Arnold Schwarzenegger Totally Explained

Everything about Arnold Schwarzenegger totally explained

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German ; born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, Golden Globe-winning actor, businessman and politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of the U.S. state of California.
As a young man, Schwarzenegger gained widespread attention as a highly successful bodybuilder. He later gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon. Schwarzenegger was nicknamed "The Austrian Oak" and "The Styrian Oak" in his bodybuilding days, "Arnold Strong" and "Arnie" during his acting career, and more recently "The Governator" (a portmanteau of Governor and Terminator, referring to his internationally popular film role).
Schwarzenegger is married to Maria Shriver and has four children. As a Republican, he was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor Gray Davis. Schwarzenegger was sworn in on November 17, 2003, to serve the remainder of Davis's term. Schwarzenegger was then reelected on November 7, 2006, in California's 2006 gubernatorial election, to serve a full term as governor, defeating Democrat Phil Angelides, who was California State Treasurer at the time. Schwarzenegger was sworn in for a second term on January 5, 2007. In May 2004 and 2007, he was named as one of the Time 100 people who help shape the world.

Early life

Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria (German: Thal bei Graz), a small village bordering the Styrian capital Graz, and was christened Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger. His parents were the local police chief Gustav Schwarzenegger (1907 – 1972), and his wife, the former Aurelia Jadrny (1922 – 1998). They were married on October 20 1945 — Gustav was 38, and Aurelia was a 23-year-old widow with a son named Meinhard. According to Schwarzenegger, both of his parents were "very strict": "Back then in Austria it was a very different world, if we did something bad or we disobeyed our parents, the rod wasn't spared."
Gustav had a preference for Meinhard, the elder of the two sons. His favoritism was "strong and blatant," which stemmed from unfounded suspicion "that Arnold wasn’t his child." Schwarzenegger has said his father had "no patience for listening or understanding your problems…there was a wall; a real wall." Schwarzenegger has reportedly disavowed Nazi views. In later life, Schwarzenegger commissioned the Simon Wiesenthal Centre to research his father's wartime record, which came up with no evidence of atrocities. Schwarzenegger has responded to a question asking if he was age 13 when he started weightlifting: "I actually started weight training when I was fifteen, but I'd been participating in sports, like soccer, for years, so I felt that although I was slim, I was well-developed, at least enough so that I could start going to the gym and start Olympic lifting." During a speech in 2001, he said, "My own plan formed when I was 14 years old. My father had wanted me to be a police officer like he was. My mother wanted me to go to trade school." Schwarzenegger took to visiting a gym in Graz, where he also frequented the local cinemas to see bodybuilding idols such as Reg Park, Steve Reeves, and Johnny Weissmuller on the big screen. "I was inspired by individuals like Reg Park and Steve Reeves." In 1961, Schwarzenegger met former Mr. Austria Kurt Marnul, who invited him to train at the gym in Graz.
In 1971, his brother Meinhard died in a car accident. Barbara Baker, his first serious girlfriend, has said he informed her of his father's death without emotion, and never spoke of his brother. Over time, he's given at least three versions of why he didn't attend his father's funeral.

Early adulthood

Schwarzenegger served in the Austrian army in 1965, to fulfill the one year of service required at the time of all 18-year-old Austrian males. Schwarzenegger also became good friends with professional wrestler "Superstar" Billy Graham. In 1970, at age 23, he captured his first Mr. Olympia title in New York, and would go on to win the title a total of seven times. Schwarzenegger talked about Barbara in his memoir in 1977: "Basically it came down to this: she was a well-balanced woman who wanted an ordinary, solid life, and I wasn't a well-balanced man, and hated the very idea of ordinary life." Baker published her memoir in 2006, entitled Arnold and Me: In the Shadow of the Austrian Oak. Although Baker, at times, paints an unflattering portrait of her former lover — Schwarzenegger actually contributed to the "tell-all" book with a "foreword," and also met with Baker for three hours. He questioned what he was doing "on the farm" in Austria, and believed bodybuilding was his "ticket to America": "I’m sure I can go to America if I win Mr. Universe."

Bodybuilding career

Arnold Classic annual bodybuilding competition. Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent face in the bodybuilding sport long after his retirement, in part because of 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."
   One of the first competitions he won was the Junior Mr. Europe contest in 1965.
   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 DM20,000 ($12,000 USD) libel judgment against him in a German court. In 1999, Schwarzenegger also sued and settled with The Globe, 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 with a human homograft valve, Schwarzenegger publicly defended his use of anabolic steroids during his bodybuilding career.
   Schwarzenegger was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, an aortic valve with only two leaflets (a normal aortic valve has three leaflets). Both his father and his brother had the same condition.

