Thursday, January 6, 2011

The Interesting Story of Ted Williams (not the baseball player)

I am sure many of you have heard by now about the homeless Ohio man named Ted Williams who is the world's latest overnight Internet sensation based on a video on You Tube.

The video, taken in December by a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch, shows Williams asking for money at the side of a road.  The angle here is that Williams, a former radio dj/host, is prompt to ask for assistance using his "radio" voice---something most wouldn't have expect to hear out of the mouth of a homeless person begging for money on the street.  The voice sounds like you are listening to him on an easy listening radio station!

Once the video began to be watched by millions on You Tube...offers to Williams for work, shelter, money, etc. began pouring in.  One of the more notable offers was a job as the in-arena announcer for the Cleveland Cavliers NBA basketball team at Quicken Loans Arena. 

Through many years of drug and alcohol addiction, Williams eventually became destitute and started living on the streets.  He had been out on the streets so long, he had no formal identification documents in his possession and had been denied boarding on an airplane he was taking to New York to be on NBC's Today show until he was able to quickly obtain his birth certificate from the Ohio state records bureau due to the noteriety of his story.

So now Mr. Williams is well into his 15 minutes of fame...but in this case it's a good thing hopefully because he will be off the streets, gainfully employed and making a positive difference in his life!

Below are two videos...the first is the You Tube video that started it all for Ted Williams:



The second video below is from earlier today (January 6, 2011) when Williams appeared on NBC's Today Show to tell his story:

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