Gordon Henry Cook, a native Great Britain, was known internationally for his work in zoom lens design and for his contribution to advancing the state of the art in zoom and fixed-focus lenses for cinematography. He was the chief lens designer of the Speed Panchero Lenses used to photograph three out of the last four films to win Oscars for Cinematography. The Cook Varotal zoom lenses were used on virtually every film shot in the decade he won the Sawyer Award.