Acting career

Hercules in New York (1970).
   Credited under the name "Arnold Strong," his accent in the film was so thick that producers feared he wouldn't be easily understood by audiences, so they'd his lines dubbed after production.
   Arnold also appeared with Kirk Douglas and Ann-Margret in the 1979 comedy The Villain. Schwarzenegger's breakthrough film was the "mythical epic" Conan the Barbarian in 1982, which was a box-office hit. Later, he appeared on the cover of High Times magazine dressed as "Conan The Barbarian."
   In 1983, Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in the promotional video "Carnival in Rio".
   As an actor, he may be best known as the title character of director James Cameron's influential science-fiction film The Terminator (1984) and its sequels. Following The Terminator, Schwarzenegger made Red Sonja in 1985, which "sank without a trace."
   His latest film appearances included a 3-second cameo appearance in The Rundown (AKA, Welcome to the Jungle) with The Rock, 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.
   Schwarzenegger has stated in many interviews that he never regrets doing a role, and he feels really bad when he turns down a role. There are conflicting reports as to whether Schwarzenegger will be starring in the next Terminator installment — . However, it's currently widely reported that Schwarzenegger will only have a brief role in Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins.
   Schwarzenegger voiced Baron von Steuben in Episode 24 ("Valley Forge") of Liberty's Kids. Actor and comedian Robin Williams famously said, "Arnold Schwarzenegger's acted in plenty of movies, but spoken less dialogue than any actor, except maybe Lassie."
In 1985, Schwarzenegger appeared in Stop the Madness, an anti-drug music video sponsored by the Reagan administration. He first came to wide public notice as a Republican during the 1988 Presidential election, accompanying then-Vice President George H.W. Bush at a campaign rally. Attacking Bush's Democratic opponents, he said to the crowd, "They all look like a bunch of girlie men, right?"
   Schwarzenegger's first political appointment was as chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, on which he served from 1990 to 1993.
   Between 1993 and 1994, Schwarzenegger was a Red Cross "ambassador" (a mostly ceremonial role fulfilled by celebrities), recording several television/radio PSAs to give blood. A small amount of interest was garnered by his wearing of a white t-shirt with the Red Cross on it, while posing with a flexed arm; the image made it into several celebrity magazines.
   In an interview with Talk magazine in late 1999, Schwarzenegger was asked if he thought of running for office. He replied, "I think about it many times. The possibility is there, because I feel it inside." The Hollywood Reporter claimed shortly after that Schwarzenegger sought to end speculation that he might run for governor of California.
   On October 7, 2003, the recall election resulted in Governor Gray Davis being removed from office with 55.4% of the Yes vote in favor of a recall. Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California under the second question on the ballot with 48.6% of the vote to choose a successor to Davis. Schwarzenegger defeated Democrat Cruz Bustamante, fellow Republican Tom McClintock, and others. His nearest rival, Bustamante, received less than 30% of the vote. In total, Schwarzenegger won the election by about 1.3 million votes. Under the regulations of the California Constitution, no runoff election was required. Schwarzenegger was the first foreign-born governor in California history since Ireland-born Governor John G. Downey in 1862.
   As soon as Schwarzenegger was elected governor, Willie Brown said he'd start a drive to recall the governor. Schwarzenegger was equally entrenched in what he considered to be his mandate in cleaning up gridlock. Asked whether he'd seek bipartisan cooperation from the Democrats in the State Senate, Schwarzenegger quipped that he saw no reason to "talk with losers." Building on a catchphrase from a sketch partly parodying his bodybuilding career, Schwarzenegger called the Democratic State politicians "girlie men," (a reference from a Saturday Night Live sketch called "Hans and Franz").
   Schwarzenegger ran for re-election against Democrat Phil Angelides, the California State Treasurer, in the 2006 elections, held on November 7 2006. Despite a poor year nationally for the Republican party, Schwarzenegger won re-election with 56.0% of the vote compared with 38.9% for Angelides, a margin of well over one million votes. The election further enhanced his political credentials.
   It is rumored that Schwarzenegger might run for the United States Senate in 2010 (he will be term-limited then), if incumbent Senator Barbara Boxer retires.
   Wendy Leigh, who wrote an unofficial biography on Schwarzenegger, claims he plotted his political rise from an early age using the movie business and bodybuilding as building blocks to escape a depressing home. He holds Austrian citizenship by birth and has held U.S. citizenship since becoming naturalized in 1983. Being Austrian and thus European he was able to win the 2007 European Voice campaigner of the year award for taking action against climate change with the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 and plans to introduce an emissions trading scheme with other US states and possibly with the EU.
   Schwarzenegger doesn't accept his governor's salary of $175,000 per year, and instead donates it to charities.
   Schwarzenegger's endorsement in the Republican primary of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election was highly sought; despite being good friends with candidates Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Senator John McCain, Schwarzenegger remained neutral throughout 2007 and early 2008. Giuliani dropped out of the Presidential race on January 30, 2008, largely because of a poor showing in Florida, and endorsed McCain. Later that night, Schwarzenegger was in the audience at a Republican debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. The following day, he endorsed McCain, joking, "It's Rudy's fault!" (in reference to his friendships with both candidates and that he couldn't make up his mind). Schwarzenegger's endorsement was thought to be a boost for Senator McCain's campaign; both spoke about their environmental concerns and concerns for the economy.
   In a recent satellite broadcast with UK Conservative Party MP Boris Johnson, Schwarzenegger was recorded commenting on Johnson, stating that "This guy is fumbling all over the place". The statement wasn't broadcasted live at the time, but was later released and picked up on by the British media.

