My Pet Celebrity

I hope it all works out for insta-celebrity Ted Williams, the “golden-voiced” homeless man who’s gotten a new lease on life. He’s landed voice-over work from MSNBC and job offers from ESPN, MTV and other outlets. The media is fawning over Williams as if he is some cute, long-lost puppy. But Williams is no innocent. Thanks to drug and alcohol abuse, he wrecked a previous radio career, racked up a criminal record, spent time in prison and ended up sleeping under bridges in Cleveland. How did that happen? Has Williams cleaned up his act or is rehab still on the menu? Can someone really go from panhandling to “America’s hottest star,” as MSNBC breathlessly put it, literally overnight? Is it even wise? And what teachable moments can be drawn from his troubled life? Those are stories worth pursuing. Instead, Williams gets the patronizing pet celebrity treatment from the press, duly filed under “weird news.” Providence has given Mr. Williams a second chance. "God gave me a million-dollar voice, and I just hope I can do right by him," he said to the Associated Press. I hope so, too – especially when the media inevitably yanks away the Krieg lights to focus on the