Beloved actor Anthony Stewart Head, best known for his role as surrogate father Rupert Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, died this week from complications with pneumonia. He was 72.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father,” Giles’ daughters Daisy and Emily Head said in a statement to the BBC. “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.”
Head’s seven season role as Rupert Giles on Buffy placed him firmly in the canon of all-time TV dads, while occasionally giving him a chance to highlight his talents beyond the screen.
Head was an accomplished singer and theater performer, early in his career landing a role in the musical Godspell. In the early ’90s he starred as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in a stage production of Rocky Horror; he reprised the role in another production in the early 2000s.
Head also starred in the 2008 film Repo! The Genetic Opera and released a pair of albums, as well as a single of his rendition of Rocky Horror’s Sweet Transvestite.
Head more recently starred as another Rupert—evil ex-husband and former owner of A.F.C. Richmond, Rupert Mannion, on the Apple TV series Ted Lasso.
While he was not a frequent performer in games, Head did join much of the Buffy cast in reprising his television role in 2002’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, released on the Xbox. His narration is the first thing you hear upon booting up the game. He again played Giles in the 2003 sequel, Chaos Bleeds.
Head’s most prominent game role was another villain turn: Destroy All Humans! 2’s Reginald Ponsonbny-Smythe, in which he’s delightfully and snivelingly posh.
He is survived by his daughters, Emily, 37, and Daisy, 35, who both followed their father into acting.
feedzy_import_tag feedzy_import_tag
About the Author
