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Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger
38 Governor of California
In office November 17, 2003 – present
Lieutenant	Cruz Bustamante
Preceded by	Gray Davis
Personal details
Born	400px July 30, 1947 Thal bei Graz, Steiermark, Austria
Died	400px
Resting place	400px
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Maria Shriver
Parent	400px
Profession	Body Builder, Actor, Politician

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, and Republican politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of California.

He was elected on October 7, 2003 in the 2003 California recall, which removed the sitting governor, Gray Davis, from office. Schwarzenegger was sworn in on November 17, 2003, to serve the remainder of Davis' term, which lasts until January 8, 2007. On September 16, 2005 he officially announced that he will seek re-election to a full term in California's 2006 gubernatorial election.

Nicknamed "The Austrian Oak" in his body-building days, and more recently "The Governator" (a portmanteau of the words "Governor" and "Terminator", after the film role), Schwarzenegger as a young man gained widespread attention as a highly successful bodybuilder, and later gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film star. Some of his most famous films include The Terminator, Predator, True Lies, Kindergarten Cop, Total Recall, and his Hollywood breakthrough film Conan the Barbarian.

Personal background

Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria, a small town near the Styrian capital, Graz, and christened Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger . His parents were the local police chief and former Nazi stormtrooper Gustav Schwarzenegger (1907-1972), and his wife, the former Aurelia Jadrny (1922-1998), who had been married on October 20, 1945, when he was 38 and she was 23 and widowed. Arnold had a good relationship with his mother and kept in touch with her until her death.

Gustav was a strict and demanding father, who generally favored the elder of his two sons, the handsome and blonde Meinhard.

Meinhard died in a car accident in 1971, and Gustav died the following year. Schwarzenegger attended neither's funeral. In Pumping Iron he claimed he did not attend his father's funeral as he was training for a bodybuilding contest, although both he and the film's producer later stated that this story was taken from another bodybuilder.

As a boy, Arnold played many sports, but discovered his passion for bodybuilding when in his mid-teens his soccer coach took the team for weight training. He attended a gym in Graz, where he also frequented the local cinemas, viewing his idols such as musclemen Reg Park, Steve Reeves, and Johnny Weissmuller on the big screen.

Arnold served in the Austrian army in 1965, to fulfill the one-year service requirement expected at the time of all 18 year old Austrian males. During this year he snuck off the base to compete in his first bodybuilding competition, the junior division of Mr. Europe, where he won first place. He was punished for sneaking off, but the respect he gained from his superiors was obvious: his drill sergeant once yelled at a group of soldiers, "Why don't you be more like Schwarzenegger!"

Schwarzenegger left Thal for a job managing a gym in Munich, Germany, while continuing his bodybuilding. He made his first plane trip in 1966, attending the NABBA Mr. Universe competition being held in London. He arrived in England knowing little English, and it was here he first started being referred to as The Austrian Oak (or The Styrian Oak), due to his large build and the story of him performing chin ups from the limb of an Oak tree on the banks of the river Thalersee, the lake of his hometown. He would come in second in the competition, but would win the title the next year, becoming the youngest ever Mr. Universe (at age 20).

Schwarzenegger moved to the United States in September 1968, with little money or knowledge of the English language, and trained at Gold's Gym in Santa Monica under the patronage of Joe Weider.

He became a U.S. citizen in 1983, although he also retains his Austrian citizenship. During this time, he earned a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Superior where he graduated with degrees in international marketing of fitness and business administration in 1979.

In 1977 his autobiography, Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder was published.

In 1986, Schwarzenegger married TV journalist Maria Shriver, niece of the late President of the United States John F. Kennedy. The couple have four children: daughters Katherine (born December 13, 1989) and Christina (b. July 23, 1991), and sons Patrick (b.September 18, 1993) and Christopher (b. September 27, 1997).

