‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ star Anthony Head dead aged 72
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ted Lasso actor Anthony Head has passed away at the age of 72, only months after his wife, Sarah Fisher.
The tragic news was shared by his daughters, actors Emily and Daisy Head, who began, “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father, Anthony Head.”
The pair went on to reveal that Head “passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family.”
Emily and Daisy added that it will forever “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.“
Turning their attention to the fans of his shows, the statement reassured those hit hard by the news that “he loved his job very much, and he always considered himself incredibly lucky, to have been able to work alongside such exceptionally talented people, in such wonderful productions, across a career that spanned several decades.”
Heartbreakingly, the statement concluded, “Our grief is far greater than the hole he has left behind, but we know his legacy will live on, in the shows he was a part of, and in the audiences that love them. How lucky we are to know we are able to watch him doing what he loved, even when he is no longer with us.”
Head’s latest on-screen appearance was as former Richmond FC owner Rupert Mannion in football comedy Ted Lasso. Other notable roles across his career included the Prime Minister in Little Britain and Uther Pendragon, father of Prince Arthur, in Merlin.
Head’s role as the librarian Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer gained him a huge following in the US, but he left the regular casting during the sixth season of the teen drama.
Head’s long-time partner and well-known animal welfare campaigner, Sarah Fisher, also passed away recently, dying at the age of 61 in December.
Tributes have since been pouring in for the beloved star. His Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star David Boreanaz, who played Angel on the show, shared online, “He was so kind and generous of a soul.”
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