He's now known on the Web as the man with the golden voice. But before that, he was known as a guy standing on the side of the road with a sign - just like many other homeless people.
The man with the golden voice, Ted Williams, is an internet sensation. And apparently, his fame may have landed him a pretty good gig: CNN affiliate WEWS reported that the Cleveland Cavaliers have offered Williams a job and a house.
Williams' story is the epitome of how dreams can come true in the internet age. And practically overnight.
His story was first reported in the Columbus Dispatch; a photographer drove up to Williams on the side of the road and videotaped him as he held a sign that said in part, "I have a God given gift of voice." The photographer wanted him to prove it to earn some cash, and boy, did Williams deliver. He rattled off, in a James Earl Jones-esque voice, what seemed like a perfect radio station tease.
The story exploded from there. From all over the internet, including on the message board Reddit, people began tracking his whereabouts and trying to offer him jobs. That led to radio interviews and even an interview with CBS's "Early Show" today.
Oh, and did we mention that the video of him speaking for the Dispatch reporter has gotten (as we write this) more than 4.5 million hits in just two days? It's also the top viral video, according to ViralVideoChart.com, which tracks the rate of shares and clicks on videos.
Call him the radio-voice version of Susan Boyle.
Frumpy British singer Boyle "dreamed a dream" on a TV talent show and sold millions of records, proving that sometimes the most sensational voices come from the places you least expect. And then again, perhaps we jump to conclusions when we form impressions about people.
"Hand on heart, we didn't know what was coming at all," CNN's Piers Morgan, who was a judge on "Britain's Got Talent," recently said of Boyle."We were like 'Oh, my God, this is going to be a total train wreck.' We were all laughing and mocking.
"The moment she sang, you see our faces frozen into two kinds of horror," he added. "One, that we didn't recognize her talent, and two, that we now know there's going to be a YouTube clip for the rest of our lives of us mocking this amazing woman. ... So whenever I have someone coming on who is not your standard-looking pop star, I sit there resolutely, just in case."
Indeed, Morgan is applying that lesson with Williams, tweeting earlier, "Greatest unheard radio voice ever: http://bit.ly/hkeanN If you know this guy pls tell him to enter 'America's Got Talent'."
Now, Williams is experiencing a similar whirlwind tour.
Although he didn't have Boyle's TV platform, or a similar show that shot a Taiwanese boy to fame for singing like Whitney Houston, he did have the same power of the Web. Who knows how many people drove past Williams as he stood on the street, waiting for someone to recognize his talents, before he was taped and put on YouTube.
"Hopefully somebody from one of these television or radio stations will say, 'hey, I need a voice-over' or ' I need something,' " Williams said on "The Early Show."
And because of his internet rise to fame, now the dream that Williams has dreamed for so long for himself may also be coming true.
WEWS said that although they are still tightening up a deal, the Cavaliers offered him full-time voiceover work with the team and with Quicken Loans, the mortgage giant founded by Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, along with the mortgage for a house.
They may have lost the power of LeBron James in their building, but perhaps the Cavs have gained the power of a voice that may become a legend.
© 2011 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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I'm happy for Ted, but he abandoned his family, hasn't paid child support, etc. There are people out there who are jobless and have lost their homes through no fault of their own and can't get any company interested in them. Maybe its just that Ted has a marketable skill. Anyway, best of luck to Ted.
god bless u ted not many people would have recogonized it but u have what it takes keep going strong
Ted just shows that antone can make it even though he is on a street he makes something comeout of it .......
Wishing Ted the best of luck. It's nice to see that not only is he getting all this attention but that other people are giving their time to try and help others as well, talk about an inspirational story all the way around. http://blogs.voices.com/voxdaily/2011/01/los_angeles_homeless_midnightmission.html
Thank god he is still alive what a great voice
Hey don't be such a loser. People like u bring the world down.
Dude...I'd love to have pipes like that. I'm a former radio guy. Had to get out of the biz because the poor job markets and my debt load made it impossible. If I had pipes like that, I'd be in big with the money.
So please don't go on about this "his voice sucks" bit. His voice is great. It's golden. And it's awesome.
Seems everyone finds this mans voice wonderful, everyone here, and everyone else in the world... what exactly, does that make YOU?
Nobody likes you and you have no friends.
Matt - You are an obvious piece of crap.
mat we all hate you.thanks for looking like the turd compared to a homeless man.
Why only in America? I personally know several ppl in other countries, who would have no hope in America, rise to great heights there and some of them who moved to the US did better than the Americans that competed with them. They include a couple of professors, a vice president of a bank, etc. Let's not be too nationalistic, or I hate to say, but it borders on xenophobia to always keep saying only in America or the American dream. God bless America and God bless other countries as well. And last, but not least, God bless Mr. Ted Williams for warming our hearts this cold morning!
Rasheed, could it be because we live in United States of America? I'm sure there are great people all over the world. But HANDS DOWN, the US is the best of all them and if you have foreign friends who excelled only AFTER moving here, well that should tell you something..
America is called the 'land of opportunity'. That's why people are trying to get here even with the economic downturn. It's not perfect and although most countries have something good about them, I have to say, this one is the best.
huh?