Anthony Head, the veteran British actor known to many sports fans for his role as Rupert Mannion on the hit soccer comedy-drama Ted Lasso, has died at age 72.
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Head died peacefully from complications related to pneumonia while surrounded by family, according to a statement released by his daughters, Emily and Daisy Head.
"It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father," the statement said.
While Head reached a new generation of viewers as the manipulative former AFC Richmond owner Rupert Mannion on Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso, he was perhaps best known for portraying Rupert Giles, mentor to Buffy Summers, on the popular television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Over a career spanning decades, Head appeared in numerous television series and films, including Merlin, Little Britain, Doctor Who, Bridgerton, The Inbetweeners, The Iron Lady and BBC Radio 4's long-running drama The Archers.
Head played King Uther Pendragon in Merlin and had a recurring role as the British prime minister in Little Britain. He also maintained a successful stage career, appearing in productions of The Rocky Horror Show, Godspell and Chess.
Little Britain co-creator Matt Lucas paid tribute to Head on social media, describing him as "unfailingly brilliant" and praising his kindness and warmth.
Born in London in 1954, Head trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and first gained widespread recognition in Britain through a series of popular television coffee advertisements in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
His daughters said they were grateful to have watched him spend a lifetime doing what he loved and added that his legacy would endure through his work and the countless fans he touched throughout his career.
Head is survived by daughters Emily and Daisy, both actresses, as well as his brother, actor Murray Head.
