Elwood Edwards, the voice of AOL’s ‘You’ve got mail’, was paid just $200 for the iconic recording heard by millions
Elwood Edwards, the voice of America Online’s “You’ve got mail” greeting, has died. He was 74 years old.
He died Tuesday at his home in New Bern, North Carolina, his daughter Heather Edwards said. She said the cause was complications from a stroke late last year.
Edwards recorded his AOL greeting in 1989 on a tape recorder while sitting in his living room. “You’ve got mail” became a pop culture catchphrase in the late 1990s and was the title of the 1998 Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan film.
“He would still blush every time someone mentioned it,” his daughter said. “He liked the attention, but he never got used to it.”
He is also the voice of AOL’s “Welcome,” “Goodbye,” and “File’s done” messages. He earned $200 from the recordings.
He got the gig while working at an independent television station in Washington, DC. His second wife, Karen, was a customer service representative for the internet provider that later became known as AOL. She heard that the company was looking for a software spokesperson and asked her husband to do it.
“They were so impressed that they didn’t make him go into the recording studio,” his daughter said.
While few people know his face, his voice is heard by millions every day.
“For a while, America Online kept it a secret, making me a man of mystery. But it finally got released and there you go,” Edwards said in 1999.
He appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in 2015 to repeat the famous catchphrase, smiling and giggling as the studio audience cheered. He also added his voice to a 2000 episode of “The Simpsons.”
Edwards first worked in radio and then moved to television. He had a brief stint as a weatherman and as a newscaster, but mostly he spent his time behind the camera, Heather Edwards said.
“He would say, ‘I have a face for radio,’” she said, adding that her dad “always had a ready smile whenever you saw him.”
He then worked at WKYC-TV in Cleveland as a “graphics specialist, camera operator and all-rounder,” the station said. Edwards also does freelance voice work for radio and television commercials.
Survivors include another daughter, Sallie Edwards; niece Abbie Edwards; and an older brother, Bill.
The family plans to hold a memorial service Monday in New Bern.
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