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Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-born American bodybuilder and actor who gained worldwide fame as a star of Hollywood action films (such as The Terminator).

In the 2003 California recall of Governor Gray Davis, Schwarzenegger (running as one of several Republican Party candidates) was elected governor of California with 55.4% majority of voters voting "yes" on the recall and a 48.7% plurality voting for Schwarzenegger. The actor is expected to take office by mid-November, within 10 days of the latest vote certification date of November 15.

Personal background

Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria (four miles from Graz) to a Gendarmerie-Kommandant policeman, Gustav Schwarzenegger (1907-1972), who volunteered for the infamous Nazi SA and became a ranking officer, and Aurelia Jadrny (1922-1998). He moved to the US in 1968 and became a US citizen in 1983. Meanwhile, he earned a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Superior where he graduated with a major in international marketing of fitness and business administration in 1979. The football stadium in Graz was renamed Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium in 1997.

In 1986, Schwarzenegger married noted TV journalist Maria Shriver, niece of late President Kennedy. The couple have 4 children, two sons and two daughters.

Bodybuilding career

Schwarzenegger first gained fame as a prominent bodybuilder. His well-developed physique revolutionized the sport, earned him the moniker 'The Austrian Oak' and won him the titles of Junior Mr. Europe, Mr. World, Mr. Universe (five times) and Mr. Olympia (seven times). He is considered one of the most important figures in the history of bodybuilding, and his legacy in the sport is commemorated in the Arnold Classic annual bodybuilding competition.

Acting career

Arnold's uniquely muscular appearance earned him several movie roles. His first credited film appearance was in Hercules in New York (1970). Under the name Arnold Strong, Schwarzenegger played the title character who travels to New York and befriends a mild-mannered man. His accent in the film was so thick that his lines were dubbed. Schwarzenegger came to the attention of more people in the documentary Pumping Iron (1977). His breakthrough film was Conan the Barbarian (1982), cemented by Conan the Destroyer (1984). He is perhaps most known for his role in The Terminator (1984) where his deadpan acting style actually helped the film. Schwarzenegger's acting ability (described by one critic as having an emotional range that "stretches from A almost to B") has long been the butt of many jokes; he retains a strong (Austrian-)German accent in his speech even in roles which do not call for such an accent. However, few of the fans of his work seem to care. He also made a mark with injecting his films with a droll sense of humor, setting him apart from the more serious action heroes played by Sylvester Stallone.

Following his arrival as a Hollywood superstar, he made a number of commercially successful films: Commando (1985), Raw Deal (1986), The Running Man (1987), Predator (1987) and Red Heat (1988). Twins (1988) a comedy with Danny DeVito was a change of pace. Total Recall (1990) got Schwarzenegger $10m and 15% of the gross, and hid a widely praised, thought-provoking science-fiction script behind his usual violent action. Kindergarten Cop (1990) was another comedy. Terminator 2 (1991) was his high-water mark. After the box-office failure of The Last Action Hero, (1993) Schwarzenegger's career never again achieved quite the same prominence. True Lies (1994) was a sendup of spy films. It was followed by Eraser (1996), End of Days (1999), The 6th Day (2000) and Collateral Damage (2002). He stars in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) and is slated to star in 2004's True Lies 2.

In April 1997 he underwent an operation to correct a congenital heart valve defect.

Political career

He is a registered voter of the Republican party, although he describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially moderate. Schwarzenegger backed President Ronald Reagan while he was in office, and President George H. W. Bush named him chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness in 1989.

In an interview on October 29, 2002, with MSNBC's Chris Matthews at Chapman University, Schwarzenegger explained why he is a Republican:

Well, I think because a lot of people don't know why I'm a Republican, I came first of all from a socialistic country which is Austria and when I came over here in 1968 with the presidential elections coming up in November, I came over in October, I heard a lot of the press conferences from both of the candidates Humphrey and Nixon, and Humphrey was talking about more government is the solution, protectionism, and everything he said about government involvement sounded to me more like Austrian socialism.

Then when heard Nixon talk about it, he said open up the borders, the consumers should be represented there ultimately and strengthen the military and get the government off our backs. I said to myself, what is this guy's party affiliation? I didn't know anything at that point. So I asked my friend, what is Nixon? He's a Republican. And I said, I am a Republican. That's how I became a Republican.

