Homeless man with golden radio voice

[JudynTX]

If I may.....
Sorry for the long read, but it's a great article.
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(CNN) -- By now, millions of Americans have heard from Ted Williams.
He's "the homeless man with the golden voice," a panhandler whose stunning vocal skills were recorded for an impromptu video that's netted at least 4 million views on YouTube.
But what about the good Samaritan with the video camera?
What made him stop for Williams on a dreary, overcast day when scores of people ignored the African-American homeless man during the peak of the Christmas season?
It turns out that Doral Chenoweth III, the man who filmed Williams, has a story of his own.
Videographer has played this part before
Five weeks ago, Chenoweth was returning home from Lowe's with his wife, Robin, when he spotted a thin man with wild, unruly hair at an intersection. The man held a cardboard sign that read, "I have a God-given gift of voice. ..."
"Hey, I'm going to make you work for your dollar," Chenoweth said as he rolled down his window and took out his flip camera. "Let me hear you say something."
What comes out of Williams' mouth is startling. It's a rich, baritone that doesn't match his craggy exterior at all. His enunciation is crisp, his tone smooth as suede.
Williams isn't holding that cardboard sign anymore.
After Chenoweth posted the video, it went viral. Williams did interviews on national television and radio. He's received several jobs offers, including one that comes with a home. A reunion with his 92-year-old mother is being arranged.
But the other character in this contemporary parable had played this part before.
"The first time we dated, he stopped and gave a blanket from the back of his car to a man who was homeless," said Robin Chenoweth. "I thought to myself, if he has this kind of compassion for a man on the street, he's going to make a great husband and father."
Chenoweth is paid to notice people. He's a multimedia producer for The Columbus Dispatch newspaper in Ohio. He said he stopped because he thought Williams might make a good video.
Still, he wasn't so sure after the filming. He said he sat on the video for five weeks until he finally decided to use it because it was a slow news week. Then he watched the video take off.
"I never anticipated this," he said. "A week ago, he was living in a tent behind a station in the middle of December, and now he's being flown to New York and his video is everywhere."
Looking through the lens of faith
But the reason Chenoweth stopped goes deeper than his job.
It's "standard operating procedure" for him, he said, to stop and talk to people who are homeless, whether he's carrying a camera or not.
"It's part of my faith," he said after some prodding about his motivations. "You may not be able to help someone with money, but you can at least say o, how you doing, and look at them."
About 14 years ago, Chenoweth said he was assigned to photograph a homeless ministry at New Life United Methodist Church in downtown Columbus. He was so impressed by the ability of the 50-member congregation to help the homeless that he and his wife joined.
The church's pastor said that Chenoweth routinely invites people who are homeless to the church for meals and medical attention. He's also photographed people on the street and displayed their photographs to emphasize their humanity, said the Rev. Jennifer Kimball Casto, New Life's pastor.
When asked if she was surprised by Chenoweth's action, Casto said: "Absolutely not. Doral has a special heart for people who are homeless and in need."
Chenoweth's concern for people goes beyond Columbus, and even the United States. His wife said they are regular Habitat for Humanity volunteers. They've also taken seven trips to Africa with their two children, Cassie, 12, and Kurtis, 10, to serve impoverished communities. Chenoweth has do ented many of the trips on his website.
"He's taken me all over the world," Robin Chenoweth said. "He's a fabulous husband. It's the best decision of my life to be with him."
Chenoweth sounds thrilled to see where the new-found fame will take Williams.
He had a reunion with Williams after their video went viral. A local radio station interviewed Williams, and Chenoweth was there for the interview.
"We had a big hug and shook hands," Chenoweth said. "He almost cried when he saw me."
Chenoweth was watching a local radio station interview Williams when he saw something that touched him.
"He still has my business card," Chenoweth said. "He's been carrying it the whole five weeks since I gave it to him. He was carrying it right in his fingertips."
Filming a visual parable
The Rev. Tom Long, a professor of preachingat the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, watched the video of Chenoweth's encounter and saw a visual parable unfold. It reminded him of Jesus' parable of the good Samaritan.
In the parable, a Samaritan, a group of people hated by many first-century Jews, stops to help an helpless man wounded by robbers after two Jewish religious leaders -- a Levite and a priest -- pass the man by. The story was shocking because the hero was a villain (imagine the parable of the Good Crack Dealer).
Chenoweth didn't see Williams as "visual white noise" to tune out, Long said. "He sees possibilities others don't see and acts on them and, wow, here we go," Long said.
Long said there's more to the story than the importance of treating people in need with compassion because miracles may happen. "His (Chenoweth) experiences expose what is already true about people, that even an homeless person who doesn't have a golden throat is nonetheless a child of God."
Casto, Chenoweth's pastor at New Life, said Chenoweth taught another lesson with his encounter with a panhandler.
"We are all broken in some way, but we are also gifted in some way," she said. "Mr. Williams is a perfect example of that."

