'Golden Pipes' and Mom Reunite After 10 Years: 'A Dream Come True'
Ted Williams reunites with his mother after he is given a second chance at life.
Jan. 7, 2011 — -- Just a few days ago, Ted Williams was a homeless man living on the streets of Columbus, Ohio. But thanks to his "golden pipes" --his incredible radio voice -- he is getting a second chance at life. Now he has even had the chance to reunite with his mother, whom he had not seen in ten years.
"It was just a dream come true because, like I said, if anything transpired out of this whole madness that I am going through I did want this to happen, to be here, to be with her," Williams said on "Good Morning America" today. "I am still lost for words sometimes."
And "madness" is an understatement. Since the video of Williams went viral online, offers from tons of organizations from Kraft Foods to MTV have started pouring in.
His "golden pipes" video got 13 million views in less than 48 hours, but was later removed from YouTube because the Columbus Dispatch, the newspaper that originally broke the story, owned the copyright to it.
Williams is trying to not let his overnight success get to his head, and says this time around he is relying more on his faith and not taking anything for granted.
"I made $60,000 a year in 1988, $62,000, for just some voice work," said Williams. "I was working morning drive in Cleveland, Ohio, 1490 WJMO, but I never, not once, said, 'Thank you, Jesus.' But this time around — nothing for granted — I'm not taking not a minute for granted, and I am going to thank Him and acknowledge Him."
Williams has plenty to be grateful for. He is getting a second chance most convicted felons don't get. He has had several past arrests for theft, robbery, forgery, and drug possession. His mother, Julia Williams, now 90, was ready to throw in the towel.
"I just gave up and I said I just can't go through no more," she said on "GMA." But Julia Williams said she relied heavily on her church, which she has been attending since 1957, to cope with the downward spiral of her son's life.
"Oh, I've been through this lots, but I have survived through going to church, I have survived," she said. "God has looked over me all the way and he's helped me through because I didn't have anybody. My husband died ten years ago."
