Ted Williams Interview: Doral

"The first time I saw Ted Williams, I was just driving down a freeway exit ramp, and there's a homeless guy there. He was holding in his hands a small cardboard sign that said: I have the God-given gift of a great radio voice," recalls Doral Chenoweth III, the Columbus Dispatch reporter who helped catapult Ted to stardom.

 

"About a week later, I needed a video for Dispatch.com, the website I work for. It's a slow news day in Columbus, Ohio, so I thought, hey, I wonder if that homeless guy with the great voice is out there," Doral continues. "I drove back to that area, and he was there. I whipped out my flipcam. I asked him to walk across the street where I could park. That's where he opened up to me with this incredible backstory about his life " alcohol, and drug abuse, and living on the streets, and how he wants a better life and how he would just love to have a job in radio again."

[AD]On Monday morning, when Doral posted the news clip of his inteview with Ted, he says he had no idea the interest in the homeless man would skyrocket as it did. "By Tuesday, it went viral," he recounts in awe. Ted has since recorded commercials for Kraft, and the job offers continue to pour in, both nationally and abroad.

The reporter says he wants nothing but the best for the man with the golden voice that he helped discover. "I am really happy for Ted. I hope he has financial security and stability. I hope he is able to manage this and have the kind of life that he really wants to have," Doral says.