BIOGRAPHY

While his police-chief father wanted him to become a soccer player, Austrian-born  Arnold Schwarzenegger opted instead for a bodybuilding career. Born July 30, 1947 in the small Austrian town of Graz, Schwarzenegger went on to win several European contests and international titles (including Mr. Olympia) and then came to the United States for body-building exhibitions, billing himself immodestly but fairly accurately as "The Austrian Oak." Though his thick Austrian accent and slow speech patterns led some to believe that the Austrian Oak was shy a few leaves, Schwarzenegger was in fact a highly motivated and intelligent young man. After graduation from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in business and economics, he invested his contest earnings in real estate and a mail-order bodybuilding equipment company.      A millionaire before the age of 22, Schwarzenegger decided to try acting. Producers were impressed by the psysique but not his mouthful of a last name, so it was as Arnold Strong that he made his film bow in the low-budget spoof Hercules In New York (1970) (with a dubbed voice). He reverted to his own name for the 1976 film Stay Hungry (1976), then achieved stardom as "himself" in the 1977 documentary Pumping Iron. In The Villain (1979), a cartoon-like western parody, he exhibited a gift for under-stated comedy that would more or less go

unexploited for many years thereafter. With Conan the Barbarian (1982) and its sequel, the actor established himself as an action star, though his acting was backtracking into two-dimensionality (understandably, given the nature of the Conan role). As the murderous android title character in The Terminator (1984), Schwarzenegger became a bonafide box office draw, and also established his trademark of coining repeatable catchphrases in his films, such as "I'll be

back," in Terminator. As Danny DeVito's unlikely pacifistic sibling in Twins (1988), Schwarzenegger recieved the praise of critics who noted his "unsuspected comic expertise. Terminator 2 (1991), wherein he exercised his star prerogative and insisted that the Terminator become a good guy, was the most expensive film ever made up to its time-- and his biggest moneymaker domestically. The actor's subsequent action films were equally as costly; sometimes the expenditures paid off, while other times the result was immensely disappointing--for the box office disappointment Last Action Hero (1993), Schwarzenegger refreshingly took full responsibility, rather than blaming the failure on his production crew or studio as other 'superstars' have been known to do. A rock-ribbed Republican despite his marriage to JFK's niece Maria Shriver (with whom he has four children), Schwarzenegger

was appointed by George Bush in 1990 as chairman of the President's Council of Physical Fitness and Sports, a job he took as seriously and with as much dedication as any of his films. A much-publicized investment in the showbiz eatery Planet Hollywood has increased the coffers in Schwarzenegger's already bulging bank account. In the last few years, he has added directing to his many accomplishments, piloting a few episodes of the cable-TV series "Tales from the Crypt" as well as a 1992 remake of Christmas in Connecticut (1992). Following his return-to-action film True Lies (1994), he went back to doing comedy with Junior (1994). The film met with critically mixed results, although it fared decently at the box office. In a move that suggested he had realized that audiences wanted him back in the world of assorted weaponry and explosives, Schwarzenegger returned to the action realm with Batman & Robin (1997), which unfortunately proved to be a huge disappointment, although, in the tradition of most of his films, did manage to gross well in worldwide box office reciepts. The turn of the century found Schwarzenegger's star loosing some of its luster with a pair of millennial-paranoia films, End of Days (1999) and The 6th Day (2000). The former film was critically lambasted and, despite a powerful opening weekend, failed to recoup its cost in the States. The latter film received more positive notices, but took in less than half the receipts the previous film did just one year prior. Though his next film Collateral Damage (2002) received a chilly reception at the box office, longtime fans of the cigar chomping strongman rejoiced when he resumed his role as the tough cyborg in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), which became a blockbuster smash around the world. More recently, Schwarzenegger's newest role is one of politics -- he has replaced Gray Davis as governor of California in the widely lauded, highly controversial recall election of 2003.  (The majority of this biography was taken from Yahoo! Movies. Click here to view it.)

FILMOGRAPHY

TRIVIA

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (2004), THE RUNDOWN (2003), TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES (2003), COLLATERAL DAMAGE (2002), DR. DOLITTLE 2 (2001), THE 6TH DAY (2000), END OF DAYS (1999), BATMAN & ROBIN (1997), JINGLE ALL THE WAY (1996), T2-3D: BATTLE ACROSS TIME (1996), ERASER (1996), JUNIOR (1994), TRUE LIES (1994), LAST ACTION HERO (1993), CHRISTMAS IN CONNETICUT (1992), TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY (1991), KINDERGARTEN COP (1990), TOTAL RECALL (1990), TWINS (1988), RED HEAT (1988), THE RUNNING MAN (1987), PREDATOR (1987), RAW DEAL (1986), COMMANDO (1985), RED SONJA (1985), THE TERMINATOR (1984), CONAN THE DESTROYER (1984), CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1982), THE VILLAIN (1979), SCAVENGER HUNT (1979), PUMPING IRON (1977), STAY HUNGRY (1976), THE LONG GOODBYE (1973), HERCULES IN NEW YORK (1970)

OCTOBER 2003: Was elected Governor of California as a Republican.

JANUARY 2003: Underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff as a result from an injury on the set of Terminator 3.

EARLY 2000: Sold his Planet Hollywood stock off and is no longer a part owner of the chain.

APRIL 1997: Undergoes heart surgery to correct a congenital heart valve condition.

- Has a soccer stadium in Austria named after him.

HEIGHT: 6'2"

SPOUSE: Maria Shriver (1986-Present. Father of 4 children.

- His production company: Oak Productions.

TRADEMARK: Frequent movie line "I'll be back". Often has his character say comedic one-liners to puncuate the action.

- Many of his films have his characters doing feats of strength to match his musclear look.

- Childhood friends stated that he often said his goals in life were to move to America, become an actor, and marry a Kennedy. He accomplished all three.

- Called by the Guinnes Book of World Records, "the most perfectly developed man in the history of the world."

FEES: $30 million for Terminator 3, $25 million for The 6th Day, End of Days and Batman & Robin, $20 million, $20 million for Jingle All The Way, $15 million for Terminator 2: Judgement Day, $12 million for Kindergarten Cop.

- He and Warner Bros. agreed to postpone the release of Collateral Damage indefinitely in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks on America.

- Noted fan of cigar smoking.

- Was part-owner of Planet Hollywood and Schatzi restaurants.