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Voice Coaches Radio – #662 -Giving Thanks and Thankful for the Giving
Voice coaches, radio, everything voiceover. Welcome to a brand new episode of voice coaches radio. My name is Marissa and here we are the week of Thanksgiving. Hopefully you are. Giving thanks and thankful for the giving of thanks that has been given to you. Uh, did I say that in a way that made sense?
Cause in my brain, my dyslexia just played so many tricks on me. I can't even, but I just wanted to try to say thanks and giving backwards and forwards and, uh, and I think I managed it. So I think, you know, maybe, maybe this voice acting thing, I'm cut out for it. I'm not. You know, verdict's still out 20 years in, but, but here we are, uh, which I just celebrated 20 years.
Uh, it was last Tuesday, last Tuesday. So, um, yeah, I'm officially old. That's how it works. Uh, you know, here we are. Uh, I'll just. Keep pushing along, uh, you know, this was in the news recently, and it was kind of devastating as somebody who, who grew up in the, the internet generation, like, I remember when there weren't computers everywhere, I remember, like, going to a friend's house as, you know, a middle schooler and being like, you guys have a computer, you must be rich, um, knowing that we couldn't afford one, and, you know, it's like stupid things, and you think about it now, it seems so ridiculous, but the man The myth, the legend, the guy behind the AOL phrase, you've got mail.
That is Elwood Edwards. And he has been in the news recently because we just lost him. Um, he had complications from a stroke and he passed away in his home in North Carolina on November 5th. And that was just one day before his 75th birthday. May he rest in peace. But, uh, you know, this man, I mean, he is, he's a legend, right?
Any millennial, or anybody that was in the beginning, you know, 15, 20 years of internet use, AOL was like the king, right? I mean, it was. Everybody had it. AIM, Instant Messenger, remember? You know, the little, the door would open, or somebody would leave. We put up all those like really cryptic away messages. We were, we were quite the people back in the late 90s, early 2000s.
But, you know, that being said, almost everybody at some point, not me, because I could, I couldn't afford a computer for a while, uh, you know, almost everybody had an AOL, like, email, um, you know, and that means so many people got to hear the, the phrase, you've got mail. Uh, and, you know, Elwood Edwards is the man that is behind that voice.
And he was a very prominent Like, voice actor, but, you know, learning more about him, I'm like, well, man, uh, he kind of got started like I did, uh, now I wanted to give you a little history because I feel like, you know, this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for this man, uh, he just like voiced a generation, he, he sparked movies and he was a part of, you know, different animated shows and, uh, so many things over the years that it's very necessary to put a little spotlight on him.
But, um, Elwood Edwards got started in radio. And while he was in high school back in 1964, from there he ended up going on TV as a live announcer, but, you know, he mainly really wanted to focus on off camera work. He didn't really want He didn't want people to really know who he was. In fact, nobody knew that he was the AOL guy until, like, the last I don't know, 10 years or so, I think.
Um, so, he ended up, uh, going from the off camera, uh, work to, to back in radio, and oddly enough, you know, I'm on a radio station in Canton, Ohio, which is not far from Cleveland, and he worked at WKYC, which is in Cleveland, until his retirement in 2016. So, You know, he's been somebody that was very prominent in all this stuff, um, and, and just a very, you know, impactful kind of voice for so many, for an entire generation.
Uh, to go back to His, his time voicing for AOL, this, you've probably heard the horror stories of Suri or, or Alexa and how these people, they really didn't know what they were getting themselves into, right? Like, uh, you know, it's like, here, voice this, we'll pay you this, not knowing it's gonna be on everybody's device or everybody's, well, I mean, it is literally called an Alexa, so I, you know, it's like, uh, had they worked that hard, You know, work around there, but whatever.
So, for Elwood Edwards in AOL, they didn't really know that this internet thing was going to take off. Uh, so, you know, he's approached by, um, somebody that his wife worked with for the online service, Qlink. They kind of overheard them describing what they wanted, and, and a voice for its, like, user interface, and uh, Edwards was, he was recommended for the job.
Get this. He was paid 200, 200 to record his lines, which was you've got pictures, you've got voicemail, you've got mail, files done, and goodbye, um, and he did all the recording himself. Look at that home recording way back in 1989 and he did it on a cassette deck and right there in his living room he did all of that so what you heard for decades was literally done in this man's living room and he made a whopping 200 bucks and you know what at the time he was probably like Man, that's pretty cool, you know, cause it's like, listen, I know what it's like working in radio.
You're typically just like throwing something, like, here, dance monkey, do this, and you just do it cause it's part of your job, and you know, this was something that was extra for him. And he's like, 200 bucks? That's crazy. That's a lot of money. I mean, in today's money, when, when you do the math here, um, you know, what I've found on, on the internet, uh, you know, in 2023, it was the equivalent of 492 today.