Cool story bro.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Sure is, Judy. Sure is.

[Zelophehad]

What a weird comment. He's been clean for two years, why would you think he'd fall off the wagon in six months? How do you know that he hasn't been going to AA or had a support system in the last two years?

tbh if he was clean for two years while homeless he probably didn't even have a support system. That would speak volumes as to well he would do if they tried to even give him a basic one.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

That!!!

[fraga]

He's from....THE FUTURE!!!

[oh crap]

lol everyone getting emotionally invested in an alcoholic and crack head. this guy can be found on every corner here in austin, everyone of em mother ers got a trick or two. dude would be dime a dozen here. lol feel good story. can't wait for his 15 minutes to expire so he can be alone with his crack pipe again.

[Clandestino]

I side with assbeigh... the only reason he is on the streets is bc his habits were too expensive... as soon as he gets money he will go back to partying and do the same all over again...mother er has 9 kids!!! That means he doesn't learn for !

[fraga]

I actually had a white lady say that to me yesterday...you know...he looks like Obama...mahahahaha...

[ashbeeigh]

Behind golden-voiced Ted Williams is ex-wife Patricia Kirtley, the story's real hero

Joanna Molloy

Friday, January 7th 2011, 4:00 AM

Patricia Kirtley raised her and Ted Williams' four daughters, as well as one of the children he had with a druggie girlfriend.

Patricia Kirtley raised her and Ted Williams' four daughters, as well as one of the children he had with a druggie girlfriend.

A viral video vaulted Ted Williams and his golden voice to fame, but the real hero of this story is the woman he left behind.

Patricia Kirtley raised four daughters alone after Williams split 23 years ago and dove down the rabbit hole of drugs.

Not only that, Kirtley took in the baby boy the radioman had with another woman and raised him as her own.

Oh, and by the way, she's partially blind.

"We survived," Kirtley said Thursday in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. "My children are survivors. They know if we get a little bit that God provides, we make it into a lot. I'm a soup maker. I make potato soup and throw in a lot of vegetables and a little meat. We always ate."

Except that Williams, who seems to be a nice guy, just wasn't strong, wasn't around and wasn't contributing financially.

Kirtley had to go on the dole. "I still remember my case number," she says ruefully. She eventually went to school and got licensed as a blind vendor.

"My mother and sisters pitched in and drove me because I can't see to drive," said Kirtley, now 58, over a din of some of her 16 grandchildren playing.

As if that weren't enough, Kirtley said two of her sisters and a cousin each took in a child Williams and his druggie girlfriend couldn't, or wouldn't, care for.

"I didn't want to see those children in no foster home," she said.

Exactly. It's an all-too-familiar story to the strong members of poor communities - usually women. They are the ones who must provide the backbone, as well as the hugs, for children whose parents get hooked on drugs.

Williams called once in a while, and Kirtley would hear that baritone voice she fell in love with at first sound. They stayed friendly, and he might come for Thanksgiving dinner, but otherwise, he would remain AWOL.

Daughter Julia Pullien, 30, said she was 7 when Williams left.

"He wasn't involved," she said. "Our mom was our sole provider. She is a more than phenomenal person. My father is a nice guy, but he fell victim to the streets. We prayed for him and we worried about him, but we became accustomed to the fact that he just wasn't there."

Kirtley said the kids felt some resentment.

"They didn't understand why he was never there for their school functions, or just to help with their homework," she said.

"That's when I really could have used help, because I couldn't see their pages. My kids are really good readers, though, because I made them read everything to me out loud."

They're grown now, with jobs and kids of their own.

