Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger

After Sylvester Stallone, I have to introduce Schwarzy, his all-muscle colleague ; o)

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Arnold Schwarzenegger is an Austrian actor, bodybuilder and politician of Austrian origin, born on July 30, 1947 in Thal bei Graz, Austria.
Nicknamed the Austrian Oak during his years of bodybuilding, then Schwarzy during his acting career and more recently Governator (mix of governor and Terminator), he became known universally by becoming one of the largest bodybuilders, including five titles of Mister Universe and seven titles of Mr. Olympia.

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His exceptional physique opens him the doors of Hollywood, of which he becomes one of the biggest stars of the cinema of action in the years 1980-1990, as evidenced by his important filmography, in which appear as well the fantastic kind than comedy, going through science fiction.

Engaged politically with the Republican Party, he was elected 38th Governor of the State of California on November 17, 2003. He was re-elected to this position on November 7, 2006. Since then, Arnold Schwarzenegger has resumed his acting career.

In 2004 and 2007, Arnold Schwarzenegger is part of Time 100, Time magazine's ranking of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2010, he founded the non-governmental organization R20, to participate in the fight against climate change.

In 2012, Arnold Schwarzenegger publishes an autobiography entitled Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story. The same year, he announced his association with the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, to create a think tank called USC Schwarzenegger: Institute for State and Global Policy to seek answers to the challenges posed by modern society .
In 2015, he takes back to the cinema his favorite role of the Terminator for the fifth film of the franchise, Terminator Genisys.

History

Arnold Schwarzenegger was born on July 30, 1947 in Thal bei Graz, Austria, where he spent most of his youth.
His father, Gustav Schwarzenegger is a former officer of the Austrian army while his mother, Aurelia Jadrny is a war widow with a son from her first marriage, Meinhard. Arnold grew up in a Catholic family going to church every Sunday. Gustav Schwarzenegger no longer practices Catholicism because he adheres to the Nazi Party and its paramilitary branch.

Arnold's parents were married on October 20, 1945, while Gustav was 38 and Aurelia 23. In 1947, his father was allowed to become a police commissioner because he did not commit a war crime.

The eldest, Meinhard, is their father's favorite, while Arnold is educated strictly.

Schwarzenegger will say that his father had no patience to listen and understand his problems. In an interview he states that he suffered what would now be called child abuse from his father. His hair was pulled, he was hit with belts. Many children were so broken by their parents, it was in the German-Austrian mentality. Everything was just a question of conformity. I was one of those who did not want to comply and whose will could not be broken. He became a rebel.
Every time he was hit and said, "You can not do that," he said to himself, "It's not going to last that long because I'm going from here. I want to be rich. I want to be someone. " Arnold has good relations with his mother and will keep in contact with her until her death.

At school, Schwarzenegger is average but is noted for his playful, joyous and exuberant character. Lack of money is a problem in the home and Schwarzenegger recalls that one of the important moments of his youth is the purchase of a refrigerator by his family.

On May 20, 1971, his brother Meinhard died in a car accident, depressed and drunk. Arnold does not attend his funeral but takes care of the education of Patrick, the son of his brother then 3 years old and his girlfriend Erika Knapp.

His father Gustav died a year later from a stroke. Arnold does not attend his funeral either.

In 1953, at the age of 6, he dreamed of becoming a champion after attending with his father in Graz the inauguration of a new pool by former Olympic champion Johnny Weissmuller. As a child, Schwarzenegger tried many sports, but became particularly interested in bodybuilding at the age of 13, after his football coach took the team to a bodybuilding session. At age 14, he plans what will be his future life. His father wanted him to become a police officer, his mother to do a business school.

One day, in a shop window, he notices the cover of a magazine on which a muscular man is posing and disguised as a warrior of ancient times. He buys the magazine, which traces the life of Reg Park, a former English bodybuilder who became Mr. Universe, then actor and made a fortune by founding an empire in the sport. He then takes Park as a model and decides to follow the same path: to become Mr. Univers, then a movie star then rich.

