Globe
Vol 43 -- No 52 December 24, 1996
Page 4, 16
Howard Rollins AIDS Tragedy: Spent Last Sad Days Dressed As Woman!
Kinky last days of drag queen Howard Rollins
Heat of the Night star dead of AIDS at 46
He told his pals he wanted to be buried in a gold cocktail dress.
DYING from AIDS and bitter over his slumping career, Howard Rollins took comfort by dressing as a woman in sparkling gowns, costly wigs and high
heels -- and telling himself: "I'm a lady, I'm a lady."
But his fantasy world ended in harsh reality when the In the Heat
of the Night star was found alone and unconcious in his studio apratment
-- amid his spangled outfits and colorful wigs -- with blood bubbling from his mouth and nostrils.
Doctors at New York's St. Luke's -- Roosevelt Hospital fought to
save him, but the actor who played the tough cop Virgil Tibbs on the hit
TV series died Dec. 8, at age 46.
Neighbor Howard Bright told GLOBE:"Howard was so sick during the
last couple of months that it took me 10 minutes to help him down the
stairs.
"A kidney infection put him into the hospital. Even when he came
home, it caused him so much pain there were times when he could barely
walk.
"He told me a year ago that he was HIV positive even though he
hated to talk about it. 'Dammned AIDS gets in the way of everything,' he said.
"Howard said he had bacteria in his stomach that spread thoughout
his body and that there was nothing that he could do.
"He'd spend his time sitting in the dark with the shades pulled, watching TV or telephoning people all over the country."
The actor's only comfort in recent months had been dressing up,
say pals.
Just weeks before the end, he even joked to pals that he wanted to
be buried as a woman in a gold and black beaded cocktail dress, with
makeup and false eyelashes.
For yers he'd led a secret double life. Dressing in drag, he'd
cruise his Manhattan neighborhood as a gal named Tooraloora Goldfarb.
"He would purse his lips, put his hand on his hip and suddenly
he'd be transformed into a woman," says a pal.
"As a woman, he'd leave all his cares behind. He wasn't a druggie
or an AIDS patient, he was a sassy, sexy temptress."
Says best pal Bright, 59, a married actor who was a neighbor for
18 years: "His favourite thing in the whole world was showing off a new outfit to a friend -- especially winter ensembles like a ladies coat over skirt and stockings.
"When he was feeling well, he loved to dress in a spectacular
woman's outfit and go to transvestite clubs looking for male lovers."
Neighbor Art Franco told GLOBE: "He'd get high on drugs, dress as
a woman and strut his stuff. When people called 'Hi Howard,' he'd say, 'Excuuuse me! I'm Tooraloora Goldfarb.'"
But near the end, the crossdressing masquerade was just pathetic,
say neighbors.
"The saddest thing I ever saw," says neighbor Marcie Hirsch, "was
when I dropped off some groceries. Howard was eating Haagen-Daz, wearing
a dress and blonde wig and watching reruns of his show.
"He said, 'There's my character, Virgil Tibbs. I'm totally
opposite. But I;m so dammed believable. I must be real good at what I
do.' And he was."
He'd pose in his gowns in front of a full length mirror,
straightening his seams and adjusting his false boobs, say friends.
"He had six wigs on stands, four blonde, a brunette and a
readhead," says Franco. "There were beads strung ftom doorways and posters from his movies, Ragtime, A Soldier's Story, and Heat.
"By his bead was a picture of himself with his mom and his sister, Hattie. He told me, 'They've always been there for me. I kiss their
picture and say God bless mom and sis, everynight.'"
The brilliant actor was devestated by his fall from the TV heights after repeated drug and drink arrests led him to being dropped from the
hit series in 1993, which also starred Carroll O'Connor.
Howard beat his addictions to cocaine and booze, say pals, but
they'd taken a shattering toll on his health.
"He used to sob, 'I love Carroll O'Connor,'" says a pal. "'He's
the only one who fights for me.'
