`The Simpsons` writer Don Payne dies

Los Angeles: Don Payne, the author behind hit TV series `The Simpsons`, has died after battling bone cancer. He was 48. The four-time Emmy-winning writer, a self-professed "comic book geek", co-wrote the script for `Thor`. He was behind the scripts for `My Super Ex-Girlfriend`, starring Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson, `Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer` and upcoming film `Maximum Ride`. Payne started on `The Simpsons` in 1998 and wrote more than a dozen episodes of the long-running Fox series and served as a consulting producer on 100, the Hollywood Reporter said. "Don was a wonderful writer and an even more wonderful man," showrunner Al Jean said. "He was beloved in the Simpsons community, and his untimely passing is terrible news to us all. I know he is up with Thor now looking down at us and smiling." Payne is survived by his wife Julie and three children. PTI