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In 1961, he met the former Mr. Austria, Kurt Marnul, who invited him to come train at the Athletic Union, a gym in Graz. His passion leads him to go train even on weekends while it is closed. At that time, he told his father, "I want to become the best built man in the world, then I want to go to America and be an actor." He also frequents cinemas and his idols are actors Reg Park, Steve Reeves and Johnny Weissmuller. In 1963, he came 2nd in a minor competition held in Graz at the Steirer Hof Hotel.

In 1964, his father, very worried about Arnold's invading passion for Austria's least popular sport, forbade him to go to training more than three times a week, but he circumvented this limitation by building his own room at home.
In 1965, he won the Austrian junior weightlifting championship and met Franco Columbu with whom he remained a friend for a very long time. He returned to the Austrian Army immediately afterwards, as part of the one-year military service, which was compulsory for all Austrian men aged 18. His parents hope that this will put an end to his interest in bodybuilding. During this period, he won the M. Europe junior title.

To participate in this competition, he makes the wall of the barracks and is punished for his unauthorized absence, having to serve a week of military prison, but nevertheless earns the respect of his superiors.

A year later, in 1966, he won the title of Mr. Europe and impressed the judges so much that they offered to offer him the ticket to participate in NABBA Mr. Amateur Universe in London, the prestigious competition of bodybuilding. A week after this title, he won the title of the best-built man in Europe, a competition organized by a rival of Mr. Europe. The federation then cancels its offer and Arnold must start saving to pay the ticket for London.

He left Thal, his hometown, and went to train at the Putzinger Gym in Munich where he rented a small apartment and spends his time between his own training and the management of the room. He sometimes even cleans it, in order to pay his dues. He takes the plane for the first time to participate in Mr. Universe in London. This is where he acquired the nickname Austrian Oak, partly because of its impressive size (107 kg for 1.85 m) and a story of pulls made at the top of an oak.

He came 2nd in this first big competition, behind Chester Yorton, who has a superior muscular definition. He will say later: "The title of Mr. Universe was my ticket to America, the land of opportunity where I could become a star and a rich man". In London again, he participates in his first bodybuilding exhibition at the invitation of his friend Wagg Bennett, who tells him he must learn to do the show and introduces music into his training routine.

In 1967, Arnold set aside enough money to buy the Putzinger Gym and thanks to the publicity of his second place for the amateur title Mr. Univers, the number of contributors increased from 70 to 200. He trains differently. , inventing new exercises to improve the definition he missed the year before. He once again took part in the Mr. Universel Amateur London and won his first major title against Dennis Tinerino, becoming the youngest Mr. Universe in history, at the age of 20 years.

In 1968, he won the Stone Lifting Contest in Munich, and proves that bodybuilders are also strong men. He won the first European professional title of M. Universe of the National Amateur Bodybuilders Association. Behind the scenes of the competition, he meets Joe Weider, who reigns on the press specializing in bodybuilding, invites him to compete in the United States. In September 1968, at the age of 21, he moved to the other side of the Atlantic, with very little money and a low level of English. Surprised by the American competitors, more graceful, he only came second behind Frank Zane in his first US Universe.

Joe Weider agrees to sponsor him for a year. In return, he uses Arnold's name and face for advertising purposes. Weider sends him to train at Gold's Gym in Venice Beach, Santa Monica, where all the best bodybuilders train. During this time, he became the friend of professional Superstar wrestler Billy Graham.

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Private life

In 1969, he met Barbara Outland Baker, then a waitress at a restaurant near Gold's Gym, with whom he lived as a couple until their separation in 1974.

The couple met 6 to 8 months after the arrival of Arnold to United States. At their first date, they watch Apollo's moon landing on television. They share an apartment in Santa Monica for three and a half years and having little money, they go to the beach every day and have barbecues in the garden. Barbara Baker said that Arnold was a self-made man as much as possible, he never received encouragement from his parents, his family, his brother. He had just his immense determination and charisma.

