Does the name Ted Williams sound familiar to you? No, not the baseball Hall of Famer, but the man with the golden voice who has seized America's attention after the debut of an internet video that went viral this Tuesday. It's possible that you've heard his voice over some small-town radio station, or that you went to a club or party where he was the DJ many, many years ago. Most likely, however, his name is a new catch-phrase for your household, a story of a man who miraculously received a second chance.
Ted Williams, whose drug and alcohol abuse had led to homelessness and trouble with the law, was discovered about 2 months ago by the producer for the Columbus Dispatch, Doral Chenoweth. Chenoweth said that at first, he thought nothing more of Williams and his signs proclaiming his "golden voice" and his snippets of smooth talking on the side of the highway than that "it was sweet," according to Jeff Labrecque in the Entertainment Weekly article on January 11, 2011 "The man who discovered Ted Williams says 'It's probably easier getting through to Obama (now) than Ted' ." The reason why he ended up filming him? He was in need of a story, and Williams voice was a last-ditch effort to film something. He waited until Monday, January 3, to release the video because he didn't feel as though it would be successful. By Tuesday, however, that video was on YouTube and covered the Internet and Ted Williams was suddenly big news. And the rest is history.
But what will be the rest? Some, like Williams' mother, are afraid that his new-found fame and celebrity will lead to a downward spiral back to drug and alcohol addiction, which he claims to be sober from for 2 years now. The Early Show on CBS on January 8, 2011 featured Ted Williams, bringing in a psychologist to recommend ways in which Williams could resist the temptation from returning to his vices that made him homeless in the first place. Representatives of the Early Show said that Williams has already been signed on by MSNBC and has done a voice-over for a Kraft Mac 'n Cheese advertisement. He's received job offers from Oprah Winfrey to appear on her new network, OWN, and from the Cleveland Cavaliers, along with a handful of other networks. They conveyed the possibility that Williams could suffer temptation from the sudden onset of all this fame.
So, what's the reason for Ted Williams becoming such a media icon? In only a business week, he has transformed from a homeless man living in a tent on the side of the road to a celebrity that people (like Oprah) are offering houses, jobs, and riches to. Ted Williams symbolizes the American Dream. So as he continues to come into our houses through his baritone voice on the television, we Americans will sit and wait, hoping that he doesn't throw away his second chance, along with our belief in the possibility of achieving the American Dream, to the vices that wasted his talent in the first place. Don't let us down, Ted Williams.
Deidre Dicker - Hi everybody! I'm a student at the University of New England with a major in English. I love to write and I love comments from my readers! ...
Join the Conversation