government paver of yellow brick roads ted ted bulthaup attended both northern illinois university for biology and then depaul university for business administration for a total of 4 years all on scholarships . early education included being named to the national honor society and chosen president of the senior class at downers grove south high school which is still the only graduating class to leave a surplus in the treasury . among the many events bulthaup managed to hire the band styx to perform at the high school the same month their song lady hit number 1 on the national charts . the class also one the spirit award and first place for the homecoming float which was so big it would not fit into the stadium gates . interested in many things especially american history science and nature ecology ted still holds the record for the most 1st place science awards in the state of illinois and among other awards won the international science & engineering first prize for zoology for his work on the biology of hibernating bats . over 1 000 000 students were in the worldwide competition . he first worked with captive vampire bats at brookfield zoo in 7th grade and later had laboratory space and equipment at argonne national lab s biology building donated for use in his work during his junior and senior years of high school . there were also the highest possible achievement or merit awards from the following organizations the united states army the united states navy the science service the chicago heart association american society of medical technologists american association of pathologists and bacteriologists american society of clinical pathologists international academy of pathology american society for experimental pathology armed forces institute of pathology the college of american pathologists and twice from the illinois medical society . there were awards of recognition given by the illinois federation of women s clubs and illinois state university . college scholarships were offered from north central college and northern illinois university . in high school belonged to the national honor society the national audubon society the national speleo logical society and bat conservation international . i was also invited to write an article for national geographic magazine . between the ages of 12 and 22 bulthaup gained a national reputation for this work was a guest lecturer at various high schools colleges and even the us naval research center in san diego . bulthaup was widely covered in local and national media . the first national television was with frank reynolds on the nbc evening news before he could qualify for a drivers license and later in real people with sarah purcell ; also the associated press chicago tribune national enquirer etc. and was asked to write an article about his work for national geographic at age 18 and to locate at the panama research station on barro colorado island for a summer of field work . bulthaup was influential in inducing comed to donate a 212 acre tract of land to the state of illinois for protection as a bat preserve as it was the location of a long abandoned limestone mine that sheltered approximately 30 000 hibernating bats of six species two of which were endangered and one is the only surviving colony of this animal in illinois . it is now the pecumsaugan creek nature preserve . it is worth mentioning bulthaup had contracted rheumatic fever at age six just after starting elementary school being hospitalized and then confined to bed not being allowed to walk for almost a year home studying from bed so as not to be left behind in his education.ted established his first business caribou productions in chicago while still attending depaul university . caribou promoted various live performance artists at various venues throughout the central united states . examples were such artists as cheap trick atlanta rhythm section doobie brothers genesis supertramp bruce springsteen jackson brown beach boys yes charlie daniels etc. bulthaup also consulted on various historic renovations of pre depression era movie palaces for the purposes of restoring and converting them to performance venues testifying before the house ways & means committee on tax incentives and capital formation for historic preservation of architecture theaters . bulthaup interrupted the normal course of business for several years leaving chicago to take care of aging relatives in indianapolis until their death . his grandparents were too old to live on their own but too healthy for a nursing home . during this period bulthaup continued efforts with preservation of old dilapidated movie palaces into live performance venues . that concept was modified to what became this country s first full service dinner and movie theater hollywood bar & filmworks built in a 130 year old warehouse in downtown indy next to union station.upon opening in 1991 the new theater underwent a series of trials and tribulations . hollywood was located in dilapidated and largely vacant downtown district at a time when indianapolis suburbanites did not want to travel downtown ; with a hybrid concept so different that nobody understood it with an offering of only sub run films shortly before video and with a mountain of short term debt . it was the first new movie theater in downtown in over 60 years and the first one to operate downtown in over two decades . hollywood quickly became a leading regional destination point and received recognition over the years for excellence consistently winning state local & national entertainment and restaurant best of awards in various local reader s polls including downtown indy s best new addition indy s best movie theater indy s best kept secret and as having indy s best service best movie popcorn and 2nd best pizza . the restaurant & hospitality association of indiana awarded hollywood with a good neighbor award and hollywood was