The aptly named Bannister Sparks, a former riverboat gambler, was the entrepreneur of the Wildside group.  Bannister’s Emporium & Trading Co. was the home of the Wildside Chamber of Commerce.   Bannister dressed like a dandy, lived in a mansion, had a servant and generally liked the good life, When trouble started, the first blow struck was usually by small scale explosives he lit with  his ubiquitous slender cigars.

There were high hopes for the acting career of Howard E. Rollins after the rave reviews and Oscar nomination he received for “Ragtime” [1981].  His cocaine habit may have been the cause or result of his career falling short of its promise.  His problems with cocaine were well-publicized when he was “replaced” by Carl Weathers in the final season of  “In the Heat of the Night” on which Rollins played Virgil Tibbs from 1988-93.  (Weathers played a different character.)   However, there were reports of his cocaine problems on the Wildside set.