With a deep, refined voice, Ted Williams simply asked for help to get off the streets. He’s been heard, thanks to social media.
Left homeless after his life and career were ruined by drugs and alcohol, Williams has been offered a job by the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and is being pursued by NFL Films for possible work. He and his compelling tale became an online sensation after The Columbus Dispatch posted a clip of Williams demonstrating his voiceover skills by the side of the road.
“This has been totally, totally amazing,” Williams said in a phone interview on Wednesday. “I’m just so thankful. God has blessed me so deeply. I’m getting a second chance. Amazing.”
Williams was contacted Wednesday by the Cavaliers, who offered him a position that could include announcing work at Quicken Loans Arena, the team’s downtown arena. Williams said the team has offered him a two-year contract and said they would pay his living expenses.
“I can’t believe what’s going on,” said Williams, a father of nine, adding he feels like Susan Boyle, the Scottish singing sensation who became an overnight star.
Cavaliers spokesman Tad Carper said exact details of the team’s offer and their plans to help Williams with housing were still being worked out.
An instant celebrity, Williams appeared Thursday on NBC’s Today. Sporting a new hair cut, Williams also announced Kraft has asked him to be the “official voice” of Macaroni and Cheese.
It’s been a whirlwind for the golden-voiced man, who was recently living in a tent and whose past includes a lengthy list of arrests. He has served time in prison for theft and forgery and has been cited with numerous misdemeanours, including drug abuse.
Williams initially was spotted by the Columbus newspaper standing near an exit ramp off Interstate 71. In a video interview that quickly became wildly popular, Williams–holding a cardboard sign that asked motorists for help and says, “I’m an ex-radio announcer who has fallen on hard times”–explained in his smooth, bottomless voice that he was drawn to radio at the age of 14.
