AOL (America Online), an American internet company, provided email services in the 90s and 2000s. When users received new emails, they would hear the signature greeting "You've got mail!" The original voice behind this greeting, Elwood Edwards, passed away at the age of 74.
Reports indicate that Elwood Edwards died the day before his 75th birthday.
The origin of recording the signature greeting "You've got mail!" began when Elwood Edwards' wife, Karen Edwards, was working at AOL when it was still known as Quantum Computer Services. She learned that the company was planning to record audio for its email service and recommended Elwood Edwards for the role. She recorded the now-familiar "You've got mail!" phrase on a tape recorder in her living room.
"You've got mail!" later evolved into an internet slang of the time, and also became an important representative cultural element of the internet at that time. It even became the inspiration for the classic film "You've Got Mail" directed by director Nora Ephron and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
In addition to "You've got mail!", Elwood Edwards actually also recorded service playback phrases including "Welcome", "File's done", and "Goodbye", but "You've got mail!" is still the most impressive, and Elwood Edwards actually received a total of US$200 for recording the dubbing.
