Biography of homeless man with radio voice

A US homeless man with a "golden voice" has been given a second chance after being discovered by a reporter in Ohio who put a video of him on YouTube.

A former radio announcer, Ted Williams, 53, had fallen on hard times, but - following an appearance on YouTube - has now got work doing voiceovers.

The video has attracted more than eight million hits so far, reports say.

Mr Williams has travelled to his home city of New York to visit his mother for the first time in 20 years.

"I feel like Susan Boyle. Or Justin Bieber," he told the Columbus Dispatch newspaper, who discovered him, on Wednesday.

"It's almost choking me."

Before being discovered, he was a beggar during the day, holding up a cardboard sign, and slept in a makeshift tent behind an abandoned petrol station at night.

Mr Williams, who has been homeless for 10 years, says he has been sober for two years following drug and alcohol addictions.

He says he began drinking and using drugs in the 1990s and lost interest in his radio career, before ending up on the streets and becoming estranged from his family and children.

He is now reported to have been offered full-time announcing work and living expenses by basketball team the Cleveland Cavaliers.

American media personality

For other people named Ted Williams, see Ted Williams (disambiguation).

Theodore Fred Williams (born September 22, 1957), also known as The Man with the Golden Voice, is an American announcer, radio personality, and voice-over artist.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Williams first gained minor fame in the early 1980s, as a late-night radio disc jockey on WVKO in Columbus, Ohio. After over a decade in radio, Williams was dismissed in 1994 for alcoholism and drug abuse, and he soon found himself homeless.

In January 2011, Williams received widespread media attention when an interview, filmed during a period when he was homeless, went viral after being posted to YouTube, and Williams subsequently received numerous job offers. For the first time in almost 20 years, Williams found himself steadily working. He co-authored A Golden Voice: How Faith, Hard Work, and Humility Brought Me from the Streets to Salvation with Bret Witter. He is the founder of the Ted Williams Project, a non-profit organization serving homeless shelters. He also has been on WATP Live, a podcast about podcasts.

Background

Ted Williams was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City. He served three years in the United States Army, was honorably discharged, and attended school for voice acting. His inspiration to become a radio announcer came from a field trip in 1971 at age fourteen, when he found that a radio announcer, whom he had heard, looked nothing like he had i

Video page URL

https://multimedia-english.com/videos/esl/homeless-man-with-golden-radio-voice-3104

Description

Ted Williams' journey from homelessness to becoming known as 'The Man with the Golden Voice' is an inspiration to many.

Ted Williams - full name Theodore Fred Williams - is a well-recognized, successful American announcer, radio personality and voice-over artist.

However, the 66-year-old's life hasn't always been as lustrous as it is now.

Williams grew up in Brooklyn, New York, having been adopted at three weeks old, as per Dallas' AMPS Magazine.

After being honourably discharged after three years serving in the US Army, Williams sought out a career in radio, becoming a late-night disc jockey for WVKO in Columbus, Ohio.

He told AMPS he was 'doing very well with [his] broadcasting career' in the early 1980s, had children, a family and 'life was good'.

However, in 1988 after smoking what he thought was marijuana - it turned out to contain 'crack-cocaine' - he became 'hooked'.

He bgean battling alcoholic and drug abuse, he was evicted from his house and his life spiralled further.

Williams explained his drug use 'separated' him from his family, job and home. He added: "I was embarrassed and I embarrassed my family. My voice was a gift from God and I was abusing it."

With his mental and physical health rapidly declining, Williams later found himself arrested on charges including drug possession, theft and robbery.

In 1990, he even served three months in prison for theft and in 2004, he was sent down for nearly two months for obstructing official business, theft and forgery.

However, when you've hit rock bottom, the only way to go is up - which Williams soon found after being interviewed by a Columbus Dispatch reporter while standing at an intersection in Columbus, Ohio in January 2011.

The recording of the interview w