I’ve read so many stories about the golden-voiced formerly homeless guy Ted Williams lately I don’t know where to start. After the video of Williams and his radio perfect voice went viral last week, it seems like he’s been everywhere. We’ve seen his reunion with his 90 year-old mom, his new commercial for Kraft, and interviews with him on multiple talkshows including The Today Show, The Early Show, The Tonight Show, The Late Show, Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight. He’s been offered multiple jobs both in Ohio where he was discovered on a streetcorner and with national corporations like the NFL, MTV, ESPN and Oprah’s OWN Network.
After Williams was thrust into the spotlight, The Smoking Gun found that he has a lengthy arrest record, mostly for theft and drug possession. He also has a whopping nine children by different women, which were cared for by the ex he left behind and her family members. His ex wife is legally blind and took responsibility for not only her own children with Williams, but children he fathered with a “druggie girlfriend” while Williams was on the streets.
So this isn’t a clear cut story of a guy who found sobriety, faith and fame when his talent was discovered after a hard knock life on the streets. What’s more is that William isn’t sober, according to one of his daughters. He’s claimed to have been sober for about two years, but his daughter says he’s drinking again, and has consumed at least a bottle of Grey Goose a night, along with multiple beers and wine. Ted’s daughter told her story to Entertainment Tonight after the cops were called due to a loud fight she got in with him at a hotel in LA. Ted and his daughter were detained and released and neither decided to press charges. Ted claims that’s not true, that he’s not drinking, and that his daughter is “selling [him] out” due to his “fame and fortune.”
I saw the video of Ted’s daughter telling the story of their fight on Entertainment Tonight (you can watch it here) and I have to say I believe the daughter. This guy was homeless for nearly 20 years and all of a sudden he’s famous, living in hotels and being courted by the media. It’s a lot of pressure and a huge change and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was drinking again. I hope someone helps him out and is there for him. If he starts drinking and drugging again it’s not going to turn out well for him.
Dr. Phil is offering Ted his sobriety advice, though, and that might help for about 10 minutes. He told him to go to 90 AA meetings in 90 days. (You can watch that video here.)
And here’s a link to video of Ted reuniting with two of his kids, his first born son and his first daughter. He later fought with another daughter. This story is just ready made for the tabloids.
Header image credit: ETOnline
They need to get his away from his family and into therapy. Yes, they probably have some justifiable anger, but they also need to step back so he can become well. I’m still rooting for him.
I hope he makes it, too. He’s flawed like all of us and hopefully he will get the help he needs along with the opportunities.
I had a feeling he was going to have a down fall and he just might get lazy and stop showing up to work and become all homeless again. God is giving him a chance and he’s f*cking it up.
I wouldn’t be shocked if he was drinking or taking drugs. It’s overwelming for the average person when they get overnight celebrity. The pressure must be 1000X worse for Ted. I hope the people who are making these deals for him also get him a therapist. Not Dr. Phil or Dr Drew but somebody who actually wants to help not publicity.
He was homeless last week and now all of these good things are being thrown on him and he is a national star. He needs to get treatment and get some real psychological help. I hope he makes it.
my father left me and my brother and sister, and i gotta say i don’t have a whole lot of compassion for a guy that leaves his kids. sorry.
my dad got mixed up with crack cocaine and he is *still* mixed up with crack.
Ted, call your sponsor and get to meetings.
I’ve been avoiding any stories about the golden voiced man – figured it was 15mins of fame so why bother BUT whooooa – lots of drama for his mama.
Dude was homeless for 20 years, this could be the rags to riches moment for him. Will he do the right thing and take care of his family???
I seriously doubt it. I would love for him to prove me wrong, I really do. This is his GOLDEN CHANCE to do right with his own demons and his children.
The attention and fame is a lot of stress proven by so many celebrities that fall. So it will be interesting to see how this guy will handle it – especially when it’s fame and attention that picked him up.
Is it a curse? Or a blessing? We’ll find out in 15mins I suppose…to be continued!
