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Community Corner

Man With Golden Voice Talks His Way Back to Bed-Stuy

Ted Williams, national sensation, returns to Bedford-Stuyvesant after 20 years

Except for his “golden voice” that has earned him national attention, Ted Williams might’ve been any other panhandler with a creative cardboard sign. That voice, however, has catapulted him into a life unknown. 

Originally raised in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, Williams strayed across the country homeless for nearly 17 years after drug and alcohol abuse ruined his marriage. A gaunt-faced man with graying hair, he begged for money by imitating radio personalities and sports announcers.

His handwritten sign read, “I’m an ex-radio announcer who has fallen on hard times. I have a God-given gift of voice.” His voice has been described as “refined," “buttery” and “silky.”

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A videographer, Doral Chenoweth III, from Ohio’s Columbus Dispatch, found Williams panhandling on the side of the road. After Chenoweth videotaped him using his versatile baritone in exchange for a dollar, the video soon went viral.  It received 4.5 million hits in two days and is this week’s number one viral video, according to ViralVideoChart.com.

Unlike so many flash-in-the-pan Internet sensations, Williams may just turn his 15 minutes of fame into a viable career. Besides being interviewed by The Early Show and The Today Show, he’s supposedly received legitimate job offers from the Cleveland Cavaliers, MTV and NFL, among others.

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According to Business Insider, MSNBC has hired him to record voiceovers for their Lean Forward promotional campaign, which began airing Thursday. He’s also accepted a position with Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.  Some offers have been upward of $10,000.

In the 1980’s Williams was happily married and had nine children with now ex-wife Patricia Kirtley. When he began tasting the first fruits of his fame as a radio announcer in Ohio, however, Kirtley said he began turning to alcohol and women.

At first, Williams would drink a fifth of liquor a day, but then began snorting cocaine, according to MSNBC. Finally he succumbed to smoking crack. Before long, he was spending time in and out of shelters and began commiting petty crimes. He mostly depended on the generosity of strangers for his next meal.

Williams returned to New York City Thursday afternoon -- the first time since 1986 -- to reunite with his mother, 90-year-old Julia Williams, who still lives in the same Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood where her son was raised. They had been estranged for nearly 20 years.

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