Smooth Talking Homeless Man Finds Fame

Smooth Talking Homeless Man Finds Fame

Share Comments
10:28am UK, Wednesday January 05, 2011
Carole Erskine, Sky News Online
A homeless man in the US has become an internet hit after using his "God-given gift of voice" to beg for money.


Ted Williams was spotted by a videographer in Columbus, Ohio and filmed delivering his smooth baritone for spare change.
The video of him giving voiceover lines has been viewed over 400,000 times and he is being chased to appear on several television chat shows.
In it he says he become obsessed with radio as a teenager after meeting a station announcer who looked nothing like his voice would suggest.
"He said to me: 'Radio is defined as theatre of mind'," Williams added.

"I can't be an actor, I can't be an on-air personality. The voice became something of a development."
Williams said he attended broadcasting school but problems with alcohol, drugs and "a few other things" ended his ambitions.
He now claims to have been sober for two years and begs for money with a sign saying: "I have a God-given gift of voice.
"I'm an ex-radio announcer who has fallen on hard times. Please! Any help will be greatly appreciated."
Local newspaper the Columbus Dispatch says Williams is wanted by WBNS-TV to narrate promotional spots during its first ever 'One Day To End Homelessness' telethon on Jan 31.

He has also received a $10,000 (£6,398) offer for voiceover work from the Ohio Credit Union League.
"We're on pins and needles," said Tony Florentino from local radio station WNCI.
"I think he really has no idea how big this is going to be."

malena stool wrote:McCann has asked him to work his way over to the UK to give Gerry some much needed elocution lessons and develop Gerry's boring style of public begging.

Ted has been on the air all morning in Dayton at WNCI 97.9. He is getting offers of voice jobs on Hollywood, NY, and on Inside Edition. The Cleveland Cavaliers have offered a job with them, at the arena, in voice work for companies they own, and Quicken offered a paid up mortgage on a home. Amazing

carmen wrote:Latest interview



He's had a haircut!!

carmen wrote:

malena stool wrote:McCann has asked him to work his way over to the UK to give Gerry some much needed elocution lessons and develop Gerry's boring style of public begging.

I don't think anyone can beat that Malena

It's been amazing - that youtube has only been up for 2 days - and had nearly 3 million views and over 12,000 comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTysXITBCmk&feature=player_embedded

carmen wrote:

carmen wrote:

malena stool wrote:McCann has asked him to work his way over to the UK to give Gerry some much needed elocution lessons and develop Gerry's boring style of public begging.

I don't think anyone can beat that Malena

It's been amazing - that youtube has only been up for 2 days - and had nearly 3 million views and over 12,000 comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTysXITBCmk&feature=player_embedded

Now, that youtube video has had 6,278,276 views

Meet the homeless man with the golden radio voice... and now he is set to make a million
By GAVIN ALLEN
Last updated at 8:24 AM on 6th January 2011


He's the penniless man with the golden voice... and now he's finally found the Midas touch.
For years, homeless Ted Williams has been forced to eke out a living begging on the roadside in Columbus, Ohio.
But now the recovering alcoholic is set to transform his life after a passing camera crew captured his priceless asset - his voice.

The unlikely star was today besieged with job offers after the recording of his impossibly smooth tones spread like wildfire across the web.

Some industry experts believe the chance encounter - and Mr Williams' incredible voice - could even make him a millionaire.

In a 90-second clip filmed by a cameraman from the Columbus Dispatch newspaper, former radio announcer Mr Williams is seen asking for help at a junction of I71 on Houston Street in Columbus.

He holds a hand-written sign that reads: 'I have a God given gift of voice. I'm an ex-radio announcer who has fallen on hard times. Please! Any help will be gratefully appreciated. Thank you and God bless you. Happy Holidays.'

Radio voice: Ted Williams has been inundated with offers of work after an internet video showed his talent



Plea: The sign with which Williams begs at the roadside

Videographer Doral Chenoweth III decided to shoot the clip 'on a whim' and can be heard telling Williams he will have to work for his dollar.

Mr Williams, dressed in a shabby camouflage jacket and with weather-beaten hair, obliges with a series of mellifluous radio voiceover style jingles delivered through crooked teeth, before chatting about his 'gift'.
'When I was 14 I listened to one of our local area radio announcers and I went on a field trip to meet the guy, and he looked nothing like what he sounded like,' said Williams, who was born in Brooklyn, New York.
'So I said to him about that and he said, "Listen, radio is defined as theatre of mind".

'So I said to myself "Hey, I can't be an actor or an on-air personality" but the voice just developed over the years.
'I went to school for it.

