ARNOLD
SCHWARZENEGGER
Introduction
When
we think of sports, muscles and titles like Mr. Universe everybody all over the
world thinks of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Perhaps he is the most famous Austrian
personality we have at the moment. Arnold wasn't
just a Body-Builder, Arnold
is also an actor, who played in films like Terminator or True Lies. I think Arnold is an excellent
example for The American Dream. He had enough ambition to fulfil his
wishes he had since his early age. But ambition isn't enough he says in his
interviews: "You have to separate your emotions from your work. You have to
leave your emotions beside to concentrate completely on your training. If you
reached a target, you will have enough time for joy, love and your friends."
Because of these statements Arnold
is often regarded as a stone-cold person. I suppose that's not true. I believe
that he is very ambitious and he knows what he wants. Otherwise he wouldn't
have been so successful.
Arnie's
career as Body-Builder
On
30th july1947 one of the most popular and famous austrian person was
born in a little styrian city named Thal near Graz as the son of Gustav Schwarzenegger and
Aurelia Jadrny, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He always wanted to be a good sportsman,
so he began very early with his boxing and athletic exercises and to play football
in his hometown. His father often cheered him to take the sport more serious.
But Arnold
always did what he wanted to do. At the age of 13 he told his classmates that
he wanted to be the best bodybuilder in the world. So he switched one year
later from playing soccer to bodybuilding. He started his training with the
former Mr.Austria Kurt Marnul. One year later Dr. Karl Gerstl supported Arnold mentally, to get
more powerful, and to have the will to win. In order to that he was ready to
start his professional bodybuilding career with seventeen. But a short stay in
the prison interrupted his career.
To
stay in the prison was not part of his plan, to become the most famous
bodybuilder, nevertheless it was necessary to start it.
He
had to perform one year of military service. He asked his superiors if he could
leave Austria for a few days
to take part in a bodybuilding-competition in Stuttgart. But they didn't let him go. That's
why Arnold had
to leave the barracks illegally. When he returned, he couldn't even explain
where he was. He had been locked up at once for seven days. The superiors, who
incarcerated him saw that this wasn't just a simple competition 'Private
Schwarzenegger' won in Stuttgart:
Now Arnold was Mr. Europe Junior. After this week in prison, Arnold was allowed to continue his training
in the barracks. That was the end of Arnold's
military career.
In the same year (1966) Arnold
left the junior-league and participated in the professional league. He had real
achievements considering a 19-year-old debutant. He became 'Best built man
of Europe' and won 'The International Body-Building
Competition', both in Germany.
Arnold realized
that he had the chance to be the best built man in the world.
So he travelled in the same year to London, where he wanted to win the Mr.
Universe competition. When he arrived a lot of fans and other body builders
surrounded the newcomer of the bodybuilding business. Arnold felt that he was something special,
and that he was ready to be Mr. Universe. Unfortunately Chet Yorton
(left) beat Arnold Schwarzenegger. He persuaded the judges with his unique
show.
So Arnold trained his body
to make it more and more imposing. He created new training methods to train
some more muscles. Prepared to win he travelled one year later, in 1967, back
to London
again, to beat Chet Yorton. But there was a new rival in the competition, Denis
Tinerino. Before the contest even started everybody thought, Arnold wouldn't have the
chance to win against Denis. However Arnie was enthusiastic enough to win. Arnold realized, that
being the best is as important as having the desire to win. Now Arnold was at the age of
20 years the youngest Mr. Universe of the World in his classification, the
National Amateur Body-Building Association (NABBA). To be the best built man in
the world, Arnold
had to win in two other classifications, in the Professional Body-Builders
classification, and the International Federation of Body-Builders (IFBB)
classification. His task was to win them all. And he will.
So he went back to Munich for one year, where he founded a
fitness-centre, visited an economy school, and trained up to six hours a day.
Now he was prepared for the competitions in the other classifications. He took
part at the Mr. Universe competitions in the Professional League. Afterwards he
won the Mr. International Title in Mexico. But one title was missing:
Mr. Olympia
Therefore he moved to California, where he trained among the best
body-builders in the world. During the next 2 years, Arnold participated in several contests all
over the world; he won new titles, and defeated his old one. At the end of the
year 1969 he won every title, except Mr. Olympia in the IFBB classification. Arnold knew what he had
to do. Unluckily there was another challenger named Sergio Olivia (right),
who won the Mr. Olympia title since 1967 without interruption. In 1970 the IFBB
Competitions of Mr. Olympia took place in New York. Everybody knew that this will be a
hard fight between Arnold and Sergio; in the end there was only one winner,
only one name: Arnold
Schwarzenegger
So he reached his target at the age of 23. He reached
what he trained for since he was 15 years old. Within 8 years he won against
every competitor. Furthermore he defeated the Mr Olympia title for six years.
In 1981 he finally quit his bodybuilding career.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's titles:
1965 Mr. Europe Junior (Germany)
1966 Best-Built Man in
Europe (Germany)
1966 Mr. Europe (Germany)
1966
International Bodybuilding Competition (Germany)
1967 NABBA Mr. Universe amateur
league (England)
1968 NABBA Mr. Universe
professional league (England)
1968 German Bodybuilding
Competition (Germany)
1968 IFBB Mr. International
(Mexico)
1969 IFBB Mr. Universe -
amateur league (USA)
1969 NABBA Mr. Universe
professional league (England)
1970 NABBA Mr. Universe
professional league (England)
1970 Mr. World (USA)
1970 IFBB Mr. Olympia (USA)
1971 IFBB Mr. Olympia (France)
1972 IFBB Mr. Olympia (Germany)
1973 IFBB Mr. Olympia (USA)
1974 IFBB Mr. Olympia (USA)
1975 IFBB Mr. Olympia (South Africa)
1976 IFBB Mr. Olympia (Australia)
1981 IFBB Mr. Olympia (Australia)
Arnie's career as actor
In 1970 Arnold plays his first role in a film called Hercules
in New York. This film has an extremely bad story, and it's Arnold's first role in a
film. He performs bad, he doesn't even know, how to speak English in a right
way. His pronunciation is very horrible, that's why his voice has to be
synchronized. 3 years later he gets once again a role in a film called The
long Goodbye. His function is very simple: He is the leader of a gang who
fights against everyone. Bad actors, bad story. That's why Arnold
Schwarzenegger decides to retreat temporary of the film-business.
After
his last but one Mr. Olympia title he decided to switch the business once again
because in 1976 the director Joe Sante wanted to make a film about a body
builder, who took part in a Body-Building Competition and found a woman he
loved. Arnold
was the perfect actor for this role. The film was called Mr. Universe/stay
hungry. 1977 he becomes the Golden Globe in the section "Best Newcomer of
the Year" for the role in the film Stay Hungry. In the same year he
becomes an offer to play himself in a documentation. This was the perfect
chance for him to show to the public that a body-builder also has emotions
though all those muscles. Critics were positively surprised, and saw that
Arnold Schwarzenegger, formerly Mr. Olympia, is a fantastic actor too. After
the flop The villain, Arnold Schwarzenegger had no offers for films
anymore. Perhaps it was very boring, so he won the Mr. Olympia title once
again. One year later he played the main-role in the film Conan the
Barbarian. He plays a slaved fighter who desires for revenge on Thulsa
Doom, because he killed his parents when he was a child. For Arnold this was the first serious film, where
he made much experience. The continuation of Conan the barbarian was Conan
the destroyer. A film, which sets more on action than his predecessors.
One
year later Arnold
risks his reputation as he plays the role of the bad guy in the low-budget film
Terminator directed by James Cameron. He has luck, because the film is
really successful. The film is voted among the ten best films of the century.
The success of Terminator catapults Arnold
between the most famous, popular and desired stars in Hollywood. Because of films like Commando
(1985), Raw Deal (1986), Predator (1986), Running Man (1987) and Red Heat (1988)
Arnold's
reputation changed into the best action-film-actor in his time. But Arnold also acts in
comedies like Twins (1989), together with Danny DeVito, and Kindergarten Cop
(1990). But 1990 he made the film Total Recall, a futuristic Thriller, too. In
my opinion this film has the best story of all films in which Arnold
Schwarzenegger played. At the end you do not know what was dreamed, and what
was reality.
His greatest commercial success so
far was Terminator 2 - The Judgment Day (1992), a continuation of the
low-budget film of the year 1984. Worldwide, Terminator 2 brought in over 500
million dollars. Furthermore Last Action Hero (1994), True Lies (1994), Junior
(1996), Eraser (1996), Jingle All The Way (1997), Batman & Robin (1999),
End of Days (1999) and The Sixth Day (2000) were also absolutely prospering.
Marginal notes about Arnold
Arnold never had a simple life.
But his ambition helped him through his hard days. In 1972 for example his
brother Meinhard died because of a car accident, in 1973 his father Gustav
Schwarzenegger died. He helped his mother Aurelia where and when he could, but
in 1998 she died too.
Although there were also good times in his life. For
example in 1977 he meets a girl named Maria Shriver. Nine years later he will
marry her. Marie Shriver directed him to the organisation of Special Olympics,
and in 1979 he advertises for the Special Olympics, and made them more and more
popular. Moreover he finishes his Economy-studies in Wisconsin
he started in 1968 in Munich.
In 1983 he got the American nationality. You see, that Arnold was never lazy. He found the time to
help handicapped people, and to found his own body building competitions like
the Arnold Classic in 1989. In 1990 he becomes president of the committee for
national fitness among President George Bush. His task was to help young people
who don't have a family or a job, to do something useful. He wanted them to
stop taking drugs or to hang around in gangs. In 1991 he becomes the Award
for Humanity from the Simon Wiesenthal Centre because of his efforts
towards the Holocaust.
Additionally he owns several restaurants all over the
world named Planet Hollywood as well. These are restaurants like the
Hard Rock Cafes. Arnold
is one of 4 owners. The others are Demi Moore, Bruce Willis and Sylvester
Stallone.
Unhappily he had problems with his health. In 1997 he
had to make a heart-operation, which forced him to stop making movies for two
years. But the operation proceeded without complications.
Today, Arnold
won't think of stopping making films. He plans the continuation of Terminator 2
and True Lies. In fall the productions of Terminator 3 will start.
Now Arnold
is 54 years old, but he has the power and the ambition like he had when he was
18 years old. I think he is the kind of person that will ever stay hungry. As
well I believe that he reached so much, so that he cannot stop being popular
and famous. It's like a drug. There is only one difference: It won't kill you.
It's the other way around. It makes one's life beautiful.
Quellenangabe:
https://www.dem.de/entertainment/stars/a/arnold_schwarzenegger.html
https://www.schwarzenegger-arnold.de/
https://www1.inetservice.de/muscle/info.htm
https://www.arnold-schwarzenegger.com/german/athlete/everything/everything.htm
