A woman was rewarded for talking to strangers over the weekend with a blast from the past after she discovered her Uber driver was one of the first people made famous by the Internet. Brandee Barker was on her way back to Clinton's campaign headquarters in Shaker Heights, Ohio, after spending her Sunday canvasing in an Uber. On the way her Uber driver, a man named Elwood Edwards, told Barker he was the voice of one of the first popular electronic mail services and was the actor behind the iconic phrase 'You've got mail." Yes, the voice that sent Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks spinning into a modern online love affair is driving an Uber in Ohio. Naturally, Barker was stunned.
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"I completely geek freaked and asked if he would do the video," Barker told CNN.
Barker recorded Edwards saying the greeting that greeted millions of AOL users every time they opened their electronic mail and posted the footage to Twitter, causing a wave of nostalgia. Sure, YouTube star PewDiePie has millions of followers and rakes in cash from his YouTube channel, but he'll never be a cultural icon like Edwards and his cheerful alert. Edwards also recorded classic sound bites such as 'File's Done' and 'Goodbye'. Edwards, a long time voice actor, snagged the "You've Got Mail" gig through his wife who worked for Quantum Computer Services, which would later become AOL. He was paid $200 for his voice work. Edwards recently retired from his job as a news editor at a TV station in Cleveland and now spends his time driving for Uber.
His famous voice still gets attention from time to time. Last year he was reading phrases for Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. Fallon took his own spin as an Uber driver in a 2014 segment for the show. He's not the only star to rent out his ride for laughs. Jay Leno disguised himself as an Uber driver named Rocco last year to promote Jay Leno's Garage.
(Note: Autoblog is owned by AOL)
OMG OMG my @Uber driver in Ohio was the You've Got Mail voice Elwood Edwards!!! I made him say it in this video #GOTVforHRC pic.twitter.com/Jgcl7v040D
— Brandee Barker (@brandee) November 5, 2016
Barker recorded Edwards saying the greeting that greeted millions of AOL users every time they opened their electronic mail and posted the footage to Twitter, causing a wave of nostalgia. Sure, YouTube star PewDiePie has millions of followers and rakes in cash from his YouTube channel, but he'll never be a cultural icon like Edwards and his cheerful alert. Edwards also recorded classic sound bites such as 'File's Done' and 'Goodbye'. Edwards, a long time voice actor, snagged the "You've Got Mail" gig through his wife who worked for Quantum Computer Services, which would later become AOL. He was paid $200 for his voice work. Edwards recently retired from his job as a news editor at a TV station in Cleveland and now spends his time driving for Uber.
His famous voice still gets attention from time to time. Last year he was reading phrases for Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. Fallon took his own spin as an Uber driver in a 2014 segment for the show. He's not the only star to rent out his ride for laughs. Jay Leno disguised himself as an Uber driver named Rocco last year to promote Jay Leno's Garage.
(Note: Autoblog is owned by AOL)
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