'And then alcohol and drugs and a few other things became part of my life.

'But I'm two years clean and I'm trying hard to get it back and hopefully, one of these TV or radio stations will say "Hey, I need a voiceover" or something. 'I love radio.' Chenowith's video gained popularity after a link to it was posted on microblogging site Twitter by sports radio station 1310 The Ticket Radio and it soon went viral.

Inundated: Williams has received offers of work from local and national U.S. TV and radio stations
Now Williams has received offers of work from the likes of MTV, NFL and ESPN.

'My boss said to me: "If you don't get him hired, you're fired",' said Kevin McLoughlin, director of post-production films for the National Football League.

'I can't make any guarantees, but I'd love to get him some work.'

The Cleveland Cavaliers are poised to offer Mr Williams a job as stadium announcer.

Club spokesman Tad Carper said details were being finalised to make Mr Williams an offer as soon as possible.
It is understood Mr Williams, a sporadic resident of a homeless camp behind an abandoned Hudson Street petrol station, had previously worked overnight shifts at WVKO (1580 AM), a former Columbus soul music station which now offers Catholic programming.

Ted Williams, 'scrubbed up well' for his interview with the CBS Early Show, has turned his life around after a videographer filmed him begging at the side of road Ken Andrews, a volunteer for Mount Carmel Outreach who knows Williams, said, 'He's a good guy. But we never knew he had "the voice".'

Williams has already appeared as a guest on local radio station WNCI (97.9 FM) and the station's director, Tony Florentino, said they have already fielded queries from ESPN and MTV.

'We're on pins and needles,' said Florentino.

'I think he really has no idea how big this is going to be.'

He has appeared for an interview for CBS News from the WNCI newsroom, appearing dapper and very cheerful, though becoming tearful when talking about heading to New York to visit his 92-year-old mother who hadn't seen 'for a while'.

Los Angeles agent Shane Cormier, whose clients have done voice-over work for Ford and Western Union, said Williams will need to find someone to help him navigate the offers ahead
'We could make him a millionaire,' said Cormier.

TV channel WBNS-TV wants Williams to provide narration for its first-ever One Day To End Homelessness telethon on January 31, said Frank Willson, director of operations.

A $10,000 offer for voice-over work for the Ohio Credit Union League was set to be presented to him on WNCI radio, where camera crews from NBC's Today show and other national networks were expected to be on hand.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1344328/Homeless-man-Ted-Williams-radio-star-set-make-million.html#ixzz1A9Nx5u8w

A Brooklyn-born panhandler whose "golden radio voice" made him an overnight Web sensation is ready for a triumphant return to the city and reunion with his 92-year-old mother.



Just two days ago, Ted Williams, 53, was a homeless recovering alcoholic, cadging coins from motorists in Columbus, Ohio, by treating them to sound bites of his buttery, baritone voice.

Then a local newspaper video of the one-time radio announcer's striking talent went viral, bringing a whirlwind of media attention and a pile of voice-over opportunities, including one to work for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In between sifting through job offers on Wednesday, a tearful Williams told CBS' "The Early Show" the best gift of his newfound fame was the chance to visit his mom, whom he hadn't seen in at least a decade.

"I apologize. I'm getting a little emotional. I haven't seen my mom in a great deal of time," said Williams, who was coming to the city to do an interview on the "Today" show on Thursday morning.

"One of my biggest prayers that I sent out was that she would live long enough for me to see me rebound or whatever, and I guess God kept her around and kept my pipes around to maybe just have one more shot," he said.

Williams' sudden fame also surprised his mother, Julia Williams. His ex-wife, Patricia Kirtley, told the Daily News she called his mom - who still lives in the East Flatbush apartment where she raised her kids - to explain her son's stunning reversal of fortune.

"She didn't believe it until I called her. She is so overwhelmed," said Kirtley, 58, who had five children with Williams. "I think she does not want him to mess it up. She said this is an opportunity and a second chance."

Julia Williams told WCBS Channel 2 News drugs "destroyed my whole family." When she sees her son, she has a simple message for him: "Please get God in your life and what's right."

Their reunion was delayed after Williams was turned away from a flight because he lacked proper identification, according to TMZ.


Williams' 92-year-old mother, Julia Williams, has not heard from her son in years

Kirtley met Williams when he was 18 - and even then he had dreams of becoming a radio personality.

"I was about to melt," she said of first hearing his voice. "He does have a God-given gift. He was always the entertainer. He always played music. He was like the deejay."