Bodybuilding career

Schwarzenegger first gained fame as a bodybuilder in Austria. One of the first competitions he won was Junior Mr. Europe. He would go on to compete in and win many bodybuilding (as well as some powerlifting) contests, including 4 NABBA Mr. Universe wins and a record 7 Mr. Olympia wins, a record which would remain until Lee Haney won his eighth straight Mr. Olympia title in 1991.

In 1967 Arnold won the Munich stone lifting contest in which a stone weighing 508 German pounds, approximately 560 English pounds, is lifted between the legs while standing on two foot rests. Arnold broke the existing record, winning the contest. Arnold's goal was to become the greatest bodybuilder in the world, which meant becoming Mr. Olympia.

His first attempt was in 1969 where he lost to three-time champion Sergio Oliva. Arnold entered the contest confident, but when he saw Oliva in the pump room his confidence was shattered. The terrifying image of Oliva spurred Arnold to come back in 1970 with a vengeance. He convincingly won the competition.

Arnold won the 1971 Mr. Olympia with little incident. Then, in 1972, Oliva came back with what is still considered by many to be the greatest physique ever displayed. Arnold won the show but it was very close and bodybuilding fans still argue over whether Arnold or Sergio should have won.

In 1973, Arnold once again won the Olympia with no real competition. He displayed his best physique to that point. Perhaps Arnold was in such great shape for the 1973 Olympia because he feared Oliva would once again enter the competition. In 1974, Arnold was once again in top form and won the title for the fifth consecutive time. Lou Ferrigno also competed at the 1974 Olympia. Ferrigno was the first possible threat to Arnold's reign since Oliva. Arnold retired from competition after the 1975 Olympia.

However, George Butler and Charles Gaines convinced him to compete one more time so they could make the bodybuilding documentary called Pumping Iron. Arnold had only three months to prepare for the competition after losing significant weight to appear in the film Stay Hungry with Jeff Bridges. Ferrigno proved to not be a threat and a lighter than usual Schwarzenegger convincingly won the 1975 Olympia. After being declared Mr. Olympia for a sixth consecutive time Arnold once again retired from competition. Arnold came out of retirement to compete in the 1980 Mr. Olympia, the most controversial Olympia ever. Mike Mentzer was defeated in this competition, despite being on his best ever form (a fact which caused him to leave the world of bodybuilding). Arnold was a late entry and won with only eight weeks of preparation.

Schwarzenegger is considered among the most important figures in the history of bodybuilding, and his legacy is commemorated in the Arnold Classic annual bodybuilding competition. Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent face in the bodybuilding sport long after his retirement, in part due to his ownership of gyms and fitness magazines. He has presided over numerous contests and awards shows. For many years he wrote a monthly column for the bodybuilding magazines Muscle & Fitness and Flex. Shortly after being elected Governor, he was appointed executive editor of both magazines in a largely symbolic capacity. The magazines agreed to donate $250,000 a year to the Governor's various physical fitness initiatives. The magazine MuscleMag International has a monthly two page article on him and refers to him as "The King".

Schwarzenegger's first political appointment was to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, on which he served from 1990 to 1993. He was nominated by George H. W. Bush, who called him Conan the Republican.

Bodybuilding contests

All the below are the contests that Schwarzenegger won:

• 1965 Junior Mr. Europe Germany
• 1966 Best Built Man of Europe Germany
• 1966 Mr. Europe Germany
• 1966 International Powerlifting Championship Germany
• 1966 NABBA Mr. Universe amateur London, 2nd to Chet Yorton
• 1967 NABBA Mr. Universe amateur London
• 1968 NABBA Mr. Universe professional London
• 1968 German Powerlifting Championship Germany
• 1968 IFBB Mr. International Mexico
• 1968 IFBB Mr. Universe 2nd to Frank Zane Florida
• 1969 IFBB Mr. Universe New York
• 1969 NABBA Mr. Universe professional London
• 1969 Mr. Olympia, 2nd to Sergio Oliva
• 1970 NABBA Mr. Universe professional London, defeated his idol
• 1970 Mr. World Columbus, Ohio, the first time he had beaten
• 1970 Mr. Olympia New York
• 1971 Mr. Olympia Paris
• 1972 Mr. Olympia Essen, Germany
• 1973 Mr. Olympia New York
• 1974 Mr. Olympia New York
• 1975 Mr. Olympia Pretoria, South Africa, subject of the documentary Pumping Iron
• 1980 Mr. Olympia Sydney, Australia