My first reaction to this story when it broke last week was, WOW, how amazing…this guy is blessed…rooting for him, tearing up at the video of him reuniting with his mom. In the next minute my reaction was, WOW, I sure hope he has someone with him to guide him through all of this and be the intermediary between him and the media, how is he possibly going to be able to handle this, this could really end badly. The average person, like Louise said, would have a hard time with literal overnight celebrity, so how can a guy who has been troubled his whole life be expected to “do the right thing” and handle this?
Really hope there is someone he can trust who can get him into therapy, walk him through this major transition, and be the intermediary between him and his family, too. This could be an amazing story but it could also be a horrible tragedy.
christ, give the man a week to absorb what’s happened to him. he needs to get settled himself and catch his breath before he can even begin dealing with the abandoned family and all their demands to follow.
hopefully, he’s aware enough to seek some counsel.
I hope the goodwill towards him that was there last week is still around. It’s how he’s treated now that will determine the real nature of people’s compassion towards him. Hope he gets proper help and the means to re-enter society, regardless of whether or not the radio stations etc have any further use for him.
is it bad that i’m already annoyed by this man?
COME ONNNNN
i was so rooting for this guy too.
This story was rather endearing last week, THIS WEEK: rather annoying!!!
You know what, this guy never asked for any of this. He never claimed to be anybody’s hero or whatever. HE’S JUST A GUY.
He’s not a noble vagrant with a heart of gold who will be played by Will Smith in an upcoming movie produced by Oprah. This is a man who is an addict, has been for 20 years, and, big surprise, he’s kind of a jerk.
I know people are rooting for him to turn his life around so this story will have some kind of happy ending and we can all feel fuzzy and warm inside, but that is hardly fair. This guy has been an alcoholic for so long, he may not even want to turn his life around. That’s his prerogative. Sad but hey, this is real life not the hallmark channel.
It makes a fantastic story, but I ask myself this..”What did you expect?” Even positive change creates a lot of stress. Sure hate to see his new opportunities get flushed down the toilet. A big BOO to Dr Phil for bringing more attention/spotlight to this man and his unique situation. Am I being too mean spirited about this? Would love feedback from fellow readers. Hope you all have a beautiful day!
@Jeane – Exactly. Well said.
Jeane, you’re exactly right.
Also, I agree with what Dr. Phil said (what?!). If he’s serious about sobriety he needs to go to a meeting a day for the next few months, just to adjust to his new life and also to being clean. It’s not easy and never becomes easy. It’s always work.
He probably should’ve put off reuniting with his family. Doesn’t sound like he was in a place mentally or spiritually to make amends. He needs to focus on himself now.
Yay Jeane!
I’m still rooting for him – he’s made a lot of mistakes but has been given a second chance, so I truly hope he makes it. This sort of attention has to be crippling to just about anyone though, let alone someone already with a lot of issues.
Seems like others, including “Dr. Phil” are taking advantage of his insta-fame. Anyone legit would know that it’s been too much too fast and wouldn’t put him with estranged family a week after homelessness and becoming a public figure, let alone do it on TV. Shame on them for exploiting him, his family members, and the situation.
The best thing would be for one of the companies hiring him to provide him with a counselor or sponsor or someone, to PRIVATELY help him transition back into a regular life.
I hope he can do it, stay sober, try to mend his past, and be an inspiration, but we don’t need to see every step of it played out on TV.
I totally agree with E.NON
A lot has happened in a short amount of time.
Hate to say it,I saw this coming. This guy really seems to be “playing it up” to me. Wonder how that plastic ice bucket was in the picture that she hit him in the face with? No I don’t. I think he sounded drunk on Dr.Phil. He is not accountable, he makes excuses like I didn’t give my ex money raising my kids because she didn’t ask..I robbed but didn’t use a gun. He should stop doing interviews,he is showing too much.
