Noteworthy Alumni Highlight: Ned Thanhouser ʼ68

Ned Thanhouser was a bit of a ladies’ man back in the day. Those romantic leanings were what led him to Missouri Military Academy, a move that inspired a lifetime of following twin passions — a successful career in high technology and later renown as a film preservationist.

“MMA saved me,” he says.

Young Ned’s penchant for late-night bike rides to his girlfriend’s house in Houston had his parents looking for new options to encourage their 14-year-old son to reach for new heights. The family found what it was looking for at MMA. He arrived on campus in 1964 to begin his high school career at the Academy.

---

Above, Major John E. Reddick chats with "C" Company First Sergeant Ned Thanhouser; Company Commander Mike Foster and Guidon Bearer Pedro Riojas (photo from 1968 TAPS).

---

Over the next four years, Thanhouser served in the corps’ military police, was named most valuable ROTC cadet, drilled with the state champion Fusileers, was named most valuable company football running back and earned a letter on the golf team. He graduated in 1968 as a second lieutenant and went on to earn a degree in computer science from Trinity College in 1972, a credential he parlayed into a four-decade career in high tech.

---

Above, members of the 1967 MMA golf team. Front row: Thanhouser, Jacobs (captain), Glazer, Wrenn, Morris C. and Bean. Second row: Coach Walter Grebing, Williamson, Brickly, McCormick, Buehler, Gant and Hallumns (photo from 1967 TAPS).

---

Hired right out of college by Tektronix in Portland, Oregon, Thanhouser wrote software programs that were used by research and scientific organizations around the globe. He moved to Intel Corp. in 1982, using his leadership skills to manage engineering and marketing teams. “It was very gratifying to be a part of an organization that changed the way we generate and access information every day,” he says.

Retired since 2011 after 28 years at Intel, Thanhouser is now an award-winning filmmaker and film historian, focusing on his grandparents’ early 20th-century movie studio in New Rochelle, New York. Thanhouser Company and its successor, Mutual’s Thanhouser Film Corp., produced and released more than 1,000 silent movies between 1909 and 1917. For decades, the films were feared lost to posterity but Thanhouser has worked diligently to acquire, restore and share movies, posters, music and other studio memorabilia from the silent era. He has amassed a collection of 96 recovered Thanhouser silent movies, available on DVD and many streaming online. The quest has become a family passion embraced by all four of his sons. His preservation efforts through his nonprofit Thanhouser Company Film Preservation Inc. were recently featured in the California magazine Shoutout LA.

His 53-minute documentary, The Thanhouser Studio and the Birth of American Cinema, won a slew of “best documentary” awards after its release in 2014; it aired on Turner Classic Movies’ Silent Sunday Nights show in 2015.

Thanhouser credits MMA for inspiring a love of science and math — particularly Capt. Walter Grebing in math, Capt. James Marley in physics and Maj. John Reddick in earth sciences — and the motivation that led to professional success.

“MMA instilled values in me: self-discipline, self-confidence, honesty, a sense of duty, organizational skills, public speaking and the importance of personal bearing and polish,” he recalls. “The biggest benefit to my adult life that I learned from MMA is the importance of making and meeting commitments. And, if you can’t meet your commitment, own it — don’t make excuses. I told all of my children, ‘Tell the truth — it’s easier to remember!’ ”

He learned a painful lesson as a cadet that honesty is the best policy. And again, a girl was involved.

“I was never busted to lower rank although I did have a couple of disciplinary actions,” Thanhouser recalls. “Most memorable was losing my soldier’s bar when I checked out on an afternoon leave to my girlfriend’s house.* We first went to the movies (I remember we saw Bonnie and Clyde) and then went to her house. The MPs had logged me as at the movie when I was checked out to her house. I should have checked out to the movies and then checked out to her house. Good lesson on being upfront and honest as expected by the commandant.”

The core values taught at MMA continue to shape his life, Thanhouser says. “I am most grateful to the Academy and the faculty that helped set me on my path, to achieve worthy goals, overcome obstacles and enjoy the journey.”

The bond of brotherhood remains strong for Thanhouser, nearly 54 years since he graduated from MMA.

“I keep in touch with several of my brothers from my graduating class and my junior-year roommate,” he says. “Plus, I keep in contact with my ex-girlfriend from my last two years at the Academy. Lifelong friendships are so important.”

*Today’s MMA cadets are not authorized to sign out with girlfriends during general leave. Cadets must sign out with the company leadership advisor before leaving campus during authorized general leave periods. Cadets caught in an unauthorized residence or establishment will be subject to dismissal.

Above, Greg Pullman, Ned Thanhouser, Doug Wilkinson and Bruce Barrett walk cautiously through a tactics practice (photo from 1968 TAPS).