Williams in happier times with his former wife, Patricia Kirtley, and his daughters.

Kirtley said Williams had a promising radio career in the 1980s - first as an overnight deejay in Johnstown, Ohio, and later on a morning show in Columbus, where he nicknamed himself Teddy Bear.

Aside from his radio gigs, Williams would act as an emcee for entertainers who came through Columbus. Kirtley said her ex didn't handle fame well and got caught up with women, booze and drugs.

"He started messing up," she said. "He had a lot of groupies. I think it was a whole lot for him to try and handle that. A lot of things were going wrong in his life."

Williams' career and marriage collapsed. His addiction led to a string of arrests for forgery and theft, records show.

That all turned around when a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch found Williams begging for money with a sign saying he had a "God-given gift of a great voice." In the video, he does pitch-perfect station identifications.

Williams told the "Early Show" he hoped someone might spot his talents, but he never expected the outpouring of job offers and media attention.

"It's like almost winning the Mega Ball lottery or something. It's just phenomenal."

With Christian Red and Edgar Sandoval



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/01/06/2011-01-06_talks_way_out_of_gutter_velvetvoiced_bklyn_guy_gets_new_lease_on_life_as_net_sta.html#ixzz1AG2iCfJm

Job Offers For Homeless Man With Golden Voice

10:09pm UK, Thursday January 06, 2011
Andy Jack, Sky News Online

A homeless man with a 'God-given gift of voice' has been swamped with job offers after becoming an internet video hit.

Ted Williams was spotted by a reporter at a road junction in Columbus, Ohio, and filmed him delivering his smooth baritone for spare change.
"A few days ago I was on I71 Columbus, Ohio, and Hudson asking people for money and it's just outrageous how all this has come to be," he told US television.

"I thought God blessed in increments and he just gave me a big deluge of blessings. I feel like a million-dollar lottery winner or Susan Boyle - she must have felt the same way."

Williams has been offered possible announcing work by the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, and the is being pursued by NFL Films and others for possible work.


Williams reunited with his mother Julia

He has also received a $10,000 (£6,398) offer for voiceover work from the Ohio Credit Union League.

The 53-year-old, from Brooklyn, New York, has now been reunited with his 92-year-old mother whom he last saw 20 years ago.
"I'm thrilled my only child is turning his life around," Julia Williams said in a statement.
"This will be my day to see my son get up and do something to help himself.
"He has so much talent I hope this will be the thing for him. He came from a nice family. Then he went poor, poor.


Ted's tent near the road where he begged for cash

"So, hopefully, this will build him up and let him see there's more in life than hanging around with the wrong people and taking drugs."
The video of him giving voiceover lines has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.

In it he says he become obsessed with radio as a teenager.

Williams said he attended broadcasting school but problems with alcohol, drugs and "a few other things" ended his ambitions and he ended up living in a tent.

He says he has now been sober for two years.

What's Next for Ted "Golden Voice" Williams?
By: ZOE FOX
Topics: CLEVELAND CAVALIERS, GOLDEN VOICE, HOMELESS, KRAFT, MACARONI AND CHEESE, NATION, TED WILLIAMS, YOU TUBE


Internet sensation Ted Williams talks about his rise to success and reunites with his mother on "Good Morning America,"

The dream job with the Cleveland Cavaliers and new home were just the first steps for viral video sensation Ted Williams.
NewsFeed looks at what else the future holds for the man with the golden voice.
1. Family reunions: After The Today Show beat out The Early Show for the exclusive reunion, Williams rejoined his elderly mother for the first time in two decades. What's next? Williams left behind five children, who've given him 16 grandchildren. NewsFeed wonders which morning show will get the rights to that colossal reunion?
Watch Williams seeing his mother Julia again, after 20 years apart:



2. T.V. commercials: Williams recorded voice over Thursday for a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese commercial. In an all too timely coincidence, the ad will premiere Sunday during Kraft's Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco. What's next? Oprah Winfrey says she'd love to here Williams say "The Oprah Winfrey Network."
Watch Williams as the voice of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese:



3. Hollywood: Is the next step for the golden voice the silver screen? Williams told Entertainment Tonight that Jack Nicholson would like him to co-star in his upcoming film.
"Jack Nicholson had contacted one of my in-laws who happens to be in Columbus, Ohio," Williams said "They're supposed to be making a movie in which Jack is playing opposite a disc jockey, which he would like me to portray in the movie."
And once again, the video that launched Williams' budding career -- we can't get enough of it either:




Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/01/08/whats-next-for-ted-golden-voice-williams/#ixzz1ATt850d3