Ex Olympian, Subject of Jolie Film, Dies at 97

Louis Zamperini, a former U.S. Olympic athlete and Japanese prison of war, whose life story is told in an upcoming movie directed by Angelina Jolie, has died aged 97, filmmakers said Thursday.

Zamperini, the inspiration for the book and film "Unbroken," died from pneumonia, surrounded by his family and loved ones, said a statement by Universal Pictures.

"After a 40-day long battle for his life, he peacefully passed away in the presence of his entire family, leaving behind a legacy that has touched so many lives," the statement said.

Jolie, whose film about Zamperini is due out on December 25, described his death as "a loss impossible to describe."

"We are all so grateful for how enriched our lives are for having known him," she added.

Born in New York state to Italian immigrant parents, Zamperini moved to California as a child. He was the youngest American ever to run in the Olympic 5,000 meters, at age 19 in the 1936 Berlin Games.

He finished the final lap in 56 seconds, prompting Adolf Hitler to request a personal meeting with him.

During World War II, he became a bombardier over the South Pacific. When his plane crashed, he spent 47 days adrift on an inflatable raft with a crewmate before being captured by Japanese soldiers in the Marshall Islands.

He spent more than two years in a POW camp, where he was beaten and tortured. After the war, he returned home but suffered from post traumatic stress disorder.

He became a born-again Christian in 1949 and became an inspirational speaker preaching forgiveness.

At the age of 81, Zamperini ran a torch relay leg before the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. In 2005, he returned to Germany to visit the Berlin Olympic Stadium for the first time since he competed there in 1936.

"His indomitable courage and fighting spirit were never more apparent than in these last days," his family said in the Universal Pictures statement.

Picture source: Universal Pictures