Anthony Head Dies at 72, Closing Door on Long-Mooted Buffy Ripper Spin-off
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 5
Anthony Head Dies at 72, Closing Door on Long-Mooted Buffy Ripper Spin-off
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 5
Summary
Anthony Head’s death at 72 has effectively ended any realistic chance of “Ripper,” the long-discussed Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff centered on Rupert Giles’ younger years.
Years of fan and creative interest persisted because Head’s Giles was more than Buffy’s tweedy watcher—he gave the mentor figure authority, regret and dry humor that made a prequel feel viable.
His performance also drew on his musical and stage background, most memorably in Buffy’s season-six musical episode “Once More, With Feeling” and later in the 2008 cult film Repo! The Genetic Opera.
Beyond Buffy, Head remained a TV fixture, later reaching new audiences as Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso, a sharply different Rupert that underscored his range across decades of screen work.