"Unbroken" R.I.P.

[dex]

www.people.com/article/louis-zamperini-world-war-two-hero-of-unbroken-dies

One of the most incredible American lives of the past century has come to an end.

Louis Zamperini, a former Olympian who spent 47 days lost at sea and two more years as a prisoner of war during World War II, has died at age 97, according to Universal Pictures, which is making a movie of his life.

The Olean, New York, native passed away after a 40-day battle with pneumonia, said the Hollywood Reporter.

Zamperini recently became fast friends with Angelina Jolie, who is directing the Universal movie, Unbroken, based on the best-selling book by Laura Hillenbrand. He recently called Jolie a "human dynamo," and added, "I know she will tell this story in the right way."

"It is a loss impossible to describe," Jolie said in a statement about Zamperini's death. "We are all so grateful for how enriched our lives are for having known him. We will miss him terribly."

In its own statement, the Zamperini Family said: "Having overcome insurmountable odds at every turn in his life, Olympic runner and World War II hero Louis Zamperini has never broken down from a challenge. He recently faced the greatest challenge of his life with a life-threatening case of pneumonia. 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. His indomitable courage and fighting spirit were never more apparent than in these last days."

A U.S. track star at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Zamperini became a bombardier in WWII and survived 47 days adrift in a lifeboat after crashing his plane in the Pacific. He eventually washed up on a Japanese island and spent the next two years as a prisoner of war.

Universal Pictures said in a statement that Zamperini "peacefully passed away in the presence of his entire family, leaving behind a legacy that has touched so many lives. His indomitable courage and fighting spirit were never more apparent than in these last days."

The studio added: "We are so profoundly sad at this moment, and all of our thoughts and prayers are with the Zamperini 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 spirit with which he faced every one of them."

Unbroken is due in theaters on Christmas Day.

[pcdad]

Dex,
for you...more details...

I'll have to add Unbroken to my long list ...

nyti.ms/1kiuyVj



Arts

Louis Zamperini, Olympian and ‘Unbroken’ War Survivor, Dies at 97


By IRA BERKOWJULY 3, 2014


Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner whose remarkable story of survival as a prisoner of war in World War II gained new attention in 2010 with the publication of a best-selling biography by Laura Hillenbrand, died on Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 97.

A statement released by his family said he had been suffering from pneumonia.

Ms. Hillenbrand’s book, “Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption” recounted in vivid detail how Mr. Zamperini — a track star at the University of Southern California and an airman during the war — crashed into the Pacific, was listed as dead and spent 47 days adrift in a life raft before his capture by the Japanese. It rose to No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list.

Universal Pictures purchased rights to the book. The film, directed by Angelina Jolie and starring Jack O’Connell as Mr. Zamperini, is to be released in December.

Shortly after America entered the war in 1941, Mr. Zamperini, then in his early 20s, enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He was a bombardier in a B-24 that was flying a rescue mission on May 27, 1944, when his plane, named “The Green Hornet,” malfunctioned and fell into the sea.


Louis Zamperini wins the mile run in the Pacific Coast Conference Track and Field meet in Seattle in 1939.Credit Paul Wagner/Associated Press
Lieutenant Zamperini, the co-pilot, Second Lt. Russell Phillips, and the tail gunner, Sgt. Francis McNamara, shared a raft, and fought off hunger, thirst, heat and storms while trying to avoid being shot by Japanese planes or eaten by sharks. They subsisted on rainwater and the few fish they could catch. Lieutenant Zamperini, who was 5-foot-9, went from 125 pound to 75 pounds. After 33 days, Sergeant McNamara died.

In June of 1944, Anthony and Louise Zamperini, at home in Torrance, Calif., received the following message regarding their son:

“In grateful memory of First Lieutenant Louis S. Zamperini, A.S. No. 0-663341, who died in the service of his country in the Central Pacific Area, May 28, 1944. He stands in the unbroken line of patriots who have dared to die that freedom might live, and grow, and increase its blessings. Freedom lives, and through it, he lives — in a way that humbles the undertakings of most men.” It was signed, “Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States.”

