John D. Lowry

John D. Lowry (June 2, 1932 – January 21, 2012) was a Canadian film restoration expert and innovator who founded Lowry Digital Images in 1988. His film restoration company, headquartered in Burbank, California, has been credited with restoring, preserving, and, in many cases, saving early Hollywood films which may have otherwise deteriorated beyond retrieval. Lowry developed his own techniques and technology, called the Lowry Process, which, as defined by the Los Angeles Times reduces "visual 'noise' in motion pictures" which then makes it possible to undertake other forms of restoration, such as removing dirt and scratches, reducing flicker. and sharpening the quality of existing images. At age 20, Lowry toured the television studio for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)'s station in Toronto, which had not made its broadcast debut yet.

Lowry died at his home in Camarillo, California, on January 21, 2012, at the age of 79, less than two weeks after the Academy's announcement.