Electoral history

Environmental record

On September 27, 2006 Schwarzenegger signed a bill creating the nation’s first cap on greenhouse gas emissions. The law set new regulations on the amount of emissions utilities, refineries and manufacturing plants are allowed to release into the atmosphere. Schwarzenegger also signed a second global warming bill that prohibits large utilities and corporations in California from making long-term contracts with suppliers who don't meet the state’s greenhouse gas emission standards. The two bills are part of a plan to reduce California’s emissions by 25 percent to 1990’s levels by 2020. In 2005, Schwarzenegger issued an executive order calling to reduce greenhouse gases to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
Schwarzenegger signed another executive order on October 17, 2006 allowing California to work with the Northeast’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. They plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by issuing a limited amount of carbon credits to each power plant in participating states. Any power plants that exceed emissions for the amount of carbon credits they've will have to purchase more credits to cover the difference. The plan is set to be in effect in 2009. In addition to using his political power to fight global warming, the governor has taken steps at his home to reduce his personal carbon footprint. Schwarzenegger has adapted one of his Hummers to run on hydrogen and another to run on biofuels. He has also installed solar panels to heat his home.

Personal life

In 1977, Schwarzenegger's autobiography/weight-training guide Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder was published and became a huge success.
   On April 26, 1986, Schwarzenegger married television journalist Maria Shriver, niece of the past President of the United States John F. Kennedy in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The Rev. John Baptist Riordan performed the ceremony at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church. They have four children: Katherine Eunice Schwarzenegger (born December 13 1989 in Los Angeles, California); Christina Maria Aurelia Schwarzenegger (born July 23 1991 in Los Angeles, California); Patrick Arnold Schwarzenegger (born September 18 1993 in Los Angeles, California); and Christopher Sargent Shriver Schwarzenegger (born September 27 1997 in Los Angeles, California)
   Schwarzenegger and his family currently live in their 11,000-square-foot (1 022 m²) home in Brentwood. They used to own a home in the Pacific Palisades. The family owns vacation homes in Sun Valley, Idaho and Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Schwarzenegger doesn't have a home in Sacramento. However, whenever he's in the state capitol, he lives in the Hyatt Regency hotel suite. The suite costs about $65,000 a year.
   On Sundays, the family attends Mass at St. Monica's Catholic Church.
   Schwarzenegger has said he believes the secret of a good marriage is love and respect. has been brought into question by several articles. In his bodybuilding days in the late 1960s, he was measured to be 6'1.5", a height confirmed by his fellow bodybuilders. More recently, before running for Governor, Schwarzenegger's height was once again questioned in an article by the Chicago Reader. As Governor, Schwarzenegger engaged in a light-hearted exchange with Assemblyman Herb Wesson over their heights. At one point Wesson made an unsuccessful attempt to, in his own words, "settle this once and for all and find out how tall he is." by using a tailor's tape measure on the Governor. Schwarzenegger later retaliated by placing a pillow stitched with the words "Need a lift?" on the five-foot-five (165 cm) Wesson’s chair before a negotiating session in his office. The debate on Schwarzenegger's height has spawned a website solely dedicated to it, and his page remains one of the most active on CelebHeights.com, a website which discusses the heights of celebrities. It is now officially titled UPC-Arena.
   The Sun Valley Resort has a short ski trail called Arnold's Run, named after Schwarzenegger. The trail is categorized as a black diamond, or most difficult, for its terrain.
   He bought the first Hummer manufactured for civilian use in 1992, a model so large, 6,300 lb (2900 kg) and 7 feet (2.1 m) wide, that it's classified as a large truck and U.S. fuel economy regulations don't apply to it. During the Gubernatorial Recall campaign he announced that he'd convert one of his Hummers to burn hydrogen. The conversion was reported to have cost about US$21,000. After the election, he signed an executive order to jump-start the building of hydrogen refueling plants called the "California Hydrogen Highway Network," and gained a U.S.Department of Energy grant to help pay for its projected US$91,000,000 cost. California took delivery of the first H2H (Hydrogen Hummer) in October 2004.
   People in Thal bei Graz celebrated Schwarzenegger's 60th birthday by throwing a party. Officials proclaimed "A Day for Arnold" on July 30 2007. Thal 145, the number of the house where Schwarzenegger was born, belonged to Schwarzenegger and nobody will ever be assigned to that number.

