Tag Archives: 20th century technology

Eugene Polley with his “Flash-Matic” in 1997.

Eugene Polley, the inventor of the TV remote, died of natural causes on May 20 at a suburban Chicago hospital.  He was 96.  I’m not mocking him; the TV remote is truly one of the greatest inventions of the 20^th century, next to the automobile, air conditioning and television itself.  Before 1955, if you wanted to change channels – among the 3 or 4 that were available – you had to get up from the couch or chair and crank a knob.  But, the 1950’s saw the birth of the space age and the glorious technical innovations that came with it to make our lives easier.  Polley’s “Flash-Matic” debuted in 1955 and was considered a luxury option, like color TV.

Polley long felt he was denied proper credit for the remote control, said his son, Eugene Polley Jr.

The remote he invented used a beam of light directed at sensors in the corners of the set to change channels or turn the picture and sound on and off.

In 1956, another Zenith researcher, Viennese-born physicist Robert Adler, developed the Space Command remote.  The Space Command relied on a series of high-frequency chimes that keyed a sensor to change channels.  Both devices had drawbacks, but Adler’s design was embraced by Zenith.

Today’s infrared signal remotes, however, have more in common with Polley’s device, said John Taylor, a spokesman for Zenith.  “I think that there’s no question that Gene Polley is the father of the wireless remote control.  There are some news reports that made it seem like he was overshadowed by Dr. Robert Adler.  Zenith always considered them the co-inventors.”

Polley and Adler, who died in 2007, shared an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1997 for their contributions to Zenith’s introduction of the wireless remote.

Polley, a resident of Lombard, Illnois, was preceded in death by his wife, Blanche, and a daughter, Joan.  In addition to his son, Eugene Jr. of San Diego, he is survived by a grandson.

I was born in 1963 and actually remember what life was like before the TV remote control, just like I remember when telephones were used for talking to other people far away.  It’s amazing, though, how people take such technology for granted – especially younger folks.  Damn, I’m starting to sound old!