A beloved actor who rounded out several iconic TV ensembles has died. Anthony Head, known for his roles Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and later Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso, has died, his daughters. He was 72. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father,” Head’s daughters Emily Head, 37, and Daisy Head, 35,said in a joint statement to the BBC on June 5. “He passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family.” Head’s daughters, who have each respectively established themselves as actors, emphasised their pride in following in his footsteps. “It has been and forever will be, an honour and a privilege to be his daughters and to have witnessed firsthand the impact both he and his work have had on so many,” they added. “We know how dearly he will be missed by friends, colleagues, and fans of the shows he was in-he loved his job very much.” The London native’s family emphasized he always felt “incredibly lucky” to be in the entertainment business and build a career that “spanned several decades.” Indeed, Head’s breakout role was in the TV series Enemy at the Door in 1978, though he rose to fame for American audiences as the mentor to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s vampire slayer Buffy Summers in the late ’90s. “Our grief is far greater than the hole he has left behind,” his loved ones concluded, “but we know his legacy will live on, in the shows he was a part of and in the audiences that love them.
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Published on: June 8, 2026 4:41 AM