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.

The show dealt with a variety of issues. These included racism, drug abuse, rape, murder, incest, government corruption, drunk driving, among others.

Contents

1 The Cast 1.1 Additional cast members 1.2 Recurring cast 2 Locations 3 Trivia 4 Episode List 4.1 NBC 4.2 CBS 5 External Links

The Cast

Actor	Role
Anne-Marie Johnson	Starred as Virgil's wife Althea Tibbs. She starred in that role for six seasons. Althea's life in Sparta was very rough, having been raped at the beginning of the third season, and suffering a mental breakdown later. Althea did not reappear for the seventh season, and her character was written out as Althea had divorced Virgil and moved back to Pennsylvania.
Alan Autry	Played "Bubba" Skinner. Skinner was something of a redneck. He was also a sort of ladies man around town. He eventually became close friends with the Tibbs family.
David Hart	Played Parker Williams. Parker generally sat behind the dispatcher's desk.
Lois Nettleton	Played Joanne St. John from 1989 to 1990. She was the owner of the Magnolia Cafe, a popular eatry in Sparta. After it was revealed that Joanne was once a prostitute, she eventually left Sparta.
Hugh O'Connor	Played the role of Lonnie Jamison, an officer on the Sparta police force. O'Connor was the adopted son of Carroll O'Connor. O'Connor had gotten his son this role as a way of keeping Hugh close to him, and in the hopes of keeping him away from drugs.
Geoffrey Thorne	Joined the cast as Wilson Sweet in 1988. Aside from Tibbs, Sweet was one of the first African Americans to join the force.
Crystal R. Fox	Played Luanne Corbin. After the first African American woman to join the force died in the line of duty on her first day on the job, Corbin was recruited to take her place.

Additional cast members

Actor	Role
Denise Nicholas	Harriett Delong
Carl Weathers	Hampton Forbes
Dee Shaw	Dee Shepard
Tonea Stewart	Etta Kibbe
Dan Biggers	Frank "Doc" Robb
Mark Johnson	Luke Everett
Randall Franks	Randy Goode
Wilbur Fitzgerald	Gerard Darnelle
Harvey E. Lee Jr.	Ken Covey
Barbara Belmonte	Christine Surillo
C.C. Taylor	Charlie Peake
Christian LeBlanc	Junior Abernathy
Peter Gabb	Horace Goode

Recurring cast

Actor	Role
Jen Harper	Dr. Day
Thom Gossom Jr.	Ted Marcus
Fran Bennett	Ruda Gibson
Karen Carlson	Sarah Hallisey
Rugg Williams	Eugene Glendon
Wallace Merck	Colmer
Christine Elise McCarthy	Lana Gillespie
Bob Penny	Alvin Epp
Scott Brian Higgs	Randy Calhoun
Afemo Omilami	Jimmy Dawes
Burgess Merideth	Judge
Stuart Culpepper	Judge
Joe Don Baker
Ron Culbreth	Sheriff Nathan McComb
Maureen Dowdell	Tracy Boggs

Locations

The television series also took place in a fictionalized version of Sparta, Mississippi. While there is a real Sparta, the version of Sparta shown on television is very different than the real town. For example, the TV Sparta is situated along Interstate highway 20, while the real town is nowhere near an interstate. During the first season, Hammond, Louisiana was the site of the show's production. In the second season, the show was moved to Covington, Georgia, and it remained there for the rest of its run.

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.

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.

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.

Episode List

NBC

Season 1

• 1. 7801A 06-Mar-1988 Pilot (1)
• 2. 7801B 06-Mar-1988 Pilot (2)
• 4. 7804 22-Mar-1988 Fate
• 5. 7805 29-Mar-1988 Blind Spot (1)
• 6. 7806 05-Apr-1988 Blind Spot (2)
• 7. 7803 12-Apr-1988 A Necessary Evil
• 8. 7807 03-May-1988 ...And Then You Die

