Buffy and Ted Lasso star Anthony Head dies at 72

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

British actor Anthony Head, best known for his roles in TV shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ted Lasso, Merlin and Little Britain, has died at the age of 72.

Head found international fame as Rupert Giles in hit supernatural teen show Buffy in the late 1990s.

He went on to have a recurring role in sketch show Little Britain, play king Uther Pendragon in the BBC's Merlin, and appear as former football club owner Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso.

"He passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family," his daughters Emily and Daisy said.

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd0p0rz4n0mo

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Not mentioned in the article is my favourite of his - 'Bleak Expectations' - a radio Charles Dickens parody that became more and more surreal. He played Mr. Gently Benevolent, the evil guardian of the hero, and then villain of the piece, which he hammed up marvellously. No one could do an evil laugh like him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleak_Expectations

[Miguelito Loveless]

1. Wasn't a Buffy watcher

But I knew him from his voice work on BBC radio, and second Muriels' mention of his work in Bleak Expectation, which is a masterpiece of satire. Also, his turn as the evil alien headmaster with David Tennant Doctor Who (where the Doctor reunites with former 3rd/4th Doctor companion, Sarah Jane Smith (Elizabeth Sladen).

[chowder66]

2. Oh NO!!! I've always enjoyed him. R.I.P.

[catchnrelease]

3. Oh no, I've always liked him!

I can remember--before Buffy--that he was in commercials here in the US. (I looked it up and it was for Taster's Choice coffee in the late 80s) What stuck with me is that American women went berserk for this British guy in the commercials. I think it even spawned more commercials for him here. Such a weird thing to remember, but any time I'd see him in something for years after that, it was 'oh that's the coffee guy'.

RIP Anthony.

[Aristus]

5. I remember those commercials.

I remember his on-screen amour was very attractive.

Something about British women...

[catchnrelease]

9. Yes!

I was just reading a bit more about the commercials and it jogged my memory a little. It was a man and a woman, in kind of a 'will they won't they' set up. Eg they were neighbors or something to that effect. **Ah, I see the series is posted below, excellent!!

I never watched Buffy, so I didn't follow him in that, but he was brilliantly dispicable in Ted Lasso.

[Aristus]

11. IIRC, in a couple of the early commercials, they tried American accents for their American audience.

I think they just gave up and used their natural accents after a while. That was a lot better.

[area51]

4. RIP

[LudwigPastorius]

6. A stark reminder to get a pneumonia vaccine after you turn 50.

I've had two friends, one in his late 60s, one in his early 70s, die from it.

[nuxvomica]

7. The British Gold Blend couple commercials

These were apparently a big hit in Britain

Some actors you see in a show like Buffy and just assume they are really nice in real life and from what I've read he was.

[Luciferous]

8. Loved him in Buffy ☹️

[Vinca]

10. We've watched him in so many British shows. It was sad to read of his death.

[cstanleytech]

12. Damn, he's the 3rd main cast member from Buffy that has passed away.