It’s the end of an era – On November 5, the day before his 75th birthday, Elwood Edwards of America Online (AOL) posted “You’ve got mail!” Sława died of illness, according to his previous place of work, WKYC Studios on WTHR.
Although Elwood Edwards was best known for his AOL quotes, namely “You’ve Got Mail!”, “Files Ready”, “Goodbye”, and “Welcome”, he was also busy in radio and various newsrooms until his retirement, working on graphics, camera support and more. His compensation for his original partnership with AOL in 1989 was just $200. However, over the following decades, this voice role cemented his position in the collective consciousness, which led to subsequent appearances even on television shows such as The Simpsons.
After leaving his news job at news station WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2016, it seemed that Elwood Edwards would make a living from the occasional miniature business venture fueled by his former fame. This included selling personalized voice quotes on its website (a model now commonly mirrored by other voice actors on services like Cameo and Fiverr) and occasional commercial appearances or cameos. In 2016, a Twitter user even spotted him while working as an Uber driver.
His last two major on-screen appearances were in March 2015 “The Tonight Show” starring Jimmy Fallon, and in October 2022, just two years before his death, he promoted e-commerce platform Shopify in an advertisement. His Jimmy Fallon performance was overtly comic and included an audience member’s suggestion that Edwards say different things in his iconic “You’ve got mail!” inflection. Its animated The Simpsons In 2000, he appeared in an episode as a virtual doctor advising a patient: “You have leprosy”, constantly repeating his legendary line.
Before his death, Elwood Edwards was married twice and had two children with his first wife, Betsy Fulcher. He had no children with his second wife, Karen Adams, and they eventually divorced. Regardless, Elwood Edwards’ voice and talents are well known in his industry. He will certainly be missed by technology enthusiasts and journalists everywhere, especially those who were lucky enough to work with him at WKYC, as well as other radio and news stations.