It is well-known that Schwarzenegger has considered a run at public office (a belief jokingly referenced in a Sylvester Stallone film, Demolition Man, where a future America passed a constitutional amendment to allow foreign-born Americans and, thus Schwarzenegger, to become President).

Regarding a run for public office, in 1999, he told Talk magazine that "I think about it many times." He said, "The possibility is there because I feel it inside. I feel there are a lot of people standing still and not doing enough. And there's a vacuum." Some analysts suspected that it was his unofficial announcement to run in the 2002 California gubernatorial election. Ultimately, he supported his friend and fellow moderate Republican, Richard Riordan, former mayor of Los Angeles, California.

Schwarzenegger scored his first real political success on November 5, 2002 when Californians approved his personally crafted and sponsored Proposition 49, the "After School Education and Safety Program Act of 2002."

In the 2003 California recall, Schwarzenegger was widely rumored to be considering a run at becoming Governor of California. In the July 2003 issue of Esquire magazine, he said, "Yes, I would love to be governor of California ... If the state needs me, and if there's no one I think is better, then I will run." When a recall campaign against Democratic governor Gray Davis qualified for the ballot on July 24, Schwarzenegger left many wondering whether he would jump into the contest. Schwarzenegger was just wrapping up a promotional tour for Terminator 3 and said he would announce his decision on whether to run on August 6 on the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

In the days and even hours leading up to the show's taping, political experts and insiders concluded that Schwarzenegger was leaning against running. Even his closest advisors believed he was probably not going to run. Schwarzenegger stunned the pundits when he announced that he did intend to run in the October 7 recall election. He said, "The politicians are fiddling, fumbling and failing. The man that is failing the people more than anyone is Gray Davis. He is failing them terribly, and this is why he needs to be recalled and this is why I am going to run for governor." Rumors leading up to the announcement said that his wife, Maria Shriver, a Kennedy family Democrat, was against his running, and he wanted her approval in order to run. He said, "It's the most difficult I've made in my entire life." Ultimately, Shriver said she would support Schwarzenegger no matter what he chose, so he decided to run. Schwarzenegger had the most name recognition in a crowded field of candidates for Governor, but he had never held public office and his political views were unknown to most Californians.

Schwarzenegger's candidacy was immediate national and international news, with media outlets dubbing him the "Governator" (referring to The Terminator movies, see above) and "The Running Man" (the name of another of his movies), and calling the recall election "Total Recall" (ditto) and "Terminator 4: Rise of the Candidate" (referring to his movie Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) Schwarzenegger was quick to use his well-known one-liners, promising to "pump up Sacramento" (the state capital) and tell Gray Davis "hasta la vista." At the end of his first press conference, he said "I'll be back." Schwarzenegger looks to follow in the footsteps of former California governor and one-time movie star Ronald Reagan. However, due to his status as a naturalized citizen he would not be eligible to seek the Presidency. Among his campaign team are Rob Lowe, Warren Buffett, and George Shultz.

Within the last five days before the election, allegations of sexual misconduct arose from sixteen individual women. In particular, Elaine Stockton claimed that Schwarzenegger groped her breast at a Gold's Gym in 1975 (she was 19 at the time). Schwarzenegger admitted that he has "behaved badly sometimes" and apologized, but also stated that "a lot of (what) you see in the stories is not true". This came after an interview from the same era surfaced in which Schwarzenegger discussed attending sexual orgies and indulging in drugs like cocaine.

Opponents to Schwarzenegger have pegged him as a misogynistic man with a history of mistreating women, and who sends mixed messages by participating in violent films while preaching peace and non-violence. Supporters of Schwarzenegger claim that the allegations of mistreatment to women have no merit and are only a desperate attempt to smear his reputation.

Allegations, based on selective quotation, were also made that he at one time admired Adolf Hitler and had praised him as a great propagandist. However the full text of the statement from which the quotation was taken significantly reduces the credibility of the allegations. Although Schwarzenegger's father was in fact a member of the Nazi party, opponents are slow to point out that Schwarzenegger has been a strong supporter of various Jewish groups, and has expressed distaste for the principles of the fascist German regime.

On October 7, 2003 he was elected governor of California.

External links

• Schwarzenegger's Official website
• Arnold Schwarzenegger For Governor Campaign website
• The IMDb entry on Schwarzenegger
• Transcript of Chris Matthew's interview with Schwarzenegger
• Schwarzenegger's Sex Talk : The Smoking Gun
• Arnold steals show in California debate - James G. Lakely, The Washington Times