CLEVELAND — WKYC Studios has lost a dear friend. You may not know his name, but you certainly know his voice.
Elwood Edwards died Tuesday at the age of 74 following a long illness. He worked at 3News for many years as graphics guru, camera operator, and general jack-of-all-trades, yet it was a somewhat random opportunity in 1989 that earned him international fame.
That year, Elwood received $200 from the then-unknown America Online, merely because his wife worked at a predecessor company. He was asked to simply record four voiceover lines:
- "Welcome"
- "You've Got Mail"
- "Files done"
- "Goodbye"
Of course, the company better known as AOL blew up, and millions around the world would hear Elwood's voice telling them "You've Got Mail" every time they logged on to the internet.
Despite his face not being visible, Elwood still achieved minor celebrity status. In 2015, he even appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" to utter the famous greeting as well as other audience-suggested phrases.
Elwood passed away the day before he was set to turn 75 years old.