In her 1977 memoir, Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder, Schwarzenegger tells of Barbara that she was a balanced woman who wanted a normal, solid life. I was not a balanced man and he hated the very idea of an ordinary life.

In July 1977, he met at Venice Beach Sue Moray, a hairdressing assistant from Beverly Hills. According to this, they have a free relationship: "We were faithful when we were both in LA ... but when he was out of town, we were free to do what we wanted." A month later, Schwarzenegger meets Maria Shriver of the Kennedy family. He has a relationship with the two women until August 1978, when Sue Moray, who knows his relationship with Shriver, sets an ultimatum to make a choice between them. Schwarzenegger chooses Maria Shriver.

Schwarzenegger says that during this time he went to see a friend to teach him transcendental meditation, which prompted him to reveal for the first time in his life that he was struggling with anxiety.

Becoming an American citizen after his naturalization in 1983, he married on April 26, 1986 in Massachusetts with Maria Shriver, television journalist and daughter of Sargent Shriver, former US ambassador to France and candidate for vice-presidency of the United States. United in 1972, and Eunice Kennedy, sister of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
The couple has four children: Katherine Eunice, Christina Maria, Patrick Arnol and Christopher Sargent.

On May 9, 2011, after 25 years of marriage, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver announce their separation. The actor reveals a few days later that he has had a child hidden with one of his house maids, Mildred Baena, to explain his separation from Maria Shriver, who is filing for divorce on July 1st.

In early 2014, he spent a few days in Austria with his new companion, Heather Milligan, physiotherapist about thirty years younger.

Business

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At the age of 30, long before his film career began, Arnold Schwarzenegger made a fortune in real estate.

He earned a University degree in Business from the University of Wisconsin. In 1968, Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu began doing business in the building, which then flourished, including rising demand after the terrible 1971 earthquake in Los Angeles.

Schwarzenegger invests a portion of his profits and gains gained from weight-lifting competitions in his new real estate business, buys his first building for $ 10,000 and then invests in several companies. He becomes a millionaire. His home is in Brentwood, the upscale neighborhood of Los Angeles.

In 1992, he and his wife opened an Austrian restaurant in Santa Monica.

He is also one of the founders of the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain, founded in 1991, with Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone and Demi Moore. In January 2000, following the financial difficulties encountered by Planet Hollywood, the actor announces that he will not renew his collaboration with the chain of restaurants, his contract then coming to an end. Since then, he has no more shares in Planet Hollywood.

Policy

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Arnold Schwarzenegger, unlike many Hollywood film personalities known to be close to the Democratic Party, has always displayed his membership of the Republican Party.

In a speech to the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York, Schwarzenegger explained the circumstances in which he moved politically from his arrival in the United States :
His first political position was President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, a position he held from 1990 to 1993.

He was appointed to the position by the then President of the United States, George HW Bush, who nicknamed him "Conan the Republican" on the occasion of the public support of the actor to his candidacy for the American presidential election of 1988. He then assumes, from 1993, the functions of California Governor Council on Physical Fitness and Sports during the Pete Wilson, Republican governor of California from 1991 to 1999. During the first Gulf War, he invested himself to send weight machines to the US soldiers stationed in Saudi Arabia in the boring wait of the attack against the 'Iraq.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of two Republican candidates for the governorship of California in 2003.

On October 7, 2003, after a confused election campaign marked by media unrest, Gray Davis was deposed by 55.4% of the voters, and on the second question of choosing a successor, Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California with 48.6% of the votes to complete the mandate.

Schwarzenegger takes office as governor at the California State Capitol in Sacramento on November 17, 2003. The opening ceremony was opened by Vanessa Lynn Williams, her partner in the film The Eraser, singing the national anthem American. Other guest stars included Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Dennis Miller and Rob Lowe.

His first words as governor were: "Today is a new day for California. I did not run for this election to do things the same way they always did. My main concern is to restore your confidence in the California government ... This election was not held to replace a man. It was not held either to replace the majority party in place. It took place to change the entire political landscape of our state. "

On January 3, 2011, Arnold Schwarzenegger resigned as governor of California after seven years in office.

