Elwood Edwards dead at 74: He was best known as the voice of AOL’s ‘You’ve Got Mail’

Former ABC News Radio correspondent Lynda J. Moore paid tribute to Elwood Edwards on Instagram and wrote: “Remember the words on AOL, ‘You’ve Got Mail’? It was the voice of Elwood Edwards. He made $200 for those 3 words. Edwards died at home in New Bern, North Carolina from complications of a stroke. It was November 5th, a day before his 75th birthday.”

In May of this year, the Instagram account 90s movies clips shared a clip of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in the movie You’ve Got Mail which came out in 1998 and wrote: “Film Fact: This move wa originally titled You Have Mail and was only changed because a consultant hired by Warner Bros, discovered AOL hadn’t yet trademarked ‘You've Got Mail,’ the infamous greeting by Elwood Edwards form 1989. (Elwood’s agent even tried to get him a voice credit in the movie… which was quickly denied.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that “Thirty years ago, Edwards’ wife, Karen, was working as a customer service representative at Quantum Computer Services, AOL’s predecessor company, when she overheard then-chief executive Steve Case say he needed a voiceover actor for a new project.”

He was hired for the role and the Los Angeles Times also wrote that “Within a month, AOL was mailing CDs to millions of people nationwide, each containing upgraded software and a message from Elwood Edwards — who was paid a mere $200 for the homemade recordings.”

ABC World News  Tonight paid tribute to Elwood Edwards and said: “We learned today that Elwood Edwards has died after a long illness and described him as the ‘unmistakable voice of the internet.’ They also said: “He died one day before his 75th birthday.”