John Horace Terry (1945-2026)
John Terry passed away on July 29, 2026 at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford. He and wife Melissa (Sorem) Terry lived in Providence, RI and Dartmouth, MA for the past 26 years.
An independent filmmaker who made over 30 films, John taught for over four decades at RISD, Yale, and MIT, where he was instrumental in founding the MIT Film Program. A capable administrator, he served as RISD’s Acting Associate Provost in the late 1990s and was Department Head of FAV (Film/Animation/Video) from 1995 to 2001. He was Dean of Fine Arts from 2002 through 2010, and Head of FAV again from 2012-2013.
Early on, he developed a lifelong interest in documenting street life, as reflected in his 1972 film “Paris Everyday in Winter.” John produced and filmed major parts of the Public Television series “An American Family,” a ground-breaking series following the Loud family of California. He was cinematographer for “Les Lolos de Lola,” a French comedy produced by Francois Truffaut. In later years, John worked in association with John Marshall on a series of films on the ¡Kung bushmen of Namibia.
John was a visiting artist several times at the American Academy in Rome. His most recent work was in Rome and Venice, and includes “Colosseum: Prowling a Monument Space,” “Vedette di Roma,” “Tabletop Photography,” and “Bridge of Thighs,” all of which explore street life in Italy.
John had many interests: he was a lifelong fine art b/w photographer, student of science, and collector of a wide variety of objects, including art, works on paper, scientific instruments, and measuring devices and tools. He also had a deep interest in the ancient world around the Mediterranean and was an avid reader on many subjects.
John is survived by his wife Melissa, his sister Jane Terry Berg and her family, his sister-in-law Reva Terry and her family, and many lifelong friends and collaborators.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in John’s name in support of RISD at https://www.risd.edu/giving