What? 500 bucks? I don't know. Um, so it's a nice chunk of change. You know, if you all of a sudden had that extra 500 bucks, you'd be like, Oh man, uh, you know, I, I feel rich. Uh, you know, but, uh, you know, looking at what What that audio then did for him, and again, an entire generation, super crazy to, to see how it just took off.
Um, from there, I mean, there's the famous Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks movie, You've Got Mail. Uh, you know, his voice was utilized in the trailer, I'm sure it was used in the movie, uh, you know, unless they couldn't get the rights for it for that. But if you get rights for one, you probably get rights for the other, I don't know.
Did he get paid for that? Probably not. You know, it's like, oh, well, we already have it. We're just gonna send it out. AOL probably got paid, uh, but whatever. Um, I guess he was utilized in an episode of The Simpsons. He was on an episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He voiced a whole bunch of silly stuff, I guess.
Um, what else was he on? In October of 2022, he was in an e commerce commercial for Spotify. And That is where he kind of popped up and he was like, You've got sales. Uh, and it was for, you know, the new seller platform that was, uh, debuting then. And, uh, it's just unfortunate when we have to say goodbye. And, uh, at a rather young age in 2024, right?
75th birthday was about to be celebrated. So, uh, at least he's leaving behind quite the imprints, uh, for, again, a complete generation. And, uh, those that look back at our history and they look back at the 90s and think, man, I wish I could have lived then. Yeah, you should, because it was a much better, calmer time.
And we didn't know what the internet was going to do to us then. Uh, we were just excited about it. So we, you know. looked at banned websites and made stupid fan sites on AltaVista and we, we again, cryptic messages on AOL for away messages. I don't know why we did that, but we did. Um, we've been very filled with drama for years.
We just, we're just at like a big high for it now. Uh, so hopefully you are getting to have some much needed time with some family, some friends. Um, hopefully nothing political has been brought to the Thanksgiving table. Uh, you're diving on into black Friday, shopping and into the holiday season and you're just ready to embrace all that it offers, you know, and you know, embrace the good part of it and not the stressful part.
Cause I feel like it's been a very stressful 2024 for many, many, many people, including myself. So, uh, you know, here's to, uh, you know, a great Thanksgiving weekend and we'll have a brand new episode coming at you next week. Stay safe, everybody. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
Cause in my brain, my dyslexia just played so many tricks on me. I can't even, but I just wanted to try to say thanks and giving backwards and forwards and, uh, and I think I managed it. So I think, you know, maybe, maybe this voice acting thing, I'm cut out for it. I'm not. You know, verdict's still out 20 years in, but, but here we are, uh, which I just celebrated 20 years.
Uh, it was last Tuesday, last Tuesday. So, um, yeah, I'm officially old. That's how it works. Uh, you know, here we are. Uh, I'll just. Keep pushing along, uh, you know, this was in the news recently, and it was kind of devastating as somebody who, who grew up in the, the internet generation, like, I remember when there weren't computers everywhere, I remember, like, going to a friend's house as, you know, a middle schooler and being like, you guys have a computer, you must be rich, um, knowing that we couldn't afford one, and, you know, it's like stupid things, and you think about it now, it seems so ridiculous, but the man The myth, the legend, the guy behind the AOL phrase, you've got mail.
That is Elwood Edwards. And he has been in the news recently because we just lost him. Um, he had complications from a stroke and he passed away in his home in North Carolina on November 5th. And that was just one day before his 75th birthday. May he rest in peace. But, uh, you know, this man, I mean, he is, he's a legend, right?
Any millennial, or anybody that was in the beginning, you know, 15, 20 years of internet use, AOL was like the king, right? I mean, it was. Everybody had it. AIM, Instant Messenger, remember? You know, the little, the door would open, or somebody would leave. We put up all those like really cryptic away messages. We were, we were quite the people back in the late 90s, early 2000s.
But, you know, that being said, almost everybody at some point, not me, because I could, I couldn't afford a computer for a while, uh, you know, almost everybody had an AOL, like, email, um, you know, and that means so many people got to hear the, the phrase, you've got mail. Uh, and, you know, Elwood Edwards is the man that is behind that voice.
And he was a very prominent Like, voice actor, but, you know, learning more about him, I'm like, well, man, uh, he kind of got started like I did, uh, now I wanted to give you a little history because I feel like, you know, this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for this man, uh, he just like voiced a generation, he, he sparked movies and he was a part of, you know, different animated shows and, uh, so many things over the years that it's very necessary to put a little spotlight on him.