Season 2

• 9. 8804A 04-Dec-1988 Don't Look Back (1)
• 10. 8804B 04-Dec-1988 Don't Look Back (2)
• 11. 8801 06-Dec-1988 Family Secret
• 12. 8806 13-Dec-1988 The Hammer and the Glove
• 13. 8805 20-Dec-1988 Prisoners
• 14. 8807 27-Dec-1988 Hot Nights
• 15. 8811 03-Jan-1989 Gunshots
• 16. 8812 10-Jan-1989 Country Mouse, City Mouse
• 17. 8802 17-Jan-1989 Stranger in Town
• 18. 8808 31-Jan-1989 Tear Down the Walls
• 19. 8803 07-Feb-1989 A Trip Upstate
• 20. 8813 14-Feb-1988 A.k.a. Kelly Kay
• 21. 8809 21-Feb-1989 These Things Take Time
• 22. 8817 07-Mar-1989 Intruders
• 23. 8810 14-Mar-1989 The Creek
• 24. 8818 21-Mar-1989 Sister,Sister
• 25. 8816 28-Mar-1989 Walkout
• 26. 8820 04-Apr-1989 Accused
• 27. 8814 25-Apr-1989 Fifteen, Forever
• 28. 8815 02-May-1989 Ladybug, Ladybug
• 29. 8821 09-May-1989 The Pig Woman of Sparta
• 30. 8819 16-May-1989 Missing

Season 3

• 31. 9812 28-Nov-1989 Anniversary
• 32. 9803 24-Oct-1989 Rape
• 33. 9801 31-Oct-1989 Fairest of Them All
• 34. 9807 07-Nov-1989 Murder Most Ancient
• 35. 9802 14-Nov-1989 First Girl
• 36. 9810 21-Nov-1989 Crackdown
• 37. 9804 05-Dec-1989 Time of the Stranger
• 38. 9817 12-Dec-1989 Vengeance
• 39. 9815 19-Dec-1989 My Name is Hank
• 40. 9814 02-Jan-1990 King's Ransom
• 41. 9805 16-Jan-1990 Epitaph for a Lady
• 42. 9818 23-Jan-1990 Triangle
• 43. 9821 30-Jan-1990 Hello in There
• 44. 9816 13-Feb-1990 December Days
• 45. 9823 20-Feb-1990 A Loss of Innocence
• 46. 9820 27-Feb-1990 Bubba's Baby
• 47. 9822 06-Mar-1990 Home is Where The Heart *Is
• 48. 9809 13-Mar-1990 An Angry Woman
• 49. 9811 20-Mar-1990 Indiscretions
• 50. 9819 27-Mar-1990 Night of the Killing
• 51. 9813 01-May-1990 Citizen Trundel (1)
• 52. 9824 08-May-1990 Citizen Trundel (2)

Season 4

• 53. 3805A 18-Sep-1990 Brotherly Love (1)
• 54. 3805B 18-Sep-1990 Brotherly Love (2)
• 55. 3802 25-Sep-1990 Lessons Learned
• 56. 3810 02-Oct-1990 Perversions of Justice
• 57. 3803 23-Oct-1990 And Justice For Some
• 58. 3815 30-Oct-1990 Hearts of Gold
• 59. 3809 06-Nov-1990 Quick Fix
• 60. 3817 13-Nov-1990 Homecoming
• 61. 3819 20-Nov-1990 A Problem Too Personal
• 62. 3814 27-Nov-1990 A Final Arrangement
• 63. 3812 04-Dec-1990 Family Matters
• 64. 3818 11-Dec-1990 Bounty Hunter
• 65. 3826 18-Dec-1990 Blessings
• 66. 3822 08-Jan-1991 Shine on Sparta Moon
• 67. 3823 15-Jan-1991 Execution of Trust
• 68. 3820 05-Feb-1991 Child of Promise
• 69. 3801 12-Feb-1991 Paper Castles
• 70. 3824 26-Mar-1991 Laid to Waste
• 71. 3821 26-Feb-1991 First Deadly Sin
• 72. 3811 19-Mar-1991 Just A Country Boy
• 73. 3824 26-Mar-1991 No Other Road
• 74. 3827 30-Apr-1991 A Turning