Steroid use

Schwarzenegger has reportedly won his first of seven Mr. Olympia title in 1970 with the help of Dianabol (see ). He has admitted to using performance-enhancing anabolic steroids whilst they were legal, writing in 1977 that " were helpful to me in maintaining muscle size while on a strict diet in preparation for a contest. I did not use them for muscle growth, but rather for muscle maintenance when cutting up." However, some bodybuilders who used the same steroid cocktails as Schwarzenegger in the 1970s dispute the notion that they were used merely for "muscle maintenance". Even Schwarzenegger has called the drugs "tissue building." (see ).

In 1999, Schwarzenegger sued Dr. Willi Heepe, a German doctor who publicly predicted an early death for the bodybuilder based on a link between steroid use and later heart problems. Because the doctor had never examined him personally, Schwarzenegger collected a DM 20,000 ($12,000 USD) libel judgment against him in a German court. In 1999 Schwarzenegger also sued and settled with Globe Magazine, a U.S. tabloid which had made similar predictions about the bodybuilder's future health. As late as 1996, a year before open heart surgery to replace an aortic valve, Schwarzenegger publicly defended his use of anabolic steroids during his bodybuilding career (see )

Schwarzenegger was born with a bicuspid aortic valve; a normal heart has tricuspid valves. According to a spokesman, Schwarzenegger has not used anabolic steroids since 1990 when they were made illegal (see ). In bodybuilder slang, steroids are sometimes referred to as "Arnolds" (see ).

Acting career

Roles

Schwarzenegger had long planned to move from bodybuilding into a career in acting, as had done many of his idols, such as Reg Park. Initially he had trouble breaking into films due to his long surname, large muscles, and foreign accent, but was eventually chosen to play the role of Hercules (as had done both Reg Park and Steve Reeves) in Hercules in New York (1970).

Credited under the name "Arnold Strong", his accent in the film was so thick that his lines had to be dubbed after production. His second film appearance was as a deaf and mute hitman for the mob in director Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973), which was followed by a much more significant part in the film Stay Hungry (1976), for which he was awarded a Golden Globe for Best New Male Star.

Schwarzenegger came to the attention of more people in the documentary Pumping Iron (1977), elements of which were dramatized. In 1991, Schwarzenegger purchased the rights to this film, its outtakes, and associated still photography (see ).

The 6'2" Schwarzenegger's breakthrough film was Conan the Barbarian (1982), and this was cemented by a sequel, Conan the Destroyer (1984). As an actor, he is best-known as the title character of director James Cameron's cyborg thriller The Terminator (1984). 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 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 for injecting his films with a droll, often self-deprecating sense of humor, setting him apart from more serious action heroes such as Sylvester Stallone. (As an aside, his alternative-universe comedy/thriller Last Action Hero featured a poster of the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day which, in that alternate universe had Sylvester Stallone as its star; a similar in-joke in Twins suggested that the two actors might one day co-star, something which has yet to come to pass).

Following his arrival as a Hollywood superstar, he made a number of commercially successful films: Commando (1985), Raw Deal (1986), The Running Man (1987), and Red Heat (1988). In Predator (1987), another commercially successful film, Schwarzenegger led a cast which included future Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura (Ventura also appears in Running Man) and future Kentucky Gubernatorial Candidate Sonny Landham. Twins, (1988) a comedy with Danny DeVito, was a change of pace. Total Recall (1990), at that time the most expensive film ever, netted Schwarzenegger $10 million and 15% of the gross, and was a widely praised, thought-provoking science-fiction script (based on the Phillip K Dick short story We Can Remember It for You Wholesale) behind his usual violent action. Kindergarten Cop (1990) was another comedy.

