Update: Ted Williams Sober, But Broke

Ted Williams

Ted Williams, who was featured in a January 2011 Columbus Dispatch video after he was spotted panhandling at an I-71 exit ramp with a homemade sign saying he had a radio voice., says he's sober, but has no money.

After millions of views, the video propelled him to appearances on theToday Show and Dr. Phil. The notoriety led to numerous voice-over jobs, including one as the spokesman for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. A successful stint in rehabilitation helped him deal with his crack cocaine abuse, but problems remain in his life.

“I should have been a millionaire by now,” he told the Columbus Dispatch, after an appearance on a Marion, Ohio, radio station, where his weekly show keeps his skills sharp in front of a microphone.

In spite of earning a $375,000 book advance for a biography, A Golden Voice: How Faith, Hard Work, and Humility Brought Me from the Streets to Salvation, Williams says he is broke. “I own nothing,” he said, adding that he doesn't have a car or driver’s license. His new agent, Scott Anthony, drives Williams to his appearances.

For a while after the 2011 fame, Williams lived in hotels paid for by an agent. Then he moved into a rented condominium in Dublin owned by another agent. Now he lives in an apartment. He said he owns no furniture to put in the apartment.

In the 1980s, when he was a WVKO show host, Williams’ voice and persona resulted in the top-rated morning show in Columbus. He slid into a life of homelessness and drug abuse for 17 years until the video gave him another chance. Now he hopes to use his Christian faith to develop a following on the religious speaking circuit. While coping with resentments and anger toward others, including the previous agents, he said “I’m still very fragile in my recovery.”