Anthony Head — the suave British actor beloved by millions as Rupert Giles, the quietly heroic Watcher of Buffy The Vampire Slayer — passed away peacefully today at 72 from complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family. His daughters Emily and Daisy said in a heartbreaking statement — “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father.

It has been and forever will be an honor and a privilege to be his daughters and to have witnessed firsthand the impact both he and his work have had on so many.” His passing comes just six months after losing his partner of 37 years Sarah Fisher — the woman he loved from the early 1980s — leaving two daughters who have now said goodbye to both parents in the same year. He gave Buffy her father figure. He gave his daughters everything else. And today the world lost one of the genuinely good ones.