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The
stage and TV performer became well known to British audiences in
the 1980s as one half of a will-they, won’t-they romantic couple
in a series of ads for Nescafe Gold Blend instant coffee. The
ads were later re-shot for a U.S. audience for Taster's Choice.
Head achieved wider fame as librarian Rupert Giles, mentor to
the title character in the cult-favorite supernatural series
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” which ran from 1997 to 2003.
He most recently played Rupert Mannion, the villainous
ex-husband of Hannah Waddingham’s character Rebecca, in “Ted
Lasso.”
“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,” his daughters said. “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 was born in London on Feb. 20, 1954 to Seafield Head, a
documentary filmmaker, and Helen Shingler, an actor. His older
brother, Murray, is also an actor.
Other notable roles included playing Geoffrey Howe, the deputy
to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, played by Meryl Streep, in
the Oscar-winning “The Iron Lady.”
Head portrayed a prime minister himself in the sketch comedy
show “Little Britain,” as well as King Uther Pendragon, the
father of Prince Arthur, in the “Merlin” TV series. He also
appeared in “Motherland," Manchild,” and “Silent Witness,” along
with acting in many plays, musicals, and recording music as a
singer.
He was predeceased by his longtime partner, animal welfare
activist Sarah Fisher, 61, in 2025.
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