Richard Payne

Richard Beverley Payne - Artist, Writer, Actor, Teacher. Richard died in Toronto on February 24, 2010, aged 60. Born in Toronto on June 24, 1949, Richard was educated at Richview Collegiate and in 1971 graduated with a B.F.A. from Mount Allison University, later receiving a B.Ed from the University of Toronto, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from UBC. During the 1970s and 1980s, Richard was active in the theatre world in Canada, acting and touring with Toronto Workshop Productions' Ten Lost Years. With Dennis Hayes he wrote and performed in The Yellow House at Arles at Toronto's Tarragon Theatre. From 1987-99 he taught High School (English, Writing and Dramatic Arts) in Southwestern Ontario, and from 2000 he was again active in the theatre and teaching worlds in Toronto. Richard played the popular "Mad Scientist" in the Crayola Crayon-Maker commercials, which ran on Teletoon and YTV for two years off and on, becoming Crayola's most successful ad campaign. Over the years, Richard appeared in numerous theatre, film and television productions.