Howard Rollins
in the 1981 film "Ragtime" , Captain Davenport in the 1984 film "A Soldier's Story" , and as Virgil Tibbs on the TV crime drama "In the Heat of the Night" . 
<triplet> Ragtime <subj> 1981 <obj> publication date <triplet> A Soldier's Story <subj> 1984 <obj> publication date