This whole things is one big fat mess at the moment. Yes, he needs to take things very slowly, have good handlers, take baby steps with the family, make SURE he goes to AA and NA meetings and get’s plenty of therapy and good guidance. Hopefully, he can make some money with that voice of his and take care of himself and pay back his ex wife to a large degree for all of the work that she did in raising his children.
If you all think this was his first big break after 20 years. You would be wrong. Many people are given many chances to get on track and the reason they do not succeed is staring them right in the face. They mess up time and time again. His mother knew. His kids knew. they are the real victims. Any person who has 8 kids and still plays the victim card has no right for any more chances. Sorry harsh. I know what I speak about. We all love lifting the down trodden up/ But some just can’t be lifted. Fact.To self centered and destructive for help. Waste your time on people who truly would appreciate a second chance. Not a person who has been give numerous chances and messes it up every time. His victim hood is his disease. Believe.
Notice the daughter whose claiming he’s drinking again is one of his children he fathered with a “druggie girlfriend”. And that woman looks like she’s on drugs herself.
@the_porscha:”Jeane, you’re exactly right.
Also, I agree with what Dr. Phil said (what?!)” agree with both of you. 20 years is a generation; anyone would need a few years (at least, if not the rest of his life) to reclaim what was lost over that long a period of time.
What do you expect? The man goes from being homeless to being a commodity in two seconds, one that is just being used for the public’s amusement and will be promptly tossed back into the garbage without second thought once the new flavor of the month emerges. The public has no conscience of the broader implications of it’s 15-second fame culture and that those are real people who undergo sweeping life transformations only to get swept under the rug seconds later. This guy had hopefully really been clean, any major life change like this will have disrupted his sober status quickly. I’m sure that’s an awful lot of pressure to suddenly be under, even if people think it’s a positive thing it’s terrifying and not what his life has ever been. Soon enough, he’ll be back to where he was. Sad.
Does he even HAVE a sponser? I haven’t
seen any mention of one. I’m scared for the guy
Jeane pretty much summed up my thoughts on it perfectly.
The media and society at large want a hero, they want a storybook ending and a rags to riches tale to look up to. But this guy isn’t a prince in rags…he’s exactly what Jeane said. Like any other human, he’s fucked up a lot of things in life, and he happens to have a good voice. He won’t stop being a drinker or a drug abuser just because we want him to for a good story. It’s nobody’s place to save him if he doesn’t even want to be saved.
I hate ET/Dr Phil after they propped an incoherent Anna Nicole Smith and interviewed her.They exploit people for ratings. They put the family up in hotels, pay for flights and then tape them is they fall apart. IMO
@Liz totally agree…Dr Phil is a MAJOR scandal monger who lost any and all credibility by ‘hooking up’ with the bunch of sleaze merchants known as the E network.
When this story broke I thought “this will make it very difficult for this man to remain sober” and I’m also rooting for him. He definitely needs a sponsor (as someone mentioned) and this looks like a job for Oprah!!! Where is O when you need her? (Lol but not totally in jest…)
The kids supposedly did ok without him in their lives. So why not go back home to their own families, gradually get to know & build a relationship with him as he adjusts and rebuilds his life.
But she got paid for the interview. LOL
IA Agree Atticus he does need an someone who will have his best interest at heart and be his go-between with everyone. Not this daughter who probably showed up to give him the shakedown for a dollar and now is ready to dish anytime media waves a plane ticket, hotel reservation w/ free meal in front of her.
Sometimes, I just hate human nature. I mean, the entire world is dead set against this man, trying to find and spread dirt on him. I’m not saying he is a saint. I am saying, however, that he too deserves a second chance.
@TruthSF “Notice the daughter whose claiming he’s drinking again is one of his children he fathered with a “druggie girlfriend”.
That is a truly revolting and bigoted remark. How can someone be judged by their parents habits? Shame on you.
I agree with Jeane. Good luck to him, but addicts need way more than luck. I hope he has a strong support network and he’s doing everything to maintain his sobriety (if he is in fact sober), but sadly, I will not be surprised if he’s back on the streets in a few months.
He had no money.
Now he has more money than regular people.