But, um, Elwood Edwards got started in radio. And while he was in high school back in 1964, from there he ended up going on TV as a live announcer, but, you know, he mainly really wanted to focus on off camera work. He didn't really want He didn't want people to really know who he was. In fact, nobody knew that he was the AOL guy until, like, the last I don't know, 10 years or so, I think.
Um, so, he ended up, uh, going from the off camera, uh, work to, to back in radio, and oddly enough, you know, I'm on a radio station in Canton, Ohio, which is not far from Cleveland, and he worked at WKYC, which is in Cleveland, until his retirement in 2016. So, You know, he's been somebody that was very prominent in all this stuff, um, and, and just a very, you know, impactful kind of voice for so many, for an entire generation.
Uh, to go back to His, his time voicing for AOL, this, you've probably heard the horror stories of Suri or, or Alexa and how these people, they really didn't know what they were getting themselves into, right? Like, uh, you know, it's like, here, voice this, we'll pay you this, not knowing it's gonna be on everybody's device or everybody's, well, I mean, it is literally called an Alexa, so I, you know, it's like, uh, had they worked that hard, You know, work around there, but whatever.
So, for Elwood Edwards in AOL, they didn't really know that this internet thing was going to take off. Uh, so, you know, he's approached by, um, somebody that his wife worked with for the online service, Qlink. They kind of overheard them describing what they wanted, and, and a voice for its, like, user interface, and uh, Edwards was, he was recommended for the job.
Get this. He was paid 200, 200 to record his lines, which was you've got pictures, you've got voicemail, you've got mail, files done, and goodbye, um, and he did all the recording himself. Look at that home recording way back in 1989 and he did it on a cassette deck and right there in his living room he did all of that so what you heard for decades was literally done in this man's living room and he made a whopping 200 bucks and you know what at the time he was probably like Man, that's pretty cool, you know, cause it's like, listen, I know what it's like working in radio.
You're typically just like throwing something, like, here, dance monkey, do this, and you just do it cause it's part of your job, and you know, this was something that was extra for him. And he's like, 200 bucks? That's crazy. That's a lot of money. I mean, in today's money, when, when you do the math here, um, you know, what I've found on, on the internet, uh, you know, in 2023, it was the equivalent of 492 today.
What? 500 bucks? I don't know. Um, so it's a nice chunk of change. You know, if you all of a sudden had that extra 500 bucks, you'd be like, Oh man, uh, you know, I, I feel rich. Uh, you know, but, uh, you know, looking at what What that audio then did for him, and again, an entire generation, super crazy to, to see how it just took off.
Um, from there, I mean, there's the famous Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks movie, You've Got Mail. Uh, you know, his voice was utilized in the trailer, I'm sure it was used in the movie, uh, you know, unless they couldn't get the rights for it for that. But if you get rights for one, you probably get rights for the other, I don't know.
Did he get paid for that? Probably not. You know, it's like, oh, well, we already have it. We're just gonna send it out. AOL probably got paid, uh, but whatever. Um, I guess he was utilized in an episode of The Simpsons. He was on an episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He voiced a whole bunch of silly stuff, I guess.
Um, what else was he on? In October of 2022, he was in an e commerce commercial for Spotify. And That is where he kind of popped up and he was like, You've got sales. Uh, and it was for, you know, the new seller platform that was, uh, debuting then. And, uh, it's just unfortunate when we have to say goodbye. And, uh, at a rather young age in 2024, right?
75th birthday was about to be celebrated. So, uh, at least he's leaving behind quite the imprints, uh, for, again, a complete generation. And, uh, those that look back at our history and they look back at the 90s and think, man, I wish I could have lived then. Yeah, you should, because it was a much better, calmer time.
And we didn't know what the internet was going to do to us then. Uh, we were just excited about it. So we, you know. looked at banned websites and made stupid fan sites on AltaVista and we, we again, cryptic messages on AOL for away messages. I don't know why we did that, but we did. Um, we've been very filled with drama for years.
We just, we're just at like a big high for it now. Uh, so hopefully you are getting to have some much needed time with some family, some friends. Um, hopefully nothing political has been brought to the Thanksgiving table. Uh, you're diving on into black Friday, shopping and into the holiday season and you're just ready to embrace all that it offers, you know, and you know, embrace the good part of it and not the stressful part.
Cause I feel like it's been a very stressful 2024 for many, many, many people, including myself. So, uh, you know, here's to, uh, you know, a great Thanksgiving weekend and we'll have a brand new episode coming at you next week. Stay safe, everybody. Visit voicecoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
This Week on Voice Coaches Radio, Marissa celebrates 20 years in the biz and the life and career of the AOL “You’ve Got Mail” guy, voice actor, Elwood Edwards.