Schwarzenegger had a brief foray into directing, first with a 1990 episode of the TV series Tales from the Crypt, entitled "The Switch", and then with the 1992 telemovie Christmas in Connecticut. He has not directed since.

Schwarzenegger's critical and commercial high-water mark was Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). His next film project, the self-aware action comedy Last Action Hero, (1993), had the misfortune to be released opposite Jurassic Park, and suffered accordingly. Schwarzenegger's career never again achieved quite the same prominence, his aura of box-office invincibility suffering, although True Lies (1994) was a highly popular sendup of spy films, and saw Schwarzenegger reunited with director James Cameron, whose own career had taken off with The Terminator.

Shortly thereafter came Junior, which brought Schwarzenegger his second Golden Globe nomination, this time for Best Actor - Musical or Comedy. It was followed by the popular, albeit by-the-numbers Eraser (1996), and Batman & Robin (1997), his final film before taking time to recuperate from a back injury. Although Batman & Robin was a famous disaster, Schwarzenegger emerged largely unscathed.

Several film projects were announced with Schwarzenegger attached to star including the remake of Planet of the Apes, a new film of I Am Legend and a World War II film scripted by Quentin Tarantino that would have seen Schwarzenegger finally play an Austrian.

Instead he returned with End of Days (1999) - an unsuccessful and atypically dark attempt to broaden his acting range - The 6th Day (2000) and Collateral Damage (2002), none of which came close to recapturing his former prominence. In 2003 he starred in the popularly received Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which went on to earn over $150 million domestically. His last film appearances to date was a cameo appearance in The Rundown with The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) and the 2004 remake of Around the World in 80 Days, notable for featuring him onscreen with action star Jackie Chan for the first time.

Filmography

Political career

Political affiliation

Schwarzenegger is a registered Republican, unusual among the often heavily Democratic Hollywood community. He describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially moderate (i.e. he is pro-choice and supports stem cell research.) Schwarzenegger backed Republican President Ronald Reagan (another movie star turned politician) while Reagan was in office, and campaigned for George H.W. Bush in 1988. However, he chastised fellow Republicans during the impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998, having also had an affair outside of marriage. Sensing an opportunity to affect the outcome of the 2004 Presidential race, Schwarzenegger campaigned in Ohio for Republican George W. Bush in the closing days of the campaign.

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 I 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."

Regarding a run for public office, in 1999, he told Talk magazine that "I think about it many times." He also 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."

Venturing into politics

Schwarzenegger was appointed Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in the administration of George H. W. Bush from 1990 to 1993. During that time, Schwarzenegger traveled across the U.S. promoting physical fitness to kids and lobbying all 50 governors in support of school fitness programs. "He would hit sometimes two or three governors in a day in his own airplane, at his own expense, somewhere around $4,000 an hour," said George Otott, his chief of staff at the time. "When he walked in, it wasn't about the governor, it was about Arnold," said Otott, a retired Marine. "He has what we in the military call a command presence. He becomes the number one attention-getter."

He later served as Chairman for the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Governor Pete Wilson. 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", an initiative to make state grants available for after-school programs.

2003 California recall

For years, Schwarzenegger had discussed with friends, potential donors, advisors and political allies a possible run for high political office; on April 10, 2003, for example, he met with Republican political operative Karl Rove to discuss a future campaign.

In the months leading to 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 petition to recall 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 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 in California's October 7 recall election. Even his closest advisors said he was probably not going to run. 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.

When announcing his candidacy on the Tonight Show, he joked, "It's the most difficult I've made in my entire life, except the one I made in 1978 when I decided to get a bikini wax". Ultimately, Shriver said she would support Schwarzenegger no matter what he chose, so he decided to run. Schwarzenegger told Leno, "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 of the state of California."

As a candidate in the recall election, Schwarzenegger had the most name recognition in a crowded field of candidates, but he had never held public office and his political views were unknown to most Californians. His 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 make use of his well-known one-liners, promising to "pump up Sacramento, California" (the state capital) and tell Gray Davis hasta la vista. At the end of his first press conference, he told the audienc