Best known as the inventor of the first wireless remote control for television, Eugene J. Polley started his career with Zenith Radio Corporation (now Zenith Electronics LLC, a subsidiary of LG Electronics) in 1935.
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His 47-year engineering career spanned the pioneering days of radio, black-and-white television and color TV.
Mr. Polley died of natural causes on May 20 in Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, Downers Grove, Ill. He was 96.
Father of the remote control
His inventions, primarily in the field of television, earned 18 U.S. patents. Mr. Polley's best known invention, the "Flash-Matic" remote control, was the world's first wireless TV remote, introduced in 1955. It used a flashlight-like device to activate photo cells on the television set to change channels.
---Eugene J. Polley
During World War II, as part of Zenith's commitment to the war effort, Mr. Polley worked on radar advances for the U.S. Department of Defense. Mr. Polley also worked on the push-button radio for automobiles and on the development of the video disk, predecessor of today's DVD.
Polley and fellow Zenith engineer Robert Adler were honored in 1997 with an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for "Pioneering Development of Wireless Remote Controls for Consumer Television."
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