William E. Vaughan (Bill Vaughan)

William E. Vaughan (October 8, 1915 – February 25, 1977) was an American columnist and author. Born in Saint Louis, Missouri, he wrote a syndicated column for the Kansas City Star from 1946 until his death in 1977. He was published in Reader's Digest and Better Homes and Gardens under the pseudonym Burton Hillis. He attended Washington University in St. Louis.

He is known and still quoted decades later for his folksy aphorisms, some of which were published in his "Starbeams" feature. They have been collected in books and on Internet sites. Bill Vaughan died at age 61 of lung cancer.

He wrote three books, Bird Thou Never Wert, a 1962 collection of columns, Sorry I Stirred It 1964, and Half the Battle 1967. Posthumous collections were published, columns in 1979, The Best of Bill Vaughan and aphorisms in 1981, Starbeams
(wikipedia)