Don Payne (writer)

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 North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of California, Los Angeles (MFA)
Occupation(s)	Writer, producer

William Donald Payne (May 5, 1964 – March 26, 2013) was an American writer and producer. He wrote several episodes of The Simpsons after 2000, many of these with John Frink, whom he met while studying at the University of California, Los Angeles. The duo began their careers writing for the short-lived sitcom Hope and Gloria. Payne later moved into writing feature films, including My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006), and co-wrote Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), Thor (2011) and its sequel Thor: The Dark World (2013). Payne died from heart failure caused by bone cancer in March 2013.