Virgil Tibbs

Virgil Tibbs is a fictional character created by American author John Ball. An African-American police detective (and later attorney), Tibbs was first introduced as one of the two protagonists of the 1965 novel In the Heat of the Night, and subsequently appeared in several more novels and short stories by Ball.

On screen, Tibbs is the protagonist in the Oscar-winning 1967 film In the Heat of the Night and in its sequels, They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970) and The Organization (1971), where he was played by actor Sidney Poitier. He is likewise the protagonist of the 1988-1995 television series, an adaptation of the 1967 film, where he is played by Howard Rollins.

Character portrayal[]

Tibbs is a police detective with a keen mind and professional attitude, as well as a strong sense of personal ethics. Tibbs has a black belt in karate and a brown belt in aikido. Like many fictional detectives, he is also perceptive and a polymath. He demonstrates an extensive depth and breadth of knowledge in many fields of the arts, sciences, and modern culture. His demeanor is cold and intellectual. He tolerates non-criminal behaviors outside of the social mainstream, such as nudism.

Tibbs is uninterested in glory or media attention. He is a perfectionist, and his sole motivation is duty and justice. In the films, Tibbs displays more anger over issues of race than in the books. For example, in the novel In The Heat of the Night, the phrase "They call me Mr. Tibbs" is a statement ending in a period, while in the movie, it is an angry exclamation.^{[citation needed]}

Physically, Tibbs is slender, quick, strong, and handsome. His nose is narrow, and his mouth is "straight and determined". His skin tone is neither exceptionally light nor dark.

Tibbs has several romantic liaisons in the novels and seems to be well on the way to be getting married by the end of the last Tibbs novel Singapore. In the first film, Tibbs is not married, although in the second and third films he has a wife (played by Barbara McNair) and two children.

For the book The Great Detectives (1978), edited by Otto Penzler, John Ball contributed a short story in which Ball (or rather his counterpart in Virgil Tibbs' universe) meets with Tibbs and asks him to recount his upbringing. This short story establishes that Tibbs' superior on the police force encouraged Ball's fictionalizations of Tibbs' cases to promote positive public relations. "'I have a letter from Otto Penzler,' I said... 'Otto has asked me for a piece about your background. How much may I tell him?' I should insert a footnote here. Virgil Tibbs is basically a quiet, self-effacing man... He has mentioned to me more than once that my accounts of some of his cases have proved somewhat embarrassing to him. However, Chief McGowan feels that these books help explain the police function to the citizenry at large and to show how modern, enlightened police departments function."

Novels[]

In the novels, Tibbs works for the police department of Pasadena, California. In In the Heat of the Night, he is detained on suspicion of murder solely on the basis of his skin color while passing through the small town of Wells, somewhere in the Carolinas (Sparta, Mississippi in the film). When Tibbs' innocence and status as a homicide investigator is confirmed, political pressure in the town leads to his temporary assignment to aid the Wells (Sparta) police on the case - despite the reluctance of the town's racist chief of police, Bill Gillespie. Tibbs is a diligent, hard working detective who does not accept the racism of his new surroundings. When his erstwhile supervisor, Chief Gillespie, remarks that "Virgil is a pretty fancy name for a black boy like you," and asks what people call him at home, Tibbs is quick to respond, "They call me Mister Tibbs." The line is delivered more forcefully in the film than it is in the novel.

At the end of Heat, Tibbs returns to Pasadena to continue working as a detective. He later retires from police work to become an attorney.

Films[]

In the films, portrayed by Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier, he first works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but in the sequels, he works for the San Francisco Police. The Tibbs films are mentioned in the sequel novels. When asked about the movies, Tibbs emphasizes that he's from Pasadena, not Philadelphia. He also praises Poitier's looks and acting ability. In a short story, the film character meets his literary counterpart.

Television[]

In the NBC/CBS television series In the Heat of the Night, Tibbs is a native of Sparta, Mississippi who left the South and became a police detective in Philadelphia. During a visit to his hometown for the funeral of his mother, the politically opportunistic mayor offers Tibbs the position of Chief of Detectives because of his previous experience with Gillespie. Tibbs accepts the position, making him second-in-command to the reluctant Police Chief. Although Tibbs and Gillespie have their disagreements about police methods and use of limited local resources, they prove an effective partnership. Tibbs' sophisticated detective skills complement Gillespie's intimate knowledge of the area and its population.

Tibbs is portrayed in the series by Howard Rollins, who garnered critical acclaim for his work in the film A Soldier's Story and for his Academy Award-nominated performance in the film Ragtime. Substance abuse problems led to fewer Rollins' appearances on the series, and he eventually was fired. The Tibbs family was written out of the series.

Reception[]

The Tibbs character and his famous quote were both ranked in the AFI 100 Years... series. The Tibbs character was ranked as the 19th greatest hero in the history of American cinema whilst his famous quote was ranked as the 16th greatest quote.

Bibliography[]

Novels[]

All novels were written by John Ball.

• In the Heat of the Night (1965)
• The Cool Cottontail (1966)
• Johnny Get Your Gun (1969)
• Five Pieces Of Jade (1972)
• The Eyes Of Buddha (1976)
• Then Came Violence (1980)
• Singapore (1986)

Short stories[]

• "Virgil Tibbs and the Cocktail Napkin" (1977)
• "Virgil Tibbs" (1978)

Films[]

• In the Heat of the Night (1967)
• They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970)
• The Organization (1971)

Television[]

• In the Heat of the Night (1988–1995)