The morning couldn't have been more of a surprise for Ted Williams, the Columbus panhandler whose now-infamous "golden voice" became an Internet sensation yesterday - bringing with it scores of potential job offers for the homeless ex-radio disc jockey.
MTV. ESPN. The National Football League. West coast talent agents, voice coaches and syndicated talk shows.
Even the Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly want to offer him a full-time announcing gig - and a house.
"I feel like Susan Boyle," said Williams. "Or Justin Bieber.
"It's almost choking me."
The once-messy-haired viral star, now sporting a new haircut and clean clothes, was all smiles during his coming-out party earlier today on the Morning Zoo program at WNCI (97.9 FM), which yesterday touted the video and used the help of a listener to locate Williams.
The Credit Union League of Ohio offered Williams a voiceover gig worth up to $10,000.
An offer for a Hawaiian trip came in. So did scores of interviews from across the globe.
Williams, 53, recorded in December by Dispatch videographer Doral Chenoweth III at a North Side off ramp while offering to demonstrate his pristine pipes for spare change, found millions of worldwide admirers after a Dispatch.com video became viral.
Aside from showing off his talent to his grandkids or friends, he had long abandoned the idea of using it to make a living.
Williams was known by homeless friends - and later, the police - by a nickname: "Radio Man."
Folks long claimed his voice had potential.
"I hated people who told me that," he said.
Williams, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native, said he attended the Central Ohio School of Broadcasting in the 1980s. He served for three years in the U.S. Armed Forces before finding steady work at radio stations in North Carolina and central Ohio.
But his past is also littered with drug abuse and arrests for theft. He said he has seven children, all of whom live in Columbus, and is long estranged from his wife.
He last had permanent shelter in 1996 after losing his job at a Columbus radio station.
"You've got to sink so low before you're willing to make a change," said Williams, who has lived in homeless camps despite past offers to move to area shelters.
This morning, the man of the hour was glad to oblige joking requests for promotional sound bytes, including a plug for CBS new anchor Katie Couric during a live interview with The Early Show.
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