Maybe Williams can redeem himself personally as well as professionally.

Maybe he can be there for his grandchildren in ways he could not for his kids.

Still, all the credit must go to Kirtley, the woman who truly deserves the fame her ex has been getting the past few days.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...#ixzz1ANNjkCew

[mrsmaalox]

Argh!! Quick everyone plug your ears and cover your eyes!

That mean ol' Ashbeeigh has struck again!

[ashbeeigh]

Argh!! Quick everyone plug your ears and cover your eyes!

That mean ol' Ashbeeigh has struck again!

I know.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

And off into the sunset you ride


We'll see what happens. It just came out today. I'm sure if he was lying about his 2 year sobriety on the street, along with that excellent, all-encompassing street support system he had that's oh so needed, it would've been reported as well by now. It's been almost a week. Any news on any withdrawals? Hmm. Huh. I just tend to have an optimistic point of view of someone that's tryin to better his life, especially right off the bat. Do you tell your newlywed friends that so and so a percentage of marriages end in divorce at their reception? I think not, but to each their own. If you really can't grasp where I'm, and a few other people, are coming from then there's really no use. But continue to on the dude
If the dude falls on his ass, he falls on his ass.

[Blake]

Photo is first when you search ted williams obama lol

nicely done.

[Soul_Patch]

It just me or has this dude already jumped the shark? Im seriously sick of hearing about him.

[JudynTX]

It just me or has this dude already jumped the shark? Im seriously sick of hearing about him.

The hate for this guy is unreal.

[Spurminator]

Let's all enjoy this story while it's still in the "feel good" stage, because the "let's thoroughly dissect his past, hey wait, he's not THAT homeless, did you know he was an accused sex offender in 1972, why does he have a cellphone anyway" stage is forthcoming... because we can't resist.

[oh crap]

oh get real, judy. this guy is on every media outlet, newspaper, blog and every other source he can be shoved down everyone's collective throats and in a thread 3 pages deep we can count on one hand the negative posts while the rest are gagging on this guys so lets use a little perspective here.

[mrsmaalox]

Hate? Where? Comparing to the "Do you give change to homeless guys on street corners" and "Homeless guys have cell phones?" threads, this one is pretty ing rosy! I haven't seen any post here that says "I hope the guy fails and dies" or "He doesn't deserve a second chance", but I have seen some very realistic observations made, perhaps in a callous or cynical way that is suddenly not acceptible in this case. It's weird that for some reason (maybe because he seems likeable?) some people don't want to hear that this poor guy's troubles may be too deeply rooted for him to overcome. That's not hate, that is just the glaring truth. He does deserve a second chance. It would be wonderful for him to succeed, and it appears that he is being handed one of the tools he'll need to be victorious over the huuuuge odds that are stacked against him. That there would be the true feel good story

[xellos88330]

He'll land a job...be employed for maybe 6 months and hen fall off the wagon because he has no support system.

If you read the whole article, you will see he had got back in touch with his mother.

[JudynTX]

I think some people have been waiting for this.

LOS ANGELES – Ted Williams, the Ohio homeless man whose smooth radio voice made him an Internet sensation, had to do some quick talking to Los Angeles police.

Officers were called when Williams and his daughter got into a heated argument Monday night at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel & Spa, Officer Catherine Massey said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110111/...ss_radio_voice

[sa_butta]

I think some people have been waiting for this.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110111/...ss_radio_voice

Although he says he has been clean for more than two years, the recovering addict has acknowledged that it has been challenging dealing with sudden fame.
"I wanted a nerve pill yesterday, to be honest with you," he told CBS on Friday.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Oh well. I wonder what they were arguing about.

[Blake]

"If you are listening to a heated argument between former homeless man and his daughter, you must be staying at the luxurious Renaissance Hollywood Hotel & Spa"

[mrsmaalox]

Oh well. I wonder what they were arguing about.

Just a wild guess, but it's possible the daughter has years and years of pent up anger from being abondoned by her father.`

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Just a wild guess, but it's possible the daughter has years and years of pent up anger from being abondoned by her father.`

Let's hope it's the same amount of pent up anger from the drugs and booze he was addicted to at the time.
And, --If your obvious theory is right, I'd have done that the first night