Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American actor, politician, bodybuilder, and businessman, currently serving as the 38th Governor of California. He was elected in 2003 in a special recall election, removing sitting Governor Gray Davis from office.
Nicknamed The Austrian Oak, Conan the Republican and The Governator, Schwarzenegger as a young man gained widespread attention as a highly successful bodybuilder, and later gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film star. His most famous films include The Terminator (and its sequels), Predator, and Total Recall.
Personal background
Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria (four miles from Graz) to a Gendarmerie-Kommandant policeman, Gustav Schwarzenegger (1907-1972) and Aurelia Jadrny (1922-1998).
With 20 dollars in his pocket and speaking no English, he moved to the U.S. in 1968 and became a U.S. citizen in 1983 (but has been keeping his Austrian nationality to date). During this time, 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 1971 Schwarzenegger's brother Meinhard was killed in an automobile accident. In 1986, Schwarzenegger married noted TV journalist Maria Shriver, niece of late President John Kennedy. The couple have 4 children: daughters Katherine and Christina and sons Patrick and Christopher. In April 1997 he underwent an operation to correct a congenital heart valve defect.
His distinctive and oft-imitated accent led many entertainers and pundits to refer to him simply as "Ah-nuld".
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). The seven wins at Mr. Olympia was a record set in 1980, cementing him as a legend of the sport, remaining unchallenged until Ronnie Coleman's seventh consecutive win in 2004. Schwarzenegger 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.
Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent face in the bodybuilding sport long after his retirement, presiding 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.
Acting career
Schwarzenegger's uniquely muscular appearance earned him several movie roles. His first film appearance was as Hercules in Hercules in New York (1970), credited under the name Arnold Strong, although his accent in the film was so thick that his lines were dubbed. He appeared in The Long Goodbye, and Stay Hungry. Schwarzenegger came to the attention of more people in the documentary Pumping Iron (1977), elements of which were faked to add drama. In 1991, Schwarzenegger purchased the rights to this film, outtakes, and associated still photography that could be embarassing politically. [1]
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 most well-known for the title of 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, his most prominent contemporary. (As an aside, his alternative-universe comedy/thriller Last Action Hero featured a poster of the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day showing its star, who in that alternate universe is Sylvester Stallone; a similar in-joke in Twins suggested that the two actors might one day co-star, something which never came 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 millon 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.
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. True Lies (1994) was a popular sendup of spy films, and saw Schwarzenegger reunited with director James Cameron, whose own career had taken off with The Terminator. It was followed by the popular, albeit by-the-numbers Eraser (1996), and Batman & Robin (1997), his final film before taking time to recouperate from a back injury. Although Batman & Robin was a famous disaster, Schwarzenegger emerged largely unscathed. 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. He starred in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) and was slated to star in a possible True Lies 2 and Conan the King, but his duties as California governor have likely put his movie career on hold until at least 2007, though producers repeatedly claim he will make a small appearance in a fourth Terminator film.
Political career
Political affiliation
Schwarzenegger is a Republican, unusual among the often heavily Democratic Hollywood community. He is, however, like many Californian Republicans, a moderate republican, describing himself as fiscally conservative and socially moderate. Some republicans consider moderate republicans to be Republican In Name Only. Schwarzenegger backed republican President Ronald Reagan while he was in office, but chastised fellow Republicans during the impeachment of Bill Clinton.
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.
It had been known since the 1990s that Schwarzenegger was interested in public office; this was jokingly referenced in a Sylvester Stallone film, Demolition Man, where a future America passed a constitutional amendment to allow foreign-born Americans like 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."
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
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 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 [decision] 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."
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" (the state capital) and tell Gray Davis "hasta la vista." At the end of his first press conference, he told the audience "I'll be back." Schwarzenegger looked 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 (unless the Constitution were to be amended, which has been proposed by senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)). Among his campaign team were Rob Lowe, Warren Buffett, and George Shultz.
During the campaign, allegations of sexual and personal misconduct were raised against Schwarzenegger. Within the last five days before the election, news reports appeared in the Los Angeles Times recounting allegations of sexual misconduct from several individual women, sixteen of whom eventually came forward with their personal stories. Chronologically, they ranged from Elaine Stockton, who claimed that Schwarzenegger groped her breast at a Gold's Gym in 1975 (she was 19 at the time), to a 51-year-old woman who said that he pinned her to his chest and spanked her shortly after she met him in connection with production of his film, "The Sixth Day," in 2000. 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 a magazine interview from the same era (1975) surfaced in which Schwarzenegger discussed attending sexual orgies and indulging in drugs like marijuana and cocaine. [2] [3] [4]
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, Schwarzenegger has been a strong supporter of various Jewish groups, and has denounced the principles of the fascist German regime, saying "I have always despised everything that Hitler stands for."