"He lived hoping for the call that would give him another break,
but it never came."
As the virus ravaged Howard's body, Bright became so worried that
he started to visit the stricken actor three times a day.
Depressed and lonely, Howard was worn out by constant hiccups, the result of a deadly body infection. Climng to the actor's loft bedroom at
1 p.m., Dec. 7, Bright "heard this gurgling and saw a vision of hell."
"Howard was stretched out on his back in his bed, gasping for air
and staring blankly at the ceiling.
"I said, 'Howard, can you speak?' But he didn't respond. I tried
to lift him but his chest just rattled and he gurgled, as though his
insides were about to pour out.
"I called the paramedics. As they lifted him from the bed, the gurgling grew louder and blood started pouring from his mouth and nose.
'He was drowning in it. They stuck tubes down his throat and
started pumping the blood out of his lungs into small plastic sacs.
"It spattered everywhere. The floor was covered in blood.."
Rollins agent Rozanne Gates told GLOBE that he died of "bacterial infection from septic shock due to complications from lymphoma," adding
that "the AIDS rumor was never substantiated."
The tormented actor's body was sent to his hometown Baltimore --
not to be buried in his favorite dress, but creamated.
His loving sister Hattie Fields said: "My brother's home for the
final time. He's at peace at last.
-- Ken Harrell and Joe Mullins
Copied withour permission.
"
there was no need to print all these ghastly details. What are you trying to do here? take away a man's dignity when he's gone and can't defend himself? The public doesn't need to read about his gurgling or gushing blood. If this story is true, thenyes it is sad, but this was his private business. I wish I hadn't come over here and read this.
He was a terrific actor!!
On Sunday, December 15, 1996 at 2:00:00 AM UTC-6, TheCallan wrote:didnt because i was working at that time, as far as this story , i think you have to look at the suorse , i mean the "GLOB" is not the MOST reliable paper out there, and this is about MR Rollins, not about GOD or being a crossdresser, why evey time on
Globe
Vol 43 -- No 52 December 24, 1996
Page 4, 16
Howard Rollins AIDS Tragedy: Spent Last Sad Days Dressed As Woman!
Kinky last days of drag queen Howard Rollins
Heat of the Night star dead of AIDS at 46
He told his pals he wanted to be buried in a gold cocktail dress.
DYING from AIDS and bitter over his slumping career, Howard Rollins took comfort by dressing as a woman in sparkling gowns, costly wigs and high heels -- and telling himself: "I'm a lady, I'm a lady."
But his fantasy world ended in harsh reality when the In the Heat
of the Night star was found alone and unconcious in his studio apratment -- amid his spangled outfits and colorful wigs -- with blood bubbling from his mouth and nostrils.
Doctors at New York's St. Luke's -- Roosevelt Hospital fought to
save him, but the actor who played the tough cop Virgil Tibbs on the hit TV series died Dec. 8, at age 46.
Neighbor Howard Bright told GLOBE:"Howard was so sick during the
last couple of months that it took me 10 minutes to help him down the stairs.
"A kidney infection put him into the hospital. Even when he came
home, it caused him so much pain there were times when he could barely walk.
"He told me a year ago that he was HIV positive even though he
hated to talk about it. 'Dammned AIDS gets in the way of everything,' he said.
"Howard said he had bacteria in his stomach that spread thoughout
his body and that there was nothing that he could do.
"He'd spend his time sitting in the dark with the shades pulled,
watching TV or telephoning people all over the country."
The actor's only comfort in recent months had been dressing up,
say pals.
Just weeks before the end, he even joked to pals that he wanted to
be buried as a woman in a gold and black beaded cocktail dress, with makeup and false eyelashes.
For yers he'd led a secret double life. Dressing in drag, he'd
cruise his Manhattan neighborhood as a gal named Tooraloora Goldfarb.
"He would purse his lips, put his hand on his hip and suddenly
he'd be transformed into a woman," says a pal.
