Even after a viral YouTube video helped turn him from a homeless crack addict to a media sensation, golden-voiced former radio announcer Ted Williams admitted Monday his struggles were far from over.
Amid emotional moments of his remarkable journey last year, such as his tearful reunion with his mother in a segment on TODAY, he admitted he relapsed on alcohol and drugs twice, including leaving a treatment facility after less than two weeks.
Now claiming to be clean and sober for more than a year and surrounded by good people, Williams, 54, has cowritten a book with Brett Witter called “A Golden Voice.” The book details how he went from being a popular Ohio DJ to a homeless crack addict to a YouTube sensation after 17 hard years on the streets. He related the ups and downs of his life to Matt Lauer, in the mellifluous tones of the memorable voice that gained millions of fans when it was heard via YouTube in January 2011.
‘I never stopped praying’
“All through that journey, I never stopped praying,” Williams said. “I never lost hope. I would ask God, ‘Please, let my mother and myself stay alive one more year. Lord, please, let a life-changing turnaround happen in my life so that my mother would not close her eyes saying, ‘I did a bad job raising this child.”’
Williams was forthcoming about his struggles since first appearing on TODAY in January 2011, when he was awestruck by his overnight rise to popularity after years of living on the streets. He voluntarily entered rehab that month after taping television segments with Dr. Phil, only to leave less than two weeks later amid allegations by his family members that he was drinking daily while living in California.
“I figured since it wasn’t my drug of choice, alcohol could be my new drug,” Williams said. “I could go and start drinking, and nobody would know. Everybody would know (if) Ted was on crack, but they wouldn’t know that Ted was drinking.”
After emerging from his second stint in rehab, Williams celebrated his one-year anniversary of sobriety this month by walking his daughter down the aisle at her wedding on May 4.
“I was able to be a part of that, something that a year and a half ago I wouldn’t have even thought about, let alone become a part of,” he said.
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SOURCE: Today.com
Scott Stump
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