These allegations were brought up mainly in the context of his campaign, but they continue to be occassionally used by some critics. Garry Trudeau, the cartoonist behind the comic strip Doonesbury, combined the allegations by nicknaming Schwarzenegger "Herr Gröpenfuhrer" and depicting Schwarzenegger as a huge, groping hand in his artwork.
On October 7, 2003, the 2003 California recall resulted in Governor Gray Davis being recalled with 55.4% of the Yes vote. Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California on the second ballot with 48.6% of the vote, defeating Democrat Cruz Bustamante, fellow Republican Tom McClintock and others. In total, Arnold won the election by about 1.3 million votes.
He was sworn into office on November 17, 2003. Schwarzenegger's inauguration was opened by Vanessa Williams, his co-star from Eraser singing the National Anthem. His children joined others in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, then Maria Shriver spoke and held the Bible while Schwarzenegger was sworn into the office of Governor. He spoke briefly: "Today is a new day in California. I did not seek this office to do things the way they've always been done. What I care about is restoring your confidence in your government... This election was not about replacing one man. It was not replacing one party. It was about changing the entire political climate of our state."
Governorship
In his first few hours in office Schwarzenegger fulfilled his campaign promise to repeal a 200% increase in vehicle license fees undertaken by Gov. Davis's administration. On his first full day in office, Schwarzenegger proposed a three point plan to fix the budget woes. First, Schwarzenegger proposed floating $15 billion in bonds. Second, he urged voters to pass a constitutional amendment to limit state spending. Third, he sought an overhaul of workers' compensation. Schwarzenegger also called the state legislature into a special session and said that spending cuts would also be necessary. He initiated the cuts by agreeing to serve as governor with no salary, a savings of $175,000.
To fulfill the first two points, he urged California voters to pass Proposition 57 and Proposition 58 in the March 2, 2004 election, which authorized the sale $15 billion in bonds and mandated balanced budgets, respectively. Despite initially tepid support from the public, the combination of heavy campaigning by Schwarzenegger, endorsements from a number of leading Democrats, and warnings about the dire consequences should the propositions fail to pass, led to overwhelming votes in favor of the two propositions. Prop. 57 passed with 63.3% of the votes in favor and Prop. 58 passed with 71.0% in favor. He accomplished the third point when he signed a workers' compensation reform bill on April 19, 2004. Schwarzenegger convinced the Democratic-controlled state legislature to approve the package by threatening to take the issue directly to state voters in a November ballot initiative if the legislature did not act.
Schwarzenegger was later criticized for reneging on his campaign pledges not to take money from special interests and for failing to answer directly the sexual harassment allegations raised by the Los Angeles Times immediately preceding the recall election. However, Schwarzenegger made a point shortly after becoming governor of voluntarily attending a training course conducted by the state Attorney General's office on preventing sexual harassment (along with several members of his senior staff).
In February 2004, he declined amnesty to convicted murderer Kevin Cooper who had asked him for clemency in his death penalty sentence. Nevertheless, Cooper's planned execution was stayed by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pending a revisiting of evidence.
Despite expectations that Schwarzenegger would be vulnerable to opposition critics once taking office, his early governorship showed some successes. He has dealt successfully with California politicians as diverse as John Burton on the left to Tom McClintock on the right. At the end of May, 2004 the Field poll put his popularity at 65%, the highest for a California governor in 45 years, including 41% of Democrats, party adherents of his opposition. By comparison, former United States President Ronald Reagan, known as "the Great Communicator", never hit 60% approval while serving as California governor.[5]
In July 2004, however, Schwarzenegger and the state legislature deadlocked, failing to approve the state budget on time. Trying to rouse public support for his position, he compared lawmakers to kindergartners who need a "timeout," and in a rally of supporters called his budget opponents "girlie men" (a reference to a long-running Saturday Night Live skit parodying Schwarzenegger). The remark became national news and was not received well by his opponents, including gay advocacy and feminist groups who labeled it homophobic and sexist, not to mention the legislators themselves. His supporters made "girly men" T-shirts and the Governor continued to use the term, including when he addressed the Republican National Convention, calling critics of the current U.S. economic situation "economic girlie men".