"As a woman, he'd leave all his cares behind. He wasn't a druggie
or an AIDS patient, he was a sassy, sexy temptress."
Says best pal Bright, 59, a married actor who was a neighbor for
18 years: "His favourite thing in the whole world was showing off a new outfit to a friend -- especially winter ensembles like a ladies coat over skirt and stockings.
"When he was feeling well, he loved to dress in a spectacular
woman's outfit and go to transvestite clubs looking for male lovers." Neighbor Art Franco told GLOBE: "He'd get high on drugs, dress as
a woman and strut his stuff. When people called 'Hi Howard,' he'd say, 'Excuuuse me! I'm Tooraloora Goldfarb.'"
But near the end, the crossdressing masquerade was just pathetic,
say neighbors.
"The saddest thing I ever saw," says neighbor Marcie Hirsch, "was
when I dropped off some groceries. Howard was eating Haagen-Daz, wearing
a dress and blonde wig and watching reruns of his show.
"He said, 'There's my character, Virgil Tibbs. I'm totally
opposite. But I;m so dammed believable. I must be real good at what I
do.' And he was."
He'd pose in his gowns in front of a full length mirror,
straightening his seams and adjusting his false boobs, say friends.
"He had six wigs on stands, four blonde, a brunette and a
readhead," says Franco. "There were beads strung ftom doorways and posters from his movies, Ragtime, A Soldier's Story, and Heat.
"By his bead was a picture of himself with his mom and his sister,
Hattie. He told me, 'They've always been there for me. I kiss their picture and say God bless mom and sis, everynight.'"
The brilliant actor was devestated by his fall from the TV heights
after repeated drug and drink arrests led him to being dropped from the hit series in 1993, which also starred Carroll O'Connor.
Howard beat his addictions to cocaine and booze, say pals, but
they'd taken a shattering toll on his health.
"He used to sob, 'I love Carroll O'Connor,'" says a pal. "'He's
the only one who fights for me.'
"He lived hoping for the call that would give him another break,
but it never came."
As the virus ravaged Howard's body, Bright became so worried that
he started to visit the stricken actor three times a day.
Depressed and lonely, Howard was worn out by constant hiccups, the
result of a deadly body infection. Climng to the actor's loft bedroom at
1 p.m., Dec. 7, Bright "heard this gurgling and saw a vision of hell." "Howard was stretched out on his back in his bed, gasping for air
and staring blankly at the ceiling.
"I said, 'Howard, can you speak?' But he didn't respond. I tried
to lift him but his chest just rattled and he gurgled, as though his insides were about to pour out.
"I called the paramedics. As they lifted him from the bed, the
gurgling grew louder and blood started pouring from his mouth and nose. 'He was drowning in it. They stuck tubes down his throat and
started pumping the blood out of his lungs into small plastic sacs.
"It spattered everywhere. The floor was covered in blood.."
Rollins agent Rozanne Gates told GLOBE that he died of "bacterial infection from septic shock due to complications from lymphoma," adding that "the AIDS rumor was never substantiated."
The tormented actor's body was sent to his hometown Baltimore --
not to be buried in his favorite dress, but creamated.
His loving sister Hattie Fields said: "My brother's home for the
final time. He's at peace at last.
-- Ken Harrell and Joe Mullins
Copied withour permission.
"
i got to meet Mr Rollins in 1984, i was a bellmen in Nasville TN., i checked him into his hotel room, him and his road manager, he was really a nice guy, even spent time to talk to me and ask me about the city, and evited me to have a drink, but i
On Friday, May 23, 2014 at 11:22:24 AM UTC-5, robertck...@gmail.com wrote:YOUR THE ASSHOLE
This guy's could have been a great person in life, who knows.....Although he is such a horrible actor in this southern shot show, I came on line thinking I would have found stories of him and bubba doing each other on set....it all makes sense now
You are an ass gnat and have no reason to speak on any subject today or any day.
Ignorance truly has no color bounds twat.YOU SUCK! GRACE
What the fuck??YOU SUCK
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