Born in Reading, Berkshire, England. Cinematographer and director of process photography in British film from the late 1940s. He began as a camera operator for films like AN IDEAL HUSBAND (1947), THE FALLEN IDOL (1948), THE THIRD MAN (1949), RICHARD III (1955), THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL and SAINT JOAN (both 1957), BONJOUR TRISTESSE and tom thumb (both 1958), OUR MAN IN HAVANA and LIBEL (both 1959), SONS AND LOVERS and THE ENTERTAINER (both 1960), THE GUNS OF NAVARONE (1961) and LOLITA (1962). Coop then became a director of photography, and his notable cinematography credits include BILLY LIAR and THIS SPORTING LIFE (both 1963), BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING (1965), THE BIRTHDAY PARTY (1968), MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN (1969), 10 RILLINGTON PLACE (1971), THE LITTLE ARK (1972), ROSEBUD (1975) and VENOM (released in 1982). He was creative director of process photography for SUPERMAN (1978) and director of photography: flying unit for SUPERMAN II (1980).  Special Achievement Award 1978: SUPERMAN - Visual Effects (w. Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Roy Field, Derek Meddings & Zoran Perisic) 1 Special Achievement Award