DPA/ChicagoTV watchers may want to hit the mute button for a moment of silence. The man who invented the remote control has died at the age of 96, the Chicago Sun Times reported on Tuesday.Eugene “Gene” Polley died on Sunday in a Chicago hospital. Polley invented the first wireless TV remote control in 1955 while working as an engineer for Zenith Electronic in Chicago. He received a $2,000 bonus for his historic innovation, but later earned an Emmy award in 1997 for his contributions to television.The company marketed the device as the Flash-Matic. “A flash of magic light from across the room turns set on, off or changes channels,” a company advertisement said. “And you remain in your easy chair!”The device only worked with Zenith’s Flash-Matic TV, using a light beam that controlled photo cells in each corner of the TV.Historians credit the device with paving the way for TVs with hundreds of channels. They also note that the Flash-Matic had another innovative feature that just as many people might be grateful for: a mute button that allows users to turn off the sound during commercials.