The Man Behind 'Unbroken' Passes Away

A sad announcement today -

Louis Zamperini has passed away. He was 97.

Zamperini passed away after a battle with pneumonia, surrounded by family.

Hailed as "One of the most incredible American lives of the past century," Zamperini was a former Olympian, who spent nearly 50 days lost at sea, and two years as a prisoner of war during World War II.

Universal Pictures is currently making a movie of his incredible life, directed by Angelina Jolie. The movie is based on the best-selling book by Laura Hillenbrand.

Zamperini and Jolie became good friends during filming.

"I know she will tell this story the right way," he had said of Jolie, calling her a "human dynamo."

In a statement, Jolie said that Zamperini's death "is a loss impossible to describe."

"We are all so grateful for how enriched our lives are for having known him. We will miss him terribly."

Universal Pictures added a statement:

"We are so profoundly sad at this moment, and all of our thoughts and prayers are with the Zamerini family. Louis was truly one of a kind. He lived the most remarkable life, not because of the many unbelievable incidents that marked his near century's worth of years, but because of the spiriit with which he faced every one of them."

A U.S. track star at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Zamperini was a bombardier in the war, and survived for 47 days in a lifeboat after his plane crashed into the ocean. When he washed up onto a Japanese island, he spent years as a prisoner of war.

"Unbroken" will hit theaters Christmas Day.