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Elwood Edwards, the iconic voice of AOL’s “You’ve Got Mail” audio message, has died after a long illness.
Elwood died Tuesday, the day before his 75th birthday. His former employer, WKYC-TV Studios in Cleveland, confirmed the sad news. The details of the illness remain unclear.
Elwood was a staple at the Ohio station for years, working as a graphics whiz and camera operator, among other roles. But, it was back in 1989 when he struck gold, earning worldwide fame — and a spot in internet history — as the voice of America Online’s “You’ve Got Mail” message.
He was asked to record just 4 simple lines — “Welcome,” “You’ve Got Mail,” “Files Done,” and “Goodbye” — and in exchange, he pocketed a cool $200 for his everlasting voiceover work.
The company, known famously as AOL, blew up … and millions worldwide heard his voice every time they logged onto the internet — if they had email, a new concept at the time. While his face was never seen, Elwood’s voice gave him a unique kind of minor celeb status, forever tied to those early days of AOL.
He even made a cameo on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in 2015, where he delivered his classic internet greeting onstage.
He was 74.
RIP