Homeless Man With Stellar Radio Voice is Taking His Talents to the Cleveland Cavaliers

By Joe Coscarelli Wed., Jan. 5 2011 at 10:38 AM

Categories: Internet, Joe Coscarelli, The Homeless, Video

Yesterday the internet was ablaze with praise for Ted Williams, a Brooklyn-born homeless man in Ohio with a special talent. His voice, as it turns out, is that of a male angel, deep and booming, perfect for voice-over work, which Williams said alcohol and drugs had derailed him from landing. Now two years sober, the man just needed a break and a video of his skill hit the viral circuit hard, spreading from a local newspaper to Reddit to blogs and into the mainstream media ether. We urged everyone -- including any potential employers -- to give him a chance, but goodwill and well-wishes weren't the only thing Williams received yesterday. He also landed a job.

The New York Post reports:

"The Cleveland Cavaliers just offered me a full-time job and a house! A house! A house!," repeated a stunned Williams, 71, on local radio station WNCI.

A caller to the show who said she represented the Cavs offered Williams, who shot to stardom after local newspaper the Columbus Dispatch on Monday posted video of his perfectly-pitched panhandling, a full-time job doing voiceover work for the team and parent company and a free home in Cleveland.

And that's on top of additional offers:

Before the Cavs made their bid, the station said a group of credit unions offered Williams a contract worth up to $10,000; a caller claiming to rep MTV expressed interest in having him guest-announce a show; and callers who said they were the voiceover actors behind plugs for "The Simpsons" and "Entertainment Tonight" said they wanted him to compete on their upcoming "America's Next Voice" -- where the prize includes a home studio.

The internet wins again.

Homeless man with 'golden radio voice' gets his chance [NYP]

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