems with drugs for many years. He was then followed by Howard Rollins on December 8, 1996, who had died of complications from lymphona. Finally, on June 28, 2001, Carroll O'Connor, who had been suffering from diabetes, died after having had a heart attack.

Related Topics:
Died - March 28 - 1995 - Drugs - Howard Rollins - December 8 - 1996 - June 28 - 2001 - Heart attack

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