Without further elective office, he remains a media figure of the Republican Party, continuing to be in a moderate trend within the Grand Old Party.

On October 8, 2016, following the publication of a video broadcast the day before by the Washington Post, in which we hear Donald Trump, Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential election, make foul remarks about women , a publication that provokes a national scandal and a loss of many supporters for the candidate in the Republican camp, Arnold Schwarzenegger for his part, in a statement posted on his Twitter account :

"For the first time since I became an American citizen in 1983, I will not be voting for the Republican presidential candidate. [...] Although I am very proud to be Republican, there is something more important: being American. So I want to take a moment to remind my Republican comrades that it is not only acceptable to choose your country before your party, it is your duty. "

Environment

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Founder in 2010 of the non-governmental organization R20, a coalition of sub-national governments, cities and regions, committed to climate change, Arnold Schwarzenegger will visit France in October 2014, the R20 organizing in Paris, France. Economic, Social and Environmental Council, a Summit of Regions for Climate.

In December 2015, he returned to Paris during COP 21, on December 5th. He is speaking at the French National Assembly as a special guest at a working session of parliamentarians from 167 countries, gathered around French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in the framework of COP 21.

He also spoke to Sciences Po Paris students on December 7, 2015, highlighting the role that local governments, cities and regions can and must play in the fight against climate change.

In May 2017, while in Cannes to promote Jean-Michel Cousteau's Wonders of the sea 3D and Jean-Jacques Mantello, a documentary film committed to the protection of the oceans of which he is the narrator and producer, he grants an interview with journalist Stephanie Belpeche, for the weekly newspaper Le Journal du dimanche, interview during which the new US President Donald Trump is mentioned, the environmental issue is notoriously a point of disagreement between the two men. The former governor of California says about Trump being a climate-skeptic who does not take global warming seriously.

On 1 June 2017, following Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement, Arnold Schwarzenegger sends a firm message to the US president in a video posted on June 2 and became viral, in which he states in particular with regard to Trump :

"A man can not destroy our progress. A man can not stop our clean energy revolution. A man can not go back to the past. "

On June 23, 2017, being back in France as part of the launch in Paris of the "Global Compact for the Environment" project to become an international treaty affirming major environmental principles, such as the polluter pays principle , the founder of R20 is received at the Élysée by the French President Emmanuel Macron, then by the French Minister for the ecological transition Nicolas Hulot. Following his interview with Emmanuel Macron, devoted to environmental issues after Donald Trump's decision to leave the coalition against global warming and global pollution, Schwarzenegger states :

"Everyone needs to get together and it is absolutely imperative that we do not make it a political issue. This is not the right against the left because there is no liberal air or conservative air. We all breathe the same air. There is no liberal water or conservative water, we all drink the same water. [...] We talked [with Emmanuel Macron] about how we can work together and how we can strengthen [...] the environmental movement, and how we can make sure that everything the world is part of this environmental crusade. "

Filmography

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As for Sylvester Stallone, the list is long, you can find it here :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schwarzenegger_filmography

Here are some movies I liked :

2015 - Terminator Genesys
2014 - Expendables
2013 - Evasion
2012 - Expendables 2 : Unité Spéciale
2010 - Expendables : Unité Spéciale
2003 - Terminator 3
2002 - Collateral Damage
1996 - The Eraser
1995 - Toy race
1994 - True Lies
1994 - Junior
1993 - Last Action Hero
1992 - Lincoln
1991 - Terminator 2 : Le Jugement Dernier
1990 - Kindergarten cop
1990 - Total Recall
1988 - Twins
1988 - Red Heat
1987 - Predator
1986 - The Contract
1985 - Commando
1984 - Terminator

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I must say that his career is quite impressive when you see where he comes from and his strength of character is extraordinary knowing that his family has done everything to break it and prevent it from being accomplished.

He has managed to realize all his dreams, it is maginifique 👍