(dial tone)
(dialing)
(upbeat music) - You've got ... you've got ..
You've got mail!
You've got ... you've got ...
You've got mail!
Goodbye!
- To all of you who thought AOL was voiced by a computer,
now let's set the record straight.
I recorded those phrases.
Welcome (dinging).
You've got mail (dinging).
File's done (dinging)
Goodbye (beeping)
My name is Elwood Edwards
And I'm the voice of You've Got Mail.
In 1989, my wife was a customer service rep
for the company that was about to become American Online.
She heard Steve Case talking to some of the programmers
about how fun it would be to add a voice to the software.
I'd been an announcer throughout
my entire broadcasting career
and she volunteered me.
I scribbled those phrases on a piece of paper
and, like I say on the cassette deck, I recorded
the welcome, you've got mail, files done, goodbye.
(dinging)
It started off as a test just to see if it would catch on
and, lo and behold, in the mid-90's it had really caught on
and at one point they said my voice was heard
more than 35 million times a day.
(dialing) But the problem was,
I was typecast.
The one thing I did do was a voice for The Simpsons.
- You've got leprosy.
- [Both] Leprosy!
- Goodbye.
- Being associated with AOL has been gratifying.
Even today, you go on AOL.com.
I greet you.
I greet myself (laughs).
(relaxing music)