07/11/2024
It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of a Scottsdale Film School legend, Terence (Terry) Donnelly, 83. He was an iconic film producer in Hollywood, producing films, such as “The French Connection”, “Exorcist”, “Midnight Cowboy” and more. He was also a beloved adjunct faculty member here at SCC for over 20 years, and is one of the trailblazers that helped us become who we are as a department today. Even if current students did not get the chance to work with him, they have felt the lasting impact he created here. He will be missed by so many. We will be holding a celebration of his legacy sometime this fall, date, time and location is forthcoming. The family has requested that instead of sending flowers, please donate to their Go Fund Me instead.
Here is the link. https://gofund.me/9bc0f6bd.
We have included the official obituary written by one of his two sons, Terence.
Terence Donnelly, Long-Time Film and TV Production Exec, SCC Film School Professor, Dies at 83
Terence “Terry” Donnelly, a Hollywood production executive whose more than 50 film and TV credits included Oscar-winners “Midnight Cowboy”, “The French Connection”, “The Exorcist”, as well as the Emmy Award-winning “12 Angry Men”, has died at 83.
Terry died May 21 at HonorHealth Shea Medical Center in Scottsdale Arizona, from complications of a rupture in a major artery, according to a statement from his family. He had also been battling Parkinson’s Disease for several years.
Over a film and TV production career spanning more than 40 years, Terry partnered with some of the industry’s leading directors and studios as a producer, production manager and assistant director.
His most frequent collaborator was acclaimed director William Friedkin, with whom Terry worked on five films, including “The French Connection” (1971) “The Exorcist” (1973), and the 1997 TV film “12 Angry Men”, which garnered Terry and Friedkin individual Emmy nominations for production and direction.
He also worked closely with Paul Mazursky on a trio of films that included the 1978 Oscar-nominated “An Unmarried Woman”; with John Schlesinger on his 1969 Oscar-winning “Midnight Cowboy”; and on films directed by Arthur Hiller, Robert Mulligan and Stanley Jaffe, among others.
A long-time member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA), Terry later went on to teach film production for more than 20 years as an adjunct professor at Scottsdale Community College’s School of Film+Theatre, and at Arizona State University.
He was a graduate of Villanova University, and also served as a commissioned officer in the United States Naval Reserve (USNR) during the height of the Cold War.
Terry is survived by his wife, Deborah Brass-Donnelly, two sons, Terence and Christopher, and two grandchildren.