selected as having the state of indiana s best menu . the national association of theater owners and the hollywood reporter named the theater as best in community service & best in marketing in the nation . indianapolis monthly called the theater one of indy s crown jewels and also listed it as the third best place to take out of towners after the 500 mile race and the children s museum . bulthaup received both ceo magazine s service excellence award and mass mutual s u.s. chamber of commerce s blue chip enterprise award for entrepreneurship and was the subject of a large article in the national magazine entrepreneur . bulthaup was the founding president of the downtown restaurant & hospitality association of indianapolis and served terms on the board of directors of both that organization and the theater owners of indiana.through a variety of tactics hollywood challenged the way films were distributed in this country causing some fundamental industry changes including the status of intermediate run and first run move over theaters and eliminating the release barrier for theaters wanting to provide expanded food and beverage selections with to your seat service . hollywood in indianapolis paved the way for this end of the industry and was generally recognized as the nation s leading high amenity cinema . among those efforts was bringing and winning an anti trust suit against mgm . after that experience bulthaup became a resource for the us department of justice on industry anti trust issues and the 1949 paramount consent decree most recently testifying before the legal committee on the merger of chicago based show place cinemas and amc ; after which amc was ordered to divest several chicago area theaters which they sold to regal . in the last decade bulthaup testified by request of the state of illinois on their behalf in front of several standing state committees from both the house and senate and the us treasury department . the indianapolis operation had always enjoyed a great reputation for excellence . disney approached bulthaup about building a theater like the filmworks at epcot . if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery general cinema experimented with a copycat operation and several second rate imitators spawned following indy s success . hollywood indy was the only local recommendation as a great place to visit named in usa today during the final four conference in indianapolis . ms nbc focused on filmworks not only as a unique theater but what great value it delivers compared to new york city cinema s. la sports talk radio broadcasted live from the theater hollywood to hollywood when the pacers were in the nba playoffs against the lakers . warner bros offered bulthaup a job as national director of special projects marketing if he would sell the indy location and move to la . during this period bulthaup s house burned down early thanksgiving morning almost taking the life of several children who ted pulled out of his flaming house . trapped by the flames he threw one child through the burning kitchen into a clear area near the front door . running back upstairs grabbing the last child he kicked out a second floor window ; went out on the roof swinging his daughter into a bush before jumping himself . ted asked a friend who was the human interest reporter on the local cbs affiliate to tour the burnt out shell live on air as the aftermaths of house fires are seldom covered by media . the segments were later nominated for a local emmy . bulthaup later filmed a psa to run before children s movies at the theater with the help of local fire prevention officials . nato recognized the hollywood s kids fire safety program for its annual community service award . the city of indianapolis created a huge downtown mess starting with the long construction of the circle centre mall ; followed by the negative affect of a new professional basketball arena being developed in the heart of downtown . the subsequent hyper inflation of neighborhood parking rates during special events became a severe challenge to all downtown restaurant and entertainment operations . suddenly after hollywood enjoyed years of success downtown parking rates inflated by 735 % on over 100 event nights per year due to the close proximity of the new conseco fieldhouse . of the businesses that signed a petition to the mayor two thirds were soon driven out of business citing the new parking dynamic as the number one problem . the local mayor continued to embrace anti small business practices and then even doubled already harmful restaurant taxes to buy the colts a new arena and so on the hollywood bar & filmworks 15th anniversary bulthaup voluntarily closed the indianapolis location . all local loans and debts of any kind were voluntarily paid in full to all secured and unsecured creditors alike and the assets were moved to illinois for later use in one of hollywood blvd cinema s expansions . even so in the last year of operation hollywood bar & filmworks was listed in the indianapolis business journal as the 8th fasted growing company in indy . this wreckage was all due to local governments reckless and uncaring actions lying to the public quashing dissent on this and related issues . exposures led by ted later helped cost the mayor his office and later his cronies were prevented from winning their office for from their third consecutive term . bulthaup also saved the city some 55 million dollars by disclosing the facts of his theaters and the other businesses closures and showing the local nba team was just the opposite of the economic powerhouse for indianapolis that the city and the pacers pretended it to be and that was it unworthy of further public subsidy . regardless his indianapolis business was a total loss to bulthaup and his family . it was a very family oriented business and one young employee even committed suicide due to losing her family to the closure