Season 5

• 75. 4803 01-Oct-1991 A Woman Much Admired
• 76. 4809 08-Oct-1991 Baby for Sale
• 77. 4814 22-Oct-1991 Obsession
• 78. 4801 29-Oct-1991 Liar's Poker
• 79. 4807 05-Nov-1991 Ruda's Awakening
• 80. 4802 12-Nov-1991 Unfinished Business
• 81. 4816 19-Nov-1991 The More Thing's Change
• 82. 4821 26-Nov-1991 Sweet, Sweet Blues
• 83. 4819 03-Dec-1991 Sparta Gold
• 84. 4813 10-Dec-1991 An Eye for an Eye
• 85. 4817 17-Dec-1991 The Littlest Victim
• 86. 4818 07-Jan-1992 The Landlord
• 87. 4805 14-Jan-1992 Fool for Love
• 88. 4823 04-Feb-1992 Love, Honor and Obey
• 89. 4822 11-Feb-1992 Odessa
• 90. 4808 18-Feb-1992 A Time to Trust
• 91. 4825 25-Feb-1992 By Means Most Foul
• 92. 4826 03-Mar-1992 Trundel's Will Be Done
• 93. 4815 31-Mar-1992 Moseley's Lot
• 94. 4812 07-Apr-1992 Family Reunion
• 95. 4820 12-May-1992 Sanctuary
• 96. 4824 19-May-1992 The Law on Trial

CBS

Season 6

• 97. 5802 28-Oct-1992 A Small War (1)
• 98. 5803 04-Nov-1992 A Small War (2)
• 99. 5809 11-Nov-1992 Brother's Keeper
• 100. 5814 18-Nov-1992 A Frenzied Affair
• 101. 5817 18-Nov-1992 Discovery
• 102. 5812 25-Nov-1992 Random's Child
• 103. 5806 02-Dec-1992 An Occupational Hazard
• 104. 5801 09-Dec-1992 Last Rites
• 105. 5808 16-Dec-1992 When the Music Stopped
• 106. 5810 06-Jan-1993 Flowers from a Lady
• 107. 5813 13-Jan-1993 Private Sessions
• 108. 5818 20-Jan-1993 Judgement Day
• 109. 5820 03-Feb-1993 Falsely Accused
• 110. 5824 10-Feb-1993 A Step Removed
• 111. 5825 17-Feb-1993 A Deadly Affection
• 112. 5804 03-Mar-1993 The Leftover Man (1)
• 113. 5805 03-Mar-1993 The Leftover Man (2)
• 114. 5823 17-Mar-1993 A Dish Best Served Cold
• 115. 5821 24-Mar-1993 Legacy
• 116. 5822 28-Apr-1993 Even Nice People
• 117. 5819 05-May-1993 Lake Winahatchie
• 118. 5826 12-May-1993 A Correct Settling

Season 7

• 119. 2806 16-Sep-1993 Child's Play
• 120. 2809 18-Sep-1993 Hatton's Turn (1)
• 121. 2810 18-Sep-1993 Hatton's Turn (2)
• 122. 2805 23-Sep-1993 A Depraved Heart
• 123. 2801 30-Sep-1993 Incident at Brewer's Pond
• 124. 2807 14-Oct-1993 A Love Lost
• 125. 2813 28-Oct-1993 Singin' the Blues
• 126. 2812 04-Nov-1993 Virgil Tibbs, Attorney at Law
• 127. 2815 10-Nov-1993 Every Man's Family
• 128. 2814 25-Oct-1993 A Baby Called Rocket
• 129. 2819 09-Dec-1993 Little Girl Lost
• 130. 2808 16-Dec-1993 Your Own Kind
• 131. 2823 06-Jan-1994 Good Cop, Bad Cop
• 132. 2811 12-Jan-1994 Maybelle Returns
• 133. 2817 19-Jan-1994 The Last Round
• 134. 2818 26-Jan-1994 Ches and the Grand Lady
• 135. 2820 02-Feb-1994 Conspiracy of One
• 136. 2816 09-Feb-1994 The Rabbi
• 137. 2802 09-Mar-1994 Hard Choices
• 138. 2803 16-Mar-1994 Time's Long Shadow
• 139. 2822 30-Mar-1994 Poor Relations
• 140. 2821 04-May-1994 Dangerous Engagement
• 141. 2824A 11-May-1994 Give Me Your Life (1)
• 142. 2824B 11-May-1994 Give Me Your Life (2)

TV Movies

• 1. 21-Oct-1994 A Matter of Justice
• 2. 09-Dec-1994 Who Was Geli Bendl ?
• 3. 17-Feb-1995 By Duty Bound
• 4. 16-May-1995 Grow Old Along with Me

External Links

• View a biography of Carroll O'Connor's Life (http://www.allinthefamilysit.com/gallery/)