Accidents and medical issues

Schwarzenegger broke his right femur while skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho with his family on December 23, 2006. He tripped over his ski pole on Lower Warm Springs run on Bald Mountain, an 'easy' or green level run. He is an expert level skier. On December 26, 2006, he underwent a 90-minute operation in which cables and screws were used to wire the broken bone back together. He was released from the St. John's Health Center on December 30, 2006. Schwarzenegger didn't delay his second oath of office on January 5, 2007, although he was still on crutches at the time.
   Schwarzenegger has twice crashed motorcycles on public highways, injuring himself in the process. On January 8 2006, while riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle, with his son Patrick in the sidecar, another driver backed into the street he was riding on, causing him and his son to collide with the car at a low speed. While his son and the other driver were unharmed, the governor sustained a minor injury to his lip, forcing him to get 15 stitches. "No citations were issued" said officer Jason Lee, a police spokesman. Schwarzenegger, who famously rode motorcycles in the Terminator movies, has never obtained an M-1 or M-2 endorsement on his California driver's license that would allow him to legally ride a motorcycle without a sidecar on the street. Previously, on December 9 2001, he broke six ribs and was hospitalized for four days after a motorcycle crash in Los Angeles.
   Schwarzenegger opted in 1997 for a replacement heart valve made of his own transplanted tissue; medical experts predict he'll require heart valve replacement surgery in the next two to eight years as his current valve degrades. Schwarzenegger apparently opted against a mechanical valve, the only permanent solution available at the time of his surgery, because it would have sharply limited his physical activity and capacity to exercise.
   He saved a drowning man's life in 2004 while on vacation in Hawaii by swimming out and bringing him back to shore.

Business career

It has been said Schwarzenegger has a "business empire." Schwarzenegger and Columbu used profits from their bricklaying venture to start a mail order business, selling bodybuilding and fitness-related equipment and instructional tapes. In 1992, Schwarzenegger and his wife opened a restaurant in Santa Monica called Schatzi On Main. Schatzi literally means "little treasure," colloquial for "honey" or "darling" in German. In 1998, he sold his restaurant. He invested in a shopping mall in Columbus, Ohio. He has talked about some of those who have helped him over the years in business: "I couldn't have learned about business without a parade of teachers guiding me... from Milton Friedman to Donald Trump... and now, Les Wexner and Warren Buffett. I even learned a thing or two from Planet Hollywood, such as when to get out! And I did!"

Planet Hollywood

Arnold Schwarzenegger was a founding "celebrity investor" in the Planet Hollywood chain of international theme restaurants (modeled after the Hard Rock Cafe) along with Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, and Demi Moore. Schwarzenegger severed his financial ties with the business in early 2000. Schwarzenegger said the company hadn't had the success he'd hoped for, claiming he wanted to focus his attention on "new US global business ventures" and his movie career. Over the years, he invested his bodybuilding and movie earnings in an array of stocks, bonds, privately controlled companies, and real estate holdings in the U.S. and worldwide, so his fortune is sometimes estimated anywhere in between USD $800 – $900 million. In June 1997 Schwarzenegger spent $38 million of his own money on a private Gulfstream Jet. Schwarzenegger once said of his fortune, "Money doesn't make you happy. I now have $50 million, but I was just as happy when I'd $48 million." 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, six of whom eventually came forward with their personal stories.
Three of the women claimed he'd grabbed their breasts, a fourth said he placed his hand under her skirt on her buttock. A fifth woman claimed Schwarzenegger tried to take off her bathing suit in a hotel elevator, and the last says he pulled her onto his lap and asked her about a particular sex act. Schwarzenegger is shown smoking a marijuana joint after winning Mr. Olympia in the 1975 documentary film Pumping Iron. In October 2007, Schwarzenegger defended his actions with the claim that, "(Cannabis) isn't a drug. It's a leaf."
British television personality Anna Richardson settled a libel lawsuit in August 2006 against Schwarzenegger and two of his top aides, Sean Walsh and publicist Sheryl Main. A joint statement read: "The parties are content to put this matter behind them and are pleased that this legal dispute has now been settled." She claimed Walsh and Main libeled her in a Los Angeles Times article when they contended she encouraged his behavior.Further Information

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