The well-recognized voice behind AOL's iconic 'You've Got Mail' notification passes away at the age of 74.
The well-recognized voice behind AOL's iconic 'You've Got Mail' notification passes away at the age of 74.
Gen Z, let's raise a glass. TMZ reports that Elwood Evans, the man behind AOL's legendary "You've Got Mail" audio notification, has passed away at the age of 74. His former workplace, WKYC-TV Studios in Cleveland, has confirmed his death due to an unspecified illness.
Elwood is believed to have spent many years at WKYC-TV in Ohio, operating cameras, working on graphics, and taking on various roles. In 1989, he was paid $200 to record four different lines for AOL, which was then a rising star in the dial-up internet and web portal world. These lines included "Welcome," "You've Got Mail," "Files Done," and "Goodbye." Sometimes, AOL would trigger the "You've Got Mail" message even when there was no new mail, sending hearts racing in the early days of adolescent romance.
In the '90s, AOL was a trailblazer in the online world, introducing many to new modes of communication such as instant messaging and chat rooms. Portals were all the rage at the time, with AOL, Prodigy, and CompuServe all offering a range of services, including email, for a fee.
AOL reached its peak in 2001 when it acquired Time Warner for $85.4 billion in what turned out to be the largest and most notorious merger in recent history. The companies hoped combining AOL's internet infrastructure with Time Warner's content would create an unstoppable force. However, the dot-com bubble burst, and AOL began losing subscribers to faster broadband internet while struggling to merge the contrasting cultures of the two companies. People were also turning away from portals and toward the open web due to Google. AOL's value dropped from $226 billion to just $20 billion in a short period. Through a series of ownership changes, AOL is now a minor division of Yahoo, which is itself owned by private equity firm Apollo.
This serves as a reminder of how major platform changes can impact companies unable to adapt. Some ponder whether AI might soon be Google's AOL moment.
Though AOL may now be relegated to the annals of history, Elwood's enduring "You've Got Mail" message lives on in the hearts and minds of many. He last appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in 2015. Now it's time for us to bid a fond "Goodbye" to Elwood himself.
The future of communication might have taken a different turn without Elwood's iconic "You've Got Mail" message, a testament to the profound impact of tech innovations like AOL's audio notifications. In the era of AI, some ponder if it could become the next 'tech' giant to face significant shifts, similar to what AOL experienced.