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Elwood Edwards, the voice behind AOL's famous 'You've got mail' alert, has died at 74

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Some of the greatest and most enduring quotes of all time are just three words long. Think Shakespeare's et tu, Brute? Or Nike's just do it.

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

And, of course, who could forget...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ELWOOD EDWARDS: (As AOL email voice) You've got mail.

SUMMERS: It is difficult to imagine in an era of smartwatches and push alerts, but for '90s kids like me, those three words - they held incredible power.

SHAPIRO: As we waited for the dial-up internet tone to gurgle and spin...

(SOUNDBITE OF DIAL-UP INTERNET TONE)

SHAPIRO: ...Those three little words...

EDWARDS: (As AOL email voice) You've got mail.

SHAPIRO: ...Meant that a note from a friend, a distant relative, a boyfriend or a girlfriend, was now being delivered electronically, by way of the nascent America Online email service.

SUMMERS: Well, the man who uttered those words, Elwood Edwards, died this week at his home in North Carolina. He was 74.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

EDWARDS: Hi. I'm Elwood Edwards.

SUMMERS: In 2012, Edwards recorded a video about the origins of his now famous catchphrase.

SHAPIRO: His wife, who worked at Quantum Computing Services, which later became AOL, overheard executives talking about needing a voice for one of its products.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

EDWARDS: So she volunteered my voice, and on a cassette deck in my living room, I recorded the phrases that you've come to know - Welcome. You've got mail. File's done. Goodbye - and what started off as a test has continued to this day.

SUMMERS: It was 1989, and Edwards was paid 200 bucks for the recording, which at one point he estimated was heard more than 35 million times a day.

SHAPIRO: Fortunately, Edwards had other means of income. He had a long career that spanned AM r44adio, local news and commercial voiceover work.

SUMMERS: But his era-defining mantra took on a life of its own, with Edwards and the phrase, you've got mail, popping up everywhere, from "The Simpsons"...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE SIMPSONS")

EDWARDS: (As Virtual Doctor) Welcome to Virtual Doctor.

YEARDLEY SMITH: (As Lisa Simpson) Crusty sores?

DAN CASTELLANETA: (As Homer Simpson) Yes.

SMITH: (As Lisa Simpson) Horrible wailing?

CASTELLANETA: (As Homer Simpson) Yes. Yes.

SMITH: (As Lisa Simpson) Any exposure to unsanitary conditions?

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: (As Bart Simpson) Duh, we're pigs.

SMITH: (As Lisa Simpson) OK, and diagnose.

EDWARDS: (As Virtual Doctor) You've got leprosy.

DAN CASTELLANETA AND NANCY CARTWRIGHT: (As Homer Simpson and Bart Simpson) Leprosy?

SUMMERS: He also popped up on "The Tonight Show."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE TONIGHT SHOW")

JIMMY FALLON: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the actual guy who recorded the you've got mail sound for AOL. Elwood Edwards, everybody.

(CHEERING)

EDWARDS: Welcome. You've got mail.

(CHEERING)

SHAPIRO: And, of course, that famous phrase reunited Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, lending both plot point and title to a 1998 rom-com.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "YOU'VE GOT MAIL")

MEG RYAN: (As Kathleen Kelly) I turn on my computer...

(SOUNDBITE OF ELECTRONIC BEEPING)

RYAN: (As Kathleen Kelly) ...I go online...

EDWARDS: (As AOL email voice) Welcome.

RYAN: (As Kathleen Kelly) ...And my breath catches in my chest until I hear three little words.

EDWARDS: (As AOL email voice) You've got mail.

RYAN: (As Kathleen Kelly) You've got mail.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PLEASE MR. POSTMAN")

THE MARVELETTES: (Singing) Oh, yes, wait a minute, Mr. Postman.

SUMMERS: So to Elwood Edwards, whose voice has spanned generations, we've got three more words for you, rest in peace.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PLEASE MR. POSTMAN")

THE MARVELETTES: (Singing) Oh, yeah. Is there a letter in your bag for me? Please, please, Mr. Postman. I've been waiting such a long time. Oh, yeah. Since I heard from this boyfriend of mine. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

John Ketchum