Man with velvet voice gets 2nd chance

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

From the streets to the studios.

Ted Williams, whose deep, velvety radio voice and touching story prompted an outpouring of sympathy and job offers from across the country, has become an overnight sensation.

He’s America’s hottest — and most improbable — star.

On Thursday, Williams, who was living in a tent near a highway in Columbus just days ago, was in New York for an emotional reunion with his 90-year-old mother, media appearances, and to do some commercial voiceover work. On NBC’s “Today” show, he described his previous 48 hours as “outrageous.”

“There’s no way in the world that I could have ever imagined that I would be — I mean, just have all of this just all of a sudden come into this portion of my life,” he said during a live interview in the program’s studio.

Left homeless after his life and radio career were ruined by drugs and alcohol, Williams has been offered a job by the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, and the 53-year-old is being pursued by NFL Films and others for possible work. Williams and his compelling tale became an online sensation after The Columbus Dispatch posted a clip of him demonstrating his voiceover skills while begging by the side of the road.

Now, he’s in demand.

“I don’t know which one to choose, which one is the right one,” he said on “Today,” regarding the job prospects. But he said he was ready to handle the second chance he was being given and predicted that in five years, he’d be working as a radio program director and living in his own apartment.

Williams was contacted Wednesday by the Cavaliers, who have offered him a position that could include announcing work at Quicken Loans Arena. Williams said the team has offered him a two-year contract and said they would pay his living expenses.

It’s been a shocking turn of events for the golden-voiced man, who had gotten by living in shelters and occasionally with family and friends over the past few years. His past includes a lengthy list of arrests. He has served time in prison for theft and forgery and has been cited with numerous misdemeanors.

Williams said during the “Today” show appearance that he turned to crime to pay for his drug habits.