Joseph Y. Resnick

Resnick was born in Ellenville, New York, the son of Anna (Zaida) and Morris Resnick. He served as a radio officer in the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. He also helped found Channel Master, which became a leading producer of television antennas after Resnick invented an antenna which was inexpensive, easy to assemble and install, and did not require the expertise of a specially trained technician. He was also the inventor of the first TV antenna that improved reception by rotating towards the direction of the broadcast signal. Before winning election to Congress Resnick served on the Ellenville school board. By 1955, he and his brothers were millionaires, and their radio enterprises became a business empire worth about $45 million.