But the two remaining survivors on the raft were eventually captured by the Japanese. They then suffered added harrowing experiences as they were shuttled from one prison to another.

“I could take the beatings and the physical punishment,” Mr. Zamperini said, “but it was the attempt to destroy your dignity, to make you a nonentity that was the hardest thing to bear.” Mr. Zamperini said his athletic training helped him withstand the torment. “For one thing, you have to learn self-discipline if you are going to succeed as an athlete,” he said. “For another thing, you have to have confidence in yourself and believe that no matter what you’re faced with, you can deal with it — that you just can’t give up. And then there’s the aspect of staying in shape. And humor helped a lot, even in the gravest times.”

In 1945, at the war’s end, Mr. Zamperini was liberated along with hundreds of other prisoners of war at the Naoetsu camp, northwest of Tokyo. “Though he was still sick, wasted and weak, he glowed with euphoria such as he had never experienced,” Ms. Hillenbrand wrote.

Louis Silvie Zamperini was born on Jan. 26, 1917, in Olean, N.Y. His family moved to Torrance in 1920, where he set the national high school record in the mile at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1934; his record time of 4 minutes 21.2 seconds would last for 20 years.

Two years later, in the 5,000-meter Olympic trials at Randalls Island, he finished in a dead heat with Don Lash, the world-record holder, which qualified him for the Olympics.

As a teenager, he went to the Berlin Olympics and competed in the 5,000-meter race, finishing eighth (Lash finished 13th), though Mr. Zamperini had a good finishing kick. During the 1936 Games, he stood with other athletes near Hitler’s box and wanted a photograph of the Nazi leader.

“I was pretty naïve about world politics,” Mr. Zamperini said in an interview with The New York Times, “and I thought he looked funny, like something out of a Laurel and Hardy film, especially the way he stamped his feet and slapped his thighs.” Because he was not close enough, he asked one of Hitler’s entourage to take Hitler’s picture for him. “It was the skinny guy,” Mr. Zamperini said, referring to Joseph Goebbels, the minister of propaganda.

Shortly after, Mr. Zamperini met Hitler, who shook his hand and said, “Ah, you’re the boy with the fast finish.” Two years later, in 1938, Zamperini set a national collegiate mile record of 4:08.3, which stood for 15 years.

When Mr. Zamperini returned to America after the war, he fell into alcoholism and nearly divorced his wife (he and Cynthia remained married for 54 years until her death in 2001).

Survivors include a son, Luke; a daughter, Cynthia Garris, and a grandchild.

He straightened out his life, he said, after hearing a sermon preached by Billy Graham. For much of the rest of his life, Mr. Zamperini worked in commercial real estate. He remained physically active even into his 80s and 90s, skiing, running, mountain climbing as well as skateboarding. He also became prominent on the lecture circuit.

Mr. Zamperini wrote two memoirs, both titled “Devil at My Heels,” the first published in 1956 and written with Helen Itria, with a foreword by Billy Graham, and the second in 2003 with David Rensin, with a foreword by Senator John McCain.

Past efforts to make Mr. Zamperini’s story into a movie failed. In the 1950s, Tony Curtis wanted to play the role. In the late ’90s, Nicolas Cage expressed interest in the part. Despite Mr. Zamperini’s two autobiographies, Hillebrand thought more could be done with the story. In an email for this obituary, she wrote:

“Louie’s story was well told, but as an autobiography it was limited to Louie’s point of view. No one had approached Louie’s story as a biography, incorporating numerous points of view.

“I began interviewing Louie’s fellow airmen, POWs, Japanese camp officials and home-front friends and family, and went through their diaries, memoirs and letters. What I found was a fascinating untold story.”

[wtm97]

Incredible life and story - guy was amazing.

The book is very good but IMO, you have to get past the first 50 (sleepy) pages or so then it takes off...

[dex]

In memory of film critic and old late-night talk show guest Rex Reed, I plan to do movie reviews here to enhance everyone's board experience.


...gotta love friartown...

...i have no idea...