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Carroll O'Connor said that he knew he liked Howard Rollins from the moment they first saw each other
“I can think of only a handful of actors I liked at first sight and then got to like even better," said the actor.
Do you believe in love at first sight? Perhaps it’s a little unreasonable to assume that you’d know your soulmate after one simple look, but stranger things have happened.
However, there’s something to be said for friendship at first sight, when two people look at each other and just know they’ll be pals for life.
Carroll O’Connor experienced this when he first met Harold Rollins. The two starred on the hit series, In the Heat of the Night. During an interview with The Grand Rapids Press, O’Connor said that much like Tibbs and Gillespie, he and Rollins were good friends in real life.
“I’m very fond of him personally,” said O’Connor. “I can think of only a handful of actors I liked at first sight and then got to like even better. Everybody in the company enjoys him.”
When Rollins departed the series due to addiction issues, O’Connor believed the best of him. “He’s got a problem,” said O’Connor during an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald. “The whole world knows he’s got a problem, but he’s working on fixing it.”
O’Connor’s friendship with Rollins mirrored the primary message that In the Heat of the Night hoped to instill in its audience. “This series is about people getting to know each other and respect each other,” said O’Connor. “We know about the bitterness and the hatred, but we don’t know about the fondness...I want this series to be a revelation of American life and American character. I think I can make a series do that.”
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