Limelight
'Hasta la vista' - Terminator
By
Lubna Abdel Aziz
The supersonic rise of one Arnold Schwarzenegger is nothing less than dazzling! How on earth did he ever get to where he is? Not tall enough, not handsome enough, not talented enough, one can hardly understand a word he says, yet he has been catapulted to show business's superstar stratosphere, becoming the highest paid entertainer in the world, and very likely the next governor of the biggest and most glamorous state of the USA.
The story of the stunning success of this humble Austrian champion body-builder is more than bewildering. As a young boy he dared to dream the impossible dream, and though from the start he had a million obstacles stacked up against him, he has ably knocked them down one by one, always landing on top. At 56, with a name that everyone knows yet few can hardly pronounce, an accent thicker than Teutonic clotted cream, and a stocky build that is more repelling than appealing, this body-builder-turned-actor-turned-politician has pundits puzzled. At long last, he spoke the familiar words "I'll be back" sending shock waves all over the world. Arnold Schwarzenegger will run for Governor of the State of California.
"This is the greatest thing to happen to comedy since Gerald Ford tripped on something" said film critic and historian Leonard Maltin. "Nobody plays the game of self-promotion better than Schwarzenegger!" He certainly knows how to work the media, and now has them working round the clock, creating worldwide interest in the candidacy of the Terminator.
Fresh from a publicity tour for his latest blockbuster Terminator 3 -- Rise of the Machines he is now ready to assume the task of terminating the chaotic economic conditions of the State of California, by replacing Democratic Governor Gary Davis. Appearing on the popular Tonight Show, he dropped his bombshell amidst cheering crowds. When he reiterated the famous line "Hasta la vista, baby" from Terminator 2, a Spanish expression meaning 'au revoir', well familiar to Hispanic Californians, the crowds went wild.
Is Arnold serious enough to drop a 33-year old film career in order to run for governor of a state four times larger than his native Austria? And why does he think he is capable of reversing the financial chaos of the state? Can the Terminator put Humpty Dumpty back together again? Most Californians trust him "and think he does have his head on straight". He exudes confidence and competence adorned with charisma and humour. After all, look what he has done with his own personal life. And if Jesse Ventura (wrestler) can be Governor (of Minnesota) why not Arnold!
Schwarzenegger was born 30 July, 1947 in the small village of Thal, in Styria, Austria. Son of a police officer he was brought up in southeast Graz by very strict parents. His love for football drove him to the gym, his love for weightlifting drove him to bodybuilding. He won several bodybuilding professional titles before he came to the US, with $30 in his pocket and millions of dreams in his head. In 1968 he finished 2nd in his first US competition of Mr Universe. It was not good enough. The following year, he was Mr Universe in the Amateur and Professional competitions, and continued to monopolise the title until 1975. He was now the undisputed best bodybuilder in the world. But Arnold Schwarzenegger was not done. He had dreams to fulfil, promises to keep and "miles to go, before I sleep".
He landed his first role in 1970 as Hercules Goes to New York throughout which he said not one word. He took film seriously, worked hard on learning English, improving his indecipherable accent. He started to concentrate on fame and fortune. He obtained a correspondence degree in business from the University of Wisconsin. He established a construction business and a mail order business selling fitness and body building equipment. He bought a grand house and basked in the California sunshine and his newly unexpected good fortune. In 1975 he won a Golden Globe Award for best newcomer in Stay Hungry. Two years later he rocked the sports world with his groundbreaking bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron. His acting career seriously took off with Conan the Barbarian in 1982. His most memorable role came two years later in The Terminator (1984), directed by James Cameron (Titanic, 1997). He followed it with a string of box office champions, Commando (1986), Predator (1987), Twins (1988), Total Recall (1990), and Kindergarten Cop (1990).
His personal life was faring just as well. After a 6-year romance, he married Maria Shriver, born into American nobility, niece to the late President John Kennedy. They have four children and live in a huge West Los Angeles compound, and though the Kennedys are long-standing staunch Democrats, Maria is supporting her husband's bid for political office, and "it will be the first time that she ever campaigns for a Republican."
Arnold oversees a vast business empire, owns a shopping mall in Ohio, a Boeing 747, which he leases to Singapore Airlines, and a block of real estate in California bigger than his native hometown.
His accent has gone from "repulsively guttural" to "appealingly exotic", his bank account from $30 to multimillions, and he has gone from a boorish Austrian villager to one of the most recognisable and admired men in the world. He is by no means the first actor to cross the ever-blurred line between politics and show business. President Reagan, also started as governor of California, and reached the top of the ladder by becoming president. Clint Eastwood was the best mayor of the California town of Carmel. Sonny Bono went from pop singer/restaurateur to mayor of Palm Beach, and later Senator from California in 1992, Fred Grandy, a magna cum laude Harvard graduate went from The Love Boat to serve two terms in Congress.
Schwarzenegger may not be the first actor but may well be the first foreign-born to reach such heights if successful in his endeavour. His life has the dimensions of an epic. He focussed on a vision, an idea, and nothing was allowed to rob it of its majesty. It has dominated his life and has made him the ultimate embodiment of the winner against all odds. Politics will not be easy. Democrats are already coming after him with an arsenal of fiery attacks and personal accusations, reports of his father's Nazi connections, lewd behaviour, womanising, inappropriate language etc. They will find other skeletons to pull out of his closet. But Arnold the terminator is prepared to terminate the competition.
Schwarzenegger shows more wisdom than talent. Following a heart valve replacement surgery in 1997, for how much longer can this middle-aged action hero continue to expose his muscular prowess? He is not one to wait for opportunity to knock -- he seeks it. An associate working with him on the campaign John Henri remarks: "I've learned to like him and respect him and know him as something significantly more than an actor." He has always had the cadences of being a public servant ringing in his ears, and judging from all the dreams he has fulfilled so far, this may well be his next dream come true.
If he is the next governor of California -- what then? Can he become president of the US? They will need a constitutional amendment allowing him to run for the presidency, a privilege accorded only to those who are born in the US. But if anyone can do it, Arnold can. He has the name recognition, the charisma, the Republican Party's support, Maria by his side and all the money in the world. Make way for the next governor of California. "Only in America" goes the familiar saying, now more than ever worth repeating -- only in America!