On September 10, 2004, Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law that made the sexual abuse of a corpse a felony punishable by up to eight years in prison. This was in response to recent incidents of people found engaging in sexual acts with deceased persons, and that law enforcement was unable to charge them for that abuse because no law had been on California's books at the time. Prior to the bill being signed by Schwarzenegger, the most prosecutors could charge them with was breaking and entering. The signing of this law did however make Schwarzenegger the butt of several jokes by late night talk show hosts such as Jay Leno.
Despite what some viewed as political snags during the summer, the Field polls released in August and October 2004 showed that Schwarzenegger's approval rating remained at 65%. Additionally, in October, for the first time in four years a plurality of Californians felt the state was "on the right track". When asked if they would support Schwarzenegger if he could run for president, 50% said they would oppose while only 26% said they would support the governor in a presidental bid. [6] (Field poll (PDF))
Quotes
- "When I was on my way to the podium a gentleman stopped me and said I was as good a politician as I was an actor. What a cheap shot!" — At the 2004 Republican National Convention, August 31, 2004
- "When I was a boy, the Soviets occupied part of Austria. I saw their tanks in the streets. I saw communism with my own eyes. I remember the fear we had when we had to cross into the Soviet sector. Growing up, we were told, "Don't look the soldiers in the eye. Look straight ahead." It was a common belief that Soviet soldiers could take a man out of his own car and ship him off to the Soviet Union as slave labor. My family didn't have a car, but one day we were in my uncle's car. It was near dark as we came to a Soviet checkpoint. I was a little boy, I wasn't an action hero back then, and I remember how scared I was that the soldiers would pull my father or my uncle out of the car, and I'd never see him again. My family and so many others lived in fear of the Soviet boot. Today, the world no longer fears the Soviet Union and it is because of the United States of America!" — At the 2004 Republican National Convention, August 31, 2004
- "As a kid I saw the socialist country that Austria became after the Soviets left. I love Austria and I love the Austrian people - but I always knew America was the place for me. In school, when the teacher would talk about America, I would daydream about coming here. I would sit for hours watching American movies transfixed by my heroes like John Wayne. Everything about America seemed so big to me so open, so possible." — At the 2004 Republican National Convention, August 31, 2004
- "I finally arrived here [the United States] in 1968. I had empty pockets, but I was full of dreams. The presidential campaign was in full swing. I remember watching the Nixon and Humphrey presidential race on TV. A friend who spoke German and English, translated for me. I heard Humphrey saying things that sounded like socialism which is what I had just left. But then I heard Nixon speak. He was talking about free enterprise, getting government off your back, lowering taxes, and strengthening the military. Listening to Nixon speak sounded more like a breath of fresh air. I said to my friend, 'What party is he?' My friend said, 'He's a Republican.' I said, 'Then I am a Republican!' And I've been a Republican ever since! And trust me, in my wife's family, that's no small achievement! I'm proud to belong to the party of Abraham Lincoln, the party of Teddy Roosevelt, the party of Ronald Reagan, and the party of George W. Bush." — At the 2004 Republican National Convention, August 31, 2004
- "I am, of course, a supporter of stem cell research. Research that we do now holds the promise of cures for tomorrow. California has always been a pioneer. We daringly led the way for the high-tech industry and now voters can help ensure we lead the way for the bio-tech industry. The creativity and resources are right here in California. We are the world's bio-tech leader and Prop. 71 will help ensure that we maintain that position while saving lives in the process. I encourage Californians to join me in voting for Prop. 71." In a statement released by the Office of the Governor in November 2004.
External links
Official websites
- State of California - Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Arnold Schwarzenegger's Official Website (Non-Political)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger for Governor (Campaign Website)
References
- Arnold Schwarzenegger at IMDb
- Arnold Schwarzenegger: The Running Man (E! Online)
- Cinemovie.Info: Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Transcript of Chris Matthew's interview with Schwarzenegger
- James G. Lakely, Arnold steals show in California debate The Washington Times
- John S. Carroll, "The Story Behind the Story," Los Angeles Times, October 12, 2003.
- Greg Palast Arnold Unplugged (exposé on the Schwarzenegger-Enron connection)
- Mark Ames Faginator 3: Arnold Plates America The Exile, July 10, 2003'
- Jill Stewart The New American Idol Wired Magazine, September 2004
- interview in Oui magazine, August 1977
- http://www.nndb.com/people/685/000022619/ fact sheet
- excellent article with timeline and photos, nude
- Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder, autobiography, 1983
| Preceded by: Gray Davis |
Governors of California | Succeeded by: — |