Elwood Edwards, who voiced America On-line’s ever-present “You’ve acquired mail” greeting, has died. He was 74.
He died Tuesday at his house in New Bern, North Carolina, mentioned his daughter Heather Edwards. The trigger was problems from a stroke late final 12 months, she mentioned.
Edwards taped his AOL greeting in 1989 right into a recorder whereas sitting in the lounge of his house. “You’ve acquired mail” turned a popular culture catchphrase within the late Nineties and served because the title of the 1998 Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan movie.
“He would nonetheless blush anytime somebody introduced it up,” his daughter mentioned. “He liked the eye, however he by no means acquired used it.”
He was additionally the voice of AOL’s “Welcome,” “Goodbye” and “File’s performed” messages. He made $200 from the recordings.
He acquired the gig whereas working at an unbiased TV station in Washington, D.C. His second spouse, Karen, was a customer support consultant for the web supplier that later turned often called AOL. She heard the corporate was in search of somebody to be the voice of its software program and recommended her husband.
“They had been so impressed, they didn’t have him go in a recording sales space,” his daughter mentioned.
Whereas few individuals knew his face, his voice was heard by hundreds of thousands of individuals every day.
“For some time, America On-line was protecting it a secret, making me a person of thriller. However lastly it was launched, and there you go,” Edwards mentioned in 1999.
He did seem on “The Tonight Present Starring Jimmy Fallon” in 2015 to repeat the well-known catchphrase, smiling broadly and chuckling because the studio viewers cheered. He additionally added his voice to an episode of “The Simpsons” in 2000.
Edwards first labored in radio after which moved into tv. He had a quick stint as a weatherman and labored as an announcer, however largely he spent his time behind the digicam, Heather Edwards mentioned.
“He would say, ‘I’ve a face for radio,’” she mentioned, including that her dad “all the time had a prepared smile anytime you’d see him.”
He later labored at WKYC-TV in Cleveland as a “graphics guru, digicam operator, and common jack-of-all-trades,” the station mentioned. Edwards additionally did freelance voice-over work for radio and tv commercials.
Survivors embrace one other daughter, Sallie Edwards; granddaughter Abbie Edwards; and a brother, Invoice.
The household plans to carry a memorial service Monday in New Bern.
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