A screenshot of Elwood Edwards from an interview with AOL where he spoke about how he became the iconic voice behind the company’s email alerts.
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Elwood Edwards — the voice that greeted millions of AOL users with “You’ve got mail!” when they opened their inboxes — died on Tuesday. He was 74.
WKYC Studios in Cleveland, where Edwards spent many years as a graphics guru, camera operator, and “general jack-of-all-trades,” said the long-time employee suffered from a “long illness.” WKYC Studios added that Edwards passed away a day before his birthday.
He died at his home in New Bern, North Carolina, the Associated Press reported.
Although Edwards’ cheerful, warm voice is now synonymous with the AOL alert, the opportunity to lend his voice to the signature phrase came largely by chance.
In 1989, Quantum Computer Services, which would later be known as AOL, was looking for a voice actor to help with the alerts of its new software. Edwards’ wife was working there at the time, which is how Edwards heard about the opportunity. All in the comfort of his living room, Edwards recorded “Welcome,” “You’ve got mail!,” “Files done” and “Goodbye” on a cassette recorder. In return, he received $200.
Edwards’ voice went on to become one of the defining sounds of the internet revolution. He was not only greeting new users to AOL, but often, introducing them to the world of email for the first time.
“Edwards’s voice made AOL feel a little friendlier, a little more welcoming at a time when the internet was a big, new world for most people,” AOL said in a statement.
At the turn of the 21st century, AOL began to falter, partly due to its merger with Time Warner and partly because it failed to adapt quickly enough to the changing internet landscape.
Edwards eventually moved to Ohio, going to work for 3News at the television station WKYC in 2002. He retired in 2016. But his voice continued to be prominent in various sitcoms and films over the years, most notably the 1998 rom-com You’ve Got Mail. In 2015, Edwards appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to read some lines suggested by the audience.
“To prove that it’s really you, can you say the classic ‘You’ve got mail’ line?” Fallon asked.
“Welcome! You’ve got mail!” Edwards replied. He smiled at the crowd as they gave him resounding applause.