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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Haha oh wow @ the trollface during this video!
Ted this is a true blessing let GOD Guide u through this journey you always been blessed because you always had a good heart I'm so ver happy for you just believe in yourself and the rest will follow...Kitty Kat, Columbus, OH or Flint MI
Awe man this is such a great story! Congrats golden voice!
Good for you for getting sober! Best wishes with your new life. God bless you.
Hes got a radio name as well.
Big pat on the back to the Cleveland Cavs for being in a position and willing to give this guy a new chance in life.
God bless you william. homeless does not mean hopeless. many wonderful talented intelligent people are homeless due to the state of the economy. once someone is homeless even for a short time opportunities dissipate for jobs. no phone, no address, no transportation, no shower, no soap it goes on. we should all thank God for the little things we often take for granted, and show our appreciation by helping those less fortunate. no matter how little we have its is without a doubt more than someone else. Believe me it will come back to you ten fold.
He'll be doing better than most of us before long. Congrats!
saw the video this is a really cool story best wishes to him
what an inspiring story and to think the man was not asking for handouts but an honest days work and the intelligence to know the blessing God had given him. Where can America get more people like this.
God will use the least of us to AAAAAAAAWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEE the rest of us.
BLESSINGS
very true! God is good!!
In America anything is possible and dreams can come true.
I'm so proud that Ted has been discovered. I'm even happier to know that he has been clean and sober for over 2 years. I wish him all the best and am so glad he found Jesus in his life because it sure is turning things around for him. God bless and I expect to hear more from him in 2011 and beyond.
Now cleveland can once again, "all be witnesses" to a new potential legend. Only seven more years until he too may take his talents to south beach.
Word is going around that this is a hoax put on by a local radio station, not sure that is true but sure is a clever marketing idea.
Howard Stern perpetuated that rumor, and it is completely false. This dude has been standing with that sign for over a year, just waiting for someone to notice him. Those of us who actually live in Central Ohio can attest to having seen him before. The local radio show was just the first to contact him and get him on the air.
The fact that we've become so cynical anymore is just so, so sad.
Walker that is either foolish or slimy, why did you not specify it was rumor, or worse Howard Stern tactics.
Well, truth is stranger than fiction..!