Anthony Head, 1954 – 2026

British actor Anthony Head, 72, died on June 5. He was best known in the US as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Prime Minister in Little Britain, Uther Pendragon in Merlin, and Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso; not having seen any of those, I remember him in those soap opera-esque Nescafe commercials (Sharon Maughan was his leading lady). The son of actress Helen Shingler and writer Seafield Head and brother of actor Murray Head, Anthony appeared onstage in Godspell, The Rocky Horror Show, The Pirates of Penzance, Chess, The Heiress, Rope, and many other shows, both on the West End and regionally. Besides the TV shows already mentioned, his many vehicles included Lillie, Crown Court, Highlander, Dr. Who, Monarch of the Glen, The Iron Lady, and Galavant (gawd I loved that series). Head said of the show business, "When it's in your family, it's a choice, it's there. It's not a jump to say: 'I want to act.' When I was six I was in a little show my mother's friends organised, playing the Emperor in The Emperor's New Clothes. I remember thinking: 'This is the business, this is what I want to do.'" His daughters, Emily and Daisy Head, are also actresses.

Those Nescafe ads! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsN4YwbM9kw