David George Vaughan was born in London, England on May 17, 1924. He studied at Oxford and began formal dance training at the age of 23. He emigrated to the United States in 1950 to enroll in the School of American Ballet, where Merce Cunningham was teaching. When Cunningham opened his own studio, Vaughan went along as the company's paid secretary, a position that also subsidized his performances in Off Broadway musicals.
Vaughan made his Broadway debut in 1957 as the parson in a production of William Wycherley's The Country Wife. Vaughan also appeared in The Boy Friend in 1970 and was the narrator of Gertrude Stein's words in Frederick Ashton's ballet A Wedding Bouquet. Stanley Kubrick incorporated Vaughan's ballet choreography in his 1955 film Killer's Kiss. Vaughan wrote several books including Frederick Ashton and His Ballets and Merce Cunningham: Fifty Years. He won a Dance Magazine Award in 2015 for his contributions to the field. He died from complications of prostate cancer on October 27, 2017 at the age of 93.
030