Elwood Edwards
Elwood Edwards | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 6, 1949 |
| Known for | Voice talent for AOL |
Elwood Edwards (born November 6, 1949) is an American voice actor. He is best known as the voice of the Internet service provider America Online, which he first recorded in 1989.[1][2]
He started in radio while in high school. After high school he continued into television, working as a live booth announcer. Despite some on-air work, doing a car commercial, reporting news or sports and a short stint as a weatherman (once proclaiming to New Bern, North Carolina, that "You've got hail."), Edwards focused mainly on off-camera work.
In 1989, Edwards' wife overheard online service Q-Link CEO Steve Case describe how he wanted to add a voice to its user interface.[1] In October, Edwards' voice premiered on AOL's new program. His greetings include "Welcome", "You've got mail", "You've got pictures", "You've got voicemail", "File's done", and "Goodbye", all recorded in his own living room on a cassette deck.[3] The voice is only heard in the American version of the software. In the UK version, a female voice (British actress Joanna Lumley) is heard replacing "Welcome" with "Welcome to AOL" and "You've got mail" with "You have e-mail" Also, "File's done" is replaced with "Your files have been transferred".
His voice has also appeared in a 2000 episode of The Simpsons, "Little Big Mom" (where he provided the voice of a virtual doctor, saying "You've got leprosy"), and in advertising for the movie You've Got Mail.
Semi-retired, he used to sell personalized .wav files through his website.[4]
On the March 4, 2015, episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Edwards appeared on screen to read humorous phrases.[5] As of November 2016, Edwards was seen on Instagram and YouTube working as an Uber driver.[6][7] On September 16, 2019, Edwards and his AOL story were featured on the podcast Twenty Thousand Hertz in an episode entitled "You've Got Mail".[8][9][10]
Other jobs[]
- News graphics supervisor, WKYC-TV[11]
- General manager, KVVV
- Operations manager, WAKC-TV
- Operations supervisor/senior director, WFTY-TV
- Production manager/senior director, WCTI-TV
- Senior director, WITN-TV
- Announcer/director, WNBE-TV
- Announcer/DJ, WHIT-AM
- Uber driver[12]
References[]
- ^ a b Sittenfeld, Curtis (September 30, 1998). "He's the Voice of the Net Generation". Fast Company. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
- ^ "Where Are They Now? Elwood Edwards". Cleveland Magazine. December 2009.
- ^ Kim, Eun Kyung. "'You've got mail' guy: I recorded phrase on a cassette in my living". Today. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
- ^ "Home page of El Edwards, the Voice of "You've got mail"". 2007. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008.
- ^ "Watch The 'You've Got Mail' Guy Read Ridiculous One-Liners on 'Fallon'". Above Average. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
- ^ Trant23 (November 7, 2016), AOL Youve Got Mail Guy Is Now An Uber Driver In Ohio, archived from the original on November 8, 2016, retrieved November 8, 2016
- ^ Bruner, Raisa (November 8, 2016). "This Woman Got an Uber Ride from the Voice Behind AOL's Iconic 'You've Got Mail' Message". Time. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
- ^ "You've Got Mail".
- ^ "Twenty Thousand Hertz - You've Got Mail! On Stitcher".
- ^ "Twenty Thousand Hertz on Apple Podcasts".
- ^ Haidet, Ryan C. (March 27, 2014). "Meet the local voice of AOL's 'You've Got Mail'". WKYC. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
- ^ "Brandee Barker on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
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- Living people
- 1949 births
- AOL people
- American male voice actors
- People from New Bern, North Carolina
- Male actors from North Carolina
- 20th-century American male actors
- People from Orrville, Ohio
- American voice actor, 1940s birth stubs