Elwood Edwards

Acting Appreciation

To a '90s kid, nothing quite sounded like possibility -- the crackle of AOL dial-up, the universe of static, those blinking screens. You knew something big was about to happen. And then, that voice: "You've got mail." For many of us, it was simple magic -- the gateway to what felt like endless information. That voice belonged to Elwood Hughes Edwards, Jr. 

Born November 6, 1949, in Glen Burnie, Maryland, Elwood grew up partly in North Carolina (in Beaufort, then New Bern) where he got his starts in radio very early -- high school radio in 1964. After high school, he drifted through TV work: announcing, doing graphics, cameras, even a little weather forecasting and commercials.

In 1989, the twist of fate: his wife, Karen, who worked for Quantum Computer Services (which ran the online service Q-Link), overheard their CEO, Steve Case, talking about adding voice alerts to their user interface. She suggested Elwood. He recorded a few phrases -- "Welcome," "Good-bye," "File's done," and the all important "You've got mail." -- on a cassette deck in his living room. The pay: about $200.

October 1989 rolls around, Q-Link becomes America Online (AOL), and those phrases go live. Suddenly, millions of users are hearing Elwood whenever they logged on, sent or received messages, or just signed out.

Over the years, his voice became an unexpected icon -- so recognizable that it was used in pop culture. Despite all that, there was a bittersweet side: Elwood didn't get residuals for the voice work -- those phrases were used millions of times a day, but he was paid once. Still, he seemed to carry it with humor and a sense of wonder: part of him always amazed that something so simple -- his voice saying 13 words recorded at home -- could touch so many.

Elwood Edwards passed away November 5, 2024, just one day shy of his 75th birthday.

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/11/08/elwood-edwards-dead-youve-got-mail

https://www.culturehoney.com/life-stories-elwood-edwards-lifetime-work-television-special-past

https://mabumbe.com/people/elwood-edwards-age-net-worth-biography-career-highlights

https://www.fastcompany.com/35450/hes-voice-net-generation

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2024-11-07/elwood-edwards-dead-voice-aol-youve-got-mail

https://www.vulture.com/article/elwood-edwards-dead-aol-youve-got-mail-voice.html

https://www.avclub.com/r-i-p-elwood-edwards-aols-youve-got-mail-voice