After a Columbus Dispatch photographer shot a video of Ted Williams panhandling along a north side street, job offers have been pouring in for the former DJ.
Williams said drugs and alcohol derailed his life. Williams, who spent time in prison, said he has been sober for two years and is ready to work
"I love it but then at the same time I'm (thinking) so, 'Oh God, what am I supposed to do with this new found fame?'" Williams said.
While in New York, Williams saw his 90-year-old mother, Julia Williams, for the first time in two decades.
He has not seen her in 20 years and said he hoped for this moment for a long time.
"The biggest prayer that I've ever had is I wanted my mom to live long enough for her to see me have a second chance," Williams said.
During an interview with the "CBS Early Show" Julia Williams said she was surprised to hear it was her son that everyone was talking about.
"Someone was talking about the man with the golden voice (and I said), 'Who is that?' Julia Williams said. "That's your son. I'm so proud I want him to do well."
The clip that was filmed by Columbus Dispatch videographer Doral Chenoweth III first appeared on the Dispatch Web site on Monday.
It showed Williams standing near the ramp from Hudson Street and Interstate 71, demonstrating his voice. A sign he held read, "I'm an ex-radio announcer who has fallen on hard times."
10TV and ONN has asked Williams to provide narration for promotional spots during the station's "One Day to End Homelessness" telethon on Jan. 31, according to Frank Willson, the station's director of operations.
Williams has been offered dozens of jobs, including offers from NFL Films, MTV and the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has not accepted any offers yet and said he is still shocked by his new-found fame.
I am a bit skeptical about this whole story, why have we heard nothing of his past, nothing from old co-workers, where has he been, I just have a lot of questions. If it sounds too good to be true, perhaps it is. I questions the whole thing, sorry about that, time will tell. Perhaps it is true, just questioning how it all came about. I have heard nothing about where he had been living, or how, where he worked before, all the details, nothing yet. jbd
