Hubert Schlafly, the inventor of a revolutionary piece of television equipment, has died.<br /><br />Schlafly invented the teleprompter, or autocue as its sometimes known, in the 1950s.<br /><br />He was an engineer for Twentieth Century Fox and approached by a soap opera actor who was struggling to remember his lines.<br /><br />What he came up with was a monitor facing the person appearing on screen, rolling script at reading speed.<br /><br />The device has become a staple of modern broadcasting - rescuing decades' of actors, politicians, and newscasters from embarrassment on live TV.<br /><br />Schlafly was 91 years old.
