Richard Payne(1949-2010)
- Actor
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.