If you’re at least in your mid-30s (give or take), you know the voice of Elwood Edwards, realize it or not. He recorded the phrase, “You’ve got mail!” and three other lines for Quantum Computer Services in 1989. That company later rebranded to America Online, and the rest is early internet history. Edwards died on Tuesday.
WKYC first reported (via Variety) that Edwards passed away one day before what would have been his 75th birthday. He was a longtime off-camera presence at the Cleveland TV station, working as a graphic designer, camera operator and jack-of-all-trades employee.
His wife, Karen Edwards, worked at Quantum when she heard the company’s then-CEO talking about needing a voice for the software that would soon bombard mailboxes across the US. “So, she volunteered my voice,” Edwards said in a 2012 video. “And on a cassette deck in my living room, I recorded the phrases that you’ve come to know.”
He was paid a grand total of $200 for his voiceover work.
The new-message catchphrase, recorded in Edwards’ calm and welcoming voice, became a cultural phenomenon in AOL’s ‘90s and early 2000s heyday. Of course, that included inspiring the 1998 Nora Ephron rom-com’s title.
Edwards also contributed three (lesser known but still remembered by many) AOL sayings: “Welcome,” “File’s done” and “Goodbye.” In the 2012 video, he’s depicted getting hounded by various employees, prompting him to say the thing. (AOL is currently owned by Yahoo, Engadget’s parent company.)
“So, that’s the story behind the catchphrase,” he said in the clip, “which, well, I have a certain amount of trouble trying to escape.”