Don Payne (writer) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Don Payne
Payne at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con panel for The Simpsons
Born	William Donald Payne (1964-05-05)May 5, 1964 Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	March 26, 2013(2013-03-26) (aged 48) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	Writer, producer

William Donald Payne (May 5, 1964 – March 26, 2013) was a talented American writer and producer. He is famous for writing many episodes of the popular cartoon show The Simpsons after the year 2000. He often worked with his writing partner, John Frink, whom he met while studying at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Don Payne and John Frink started their careers writing for TV shows like Hope and Gloria. Later, Payne also wrote for big movies. These included My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006), and he helped write Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), Thor (2011), and Thor: The Dark World (2013). Don Payne sadly passed away in March 2013 from heart failure caused by bone cancer.

Early Life

William Donald Payne was born on May 5, 1964, in Wilmington, North Carolina. He went to New Hanover High School and finished in 1982. He was even the class president!

After high school, he studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Then, he moved to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). At UCLA, he earned a special degree called a Master of Fine Arts in screenwriting, which is about writing for movies and TV. Later, Payne even taught this course at UCLA.

Career

Starting Out as a Writer

Don Payne began his career writing for TV shows called sitcoms. He worked with his writing partner, John Frink. They met at UCLA, where Frink was in charge of a media lab where Payne worked. Payne once said that they decided to work together to see what would happen.

In 2006, Payne told the Los Angeles Times that he wanted to write movies, and Frink wanted to write for TV. They agreed to take the first job offer they got, whether it was for movies or TV. They ended up writing for sitcoms like Hope and Gloria (1995–1996), Men Behaving Badly (1997), and The Brian Benben Show (1998). These shows did not last very long, and Payne called them "failures."

Working on The Simpsons and Movies

In 1998, Payne and Frink joined the team of writers for the famous cartoon show The Simpsons. Their first script for the show was an episode called "Insane Clown Poppy", which aired in 2000. Another episode they wrote, "Treehouse of Horror XI", was shown earlier but was made after "Insane Clown Poppy."

Payne explained in an interview how he got the job. He said that he and Frink were working on another TV show that got cancelled. A writer they knew, Jace Richdale, who had also worked on The Simpsons, told them the show was looking for writers. Payne was very excited! Richdale recommended them to the show's boss, Mike Scully, who hired them.

After some years, Frink and Payne decided to stop working together as a writing team. They both continued to write for The Simpsons on their own. Payne said their split was friendly. Don Payne won four Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on The Simpsons. He also won the Paul Selvin Award for writing the 2005 episode "Fraudcast News". He and Frink were also nominated for an award for the episode "The Bart Wants What It Wants" in 2003.

Payne wrote or co-wrote 16 episodes of The Simpsons. He also worked as a producer on more than 100 episodes. His last two episodes, "White Christmas Blues" and "Labor Pains", were shown after he passed away.

Later, Payne started writing for movies, which was his original dream. He still worked on The Simpsons a couple of times a week as a special producer. He wrote the movie My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006). He also helped write Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), Thor (2011), and Thor: The Dark World (2013). He was also planning to write a movie called Maximum Ride in 2013.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend was his first movie. He said he had always wanted to write movies and was a big fan of comic books. So, a romantic comedy with a superhero twist was a perfect first movie for him.

Personal Life and Passing

Don Payne had two sons and one daughter with his wife, Julie. He also had a brother named John and a sister named Suzanne.

Don Payne passed away at his home in Los Angeles on March 26, 2013. He was 48 years old. He had been battling bone cancer for several years, which led to heart failure. Al Jean, who was in charge of The Simpsons, said that Don was a wonderful writer and an even more wonderful person. He added that everyone who worked on The Simpsons loved him, and his passing was very sad news.

The movie Thor: The Dark World, which he helped write, was dedicated to his memory. His final episode of The Simpsons, "White Christmas Blues", was also dedicated to him.

Credits

Television

The Simpsons episodes

• "Treehouse of Horror XI" ("Scary Tales Can Come True") (co-written by John Frink) (2000)
• "Insane Clown Poppy" (co-written by John Frink) (2000)
• "Bye Bye Nerdie" (co-written by John Frink) (2001)
• "Simpsons Tall Tales" (co-written by John Frink) (2001)
• "Treehouse of Horror XII" (co-written by John Frink) (2001)
• "The Bart Wants What It Wants" (co-written by John Frink) (2002)
• "The Great Louse Detective" (co-written by John Frink) (2002)
• "Old Yeller Belly" (co-written by John Frink) (2003)
• "The Wandering Juvie" (co-written by John Frink) (2004)
• "Fraudcast News" (2004)
• "Thank God It's Doomsday" (2005)
• "Simpsons Christmas Stories" (2005)
• "Little Big Girl" (2007)
• "Love, Springfieldian Style" (2008)
• "Take My Life, Please" (2009)
• "Thursdays with Abie" (co-written by Mitchell H. Glazer) (2010)
• "Labor Pains" (co-written by Mitchell H. Glazer) (2013) (aired posthumously)
• "White Christmas Blues" (2013) (aired posthumously)

Film

See also

In Spanish: Don Payne para niños