'I'm taking it one day at a time': Ted 'Golden Voice' Williams reveals he has been sober for one year



He may have starred in a YouTube video that went viral, turning him from a homeless crack addict to a minor celebrity with a home and a job, but the journey has not been easy for Ted Williams.

The man nicknamed Golden Voice, due to his silky delivery, has admitted that coming into money for the first time in 17 years allowed him to binge on alcohol - and led to two stints in rehab.

But he added that he has now achieved one year of sobriety, walking his daughter down the aisle at her wedding to celebrate the anniversary on May 4.

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Road to recovery: Ted Williams, the former homeless man who was dubbed Golden Voice after appearing in a YouTube video that went viral, has said he has been sober for one year

'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 on the Today show .



But it has not been straightforward and he admitted he deals with his addiction 'one day at a time'.

Williams, 54, became a media sensation when he was filmed panhandling in Columbus, Ohio in December 2010 with a sign reading: 'I'm an ex-radio announcer who has fallen on hard times'.

The once-successful DJ was recorded performing a voice-over by a Columbus Dispatch reporter and the video went viral, receiving more than 20 million views on YouTube.

Former life: Williams was a successful DJ until he became addicted to crack and lost his job and family. He had been homeless for 17 years when he was spotted by a journalist who filmed him speaking

With his story garnering national coverage, he found himself with a home, radio job offers - and money for the first time since he lost he had moved into a tent in the woods 17 year earlier.

And with the money came a need to spend it on a vice he had previously not been able to afford.



'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.'

He underwent two stints in rehab and left a year ago. He told Today that he is now surrounded by good people and has written a book called A Golden Voice about his life.



One-time home: Williams lived in a tent in a wooded area before the video garnered him national attention

Mug shots: Williams was also arrested several times for charges including robbery and possession of drugs

It recounts his journey from a popular Ohio DJ to a homeless addict after he began smoking crack every day, which led to him losing his job, family and home.

Achievement: Williams has recounted his struggles in a new book, A Golden Voice, about his life



The book does not hold back on the details, host Matt Lauer pointed out, referring to one section in which Williams remembers how he prostituted his girlfriend for drug money.

But also at that time, Williams was determined to better himself and said he felt as if God was watching over him.

He said he would hear God's voice telling him how to be a better person.



'I would literally throw stuff on the ground as litter and that voice would say, "I didn’t create this world to look nasty," and I would actually walk back as far as quarter-mile to go pick that up and throw it in the trash can,' he said.

He went on: 'All through that journey, I never stopped praying. 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.'"'

After his YouTube video went viral in January 2011 and he received national attention, his life started picking up.

He paid for his new life with a series of recording jobs, including a role as the official voice of the New England Cable News and advertising work with firms such as Kraft.

Turnaround: Williams went on to work as a voice-over actor on commercials and on radio shows

Moving on: He is also still with his girlfriend Kathy and they live together in a home in Columbus, Ohio

And despite how he once used his girlfriend for money, they are still together. 'We're doing well,' he said. 'One day at a time. This new domesticated life is really wild.'

Although he admitted it had been a struggle, he said it was his intention to stay clean and continue to make good decisions.

'I want an Escalade bad,' he laughed. 'My attorney, Bret Adams, said, "You keep doing the right thing, I’ll get that Escalade in the driveway".'

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