"I thought I was earmarked for Hell. There's was no way of any kind of redemption. "
For 15 years, Ted Williams says he had hit rock bottom
"I slept under bridges, I slept in housing stairwells. I slept in abandoned cars, I slept on the street, literally."
0054 That downward spiral also landed him behind bars, numerous times, and he says it started with his first encounter with crack
"I lost custody of my kids, I lost places to live, I lost the trust and love of my family."
Now known across the globe as "The Man with the Golden Voice" he also lost his lucrative Columbus, Ohio radio job.
"I was morning drive, had great numbers, and crack became more important... and then I got down to the lowest form of homelessness," Williams told Action News. "Standing on a street corner, holding a sign, begging for the benevolence of other people."
His sign read: "I have a God given gift of voice" and a reporter put him to the test. After that interview, Williams was catapulted to fame. That video got more than 30 million hits on YouTube. He was booked on national TV appearances, has now penned his own book, and has new radio gigs.
But Ted's slipped a few times since and been in and out of rehab. However today he tells Action News he's totally clean and sober, and finally reunited with his family.
"We are all together! I walked my daughter down the aisle this past Mother's Day... I went to church with my mother for the first time since I was a kid!"
Ted is in town this weekend for the annual Recovery Walk to Support Addiction Recovery which is happening Saturday morning at Penn's Landing.
