RIP Elwood Edwards, the voice behind AOL's iconic "You've Got Mail" message, died on November 5 after a long illness. He was 74 years old. The news was shared by local Ohio news station WKYC, where Edwards worked for many years as graphics and camera operator before retiring in 2014.
The famous message was recorded in 1989 and went on to become one of the most recognizable soundbites in the early days of the internet. Edwards recorded several more messages for AOL, including "Welcome," "Files done," and "Goodbye." He was reportedly
paid $200 for the recordings.
Despite his extensive credentials, the phrase that would ensure Edwards' place in the annals of internet history was "You've Got Mail," which became synonymous with emails during the heyday of AOL. It became a pop culture phenomenon in the nineties and the title of a hit 1998 romantic comedy film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
