Arnold SchwarzeneggerandTom Arnoldwarmly embraced the holiday spirit once again, as they handed out food to local Los Angeles families at the 43rd annual Miracle on 1st Street Turkey Giveaway and Tree Lighting Ceremony. Schwarzenegger and Arnold, who starred together inTrue Lies(1994), reunited for the special event in order to pitch in over the Thanksgiving holiday.
In addition to 1,000 tasty birds, the Miracle on 1st Street distributed bags of fruits, veggies and potatoes, along with tortillas. Schwarzenegger has taken part in the turkey giveaway for 30 years, and the former Los Angeles governor recalled that first year he showed up to volunteer for the special event. Schwarzenegger said during an interview with theBoyle Heights Beat:
“I had such a great time. It made me feel so good, that every year since then, I’ve been doing this. To me, it’s a great, great pleasure to donate the turkeys again… because I know this whole season is about sharing. I love America and America greeted me, as an immigrant, with open arms.”
The Miracle on 1st Street took place on Tuesday, November 26, at the Hollenbeck Youth Center in the Boyles Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. And the crowd started forming as early as 2 a.m. with people lining up to gobble up a turkey. One local resident, Manuel Padilla, arrived at 8:30 a.m. to find a massive line had already formed for him to wait in. Padilla joked:
I don’t really want to be here, but the old lady sent me. She’s in charge, and she told me to get the turkey.
Tom Arnold Likened the Event to a Certain Superstar’s Concert
The box office blockbusterTrue Liescelebrated its 30th anniversary in July, so it was apropos that stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Arnold reunited at the Miracle on 1st Street Turkey Giveaway and Tree Lighting Ceremony. And with so many people in attendance, Arnold, who played Schwarzenegger’s partner in the film, compared the special event to a Taylor Swift concert. Arnold said in the same interview:
“As we were pulling up, I said to my daughter, ‘It looks like a Taylor Swift concert.’ People are lined up around the block. It’s a good feeling. It’s good to be involved in this sort of thing for so many years. We have a lot of fun and we appreciate the Hollenbeck folks.”
Schwarzenegger fans know that the bodybuilder left Austria to make a name for himself in Hollywood, which was exactly what happened. However,The Terminator,Kindergarten CopandTwinsstar didn’t have a clue what Thanksgiving even was when he arrived in the United States. The A-lister also told the Boyle Heights Beat:
“When I came to America in 1968, I didn’t even know what Thanksgiving was. People from the gym just came to my empty apartment and they brought sheets, silverware, dishes, and food and a radio. The generosity of the American people was so extraordinary. I’ll always remember those things. That’s why, for over 30 years, I’ve been coming to the Hollenbeck Center handing out turkeys and donating the turkeys.”
Why True Lies May Be James Cameron’s Most Underrated Movie
True Lies remains an underrated movie amid other blockbusters made by James Cameron, like Titanic and Avatar, despite being a great movie.
Roosevelt High School cheerleaders, a pair of emcees and dozens of volunteers joined forces with Schwarzenegger and Arnold to bring some holiday cheer to those in attendance. In fact, one LA citizen couldn’t help but chuckle when Schwarzenegger placed a turkey in her cart, and he congenially spouted out one of his many famous film lines, “Hasta la vista, baby.”
Schwarzenegger and Arnold have also joined forces in the past to give away toys in Boyle Heights for Christmas. And the two friends posed together this year with one of the turkeys they worked together at the Thanksgiving event, which sparked memories of their characters, Harry and Gib respectively, from one of thebest films never to receive a sequel.
For those who haven’t seen director James Cameron’sTrue Lies,or want to see it again, the Schwarzenegger, Arnold, and Jamie Lee Curtis action-comedy is available to stream on bothHuluand Disney+ at the time of this writing.
