Paul Vaughan

1925-10-24 · Brixton, London, England, U.K.

Paul Vaughan was an English actor, author and voiceover virtuoso, known to millions as the “Horizon voice” on BBC2, as well as for Waking Ned Devine (1998), Threads (1984) and The Escapist (2008). His voice was his prize accomplishment, in professional use into his 80s, but it was not the only one. He matriculated at Oxford in 1943, reading English and French at Wadham College in two spells wrapped around national service in the Royal Engineers, finally emerging with a wartime degree. A lifelong clarinettist (self-taught from the recordings of Frank Teschemacher), he most enjoyed sitting in the midst of an orchestra and contributing to its sublime sound. His first books were spin-offs from his career as a medical journalist, including a history of the British Medical Association, and a study of the contraceptive pill (The Pill on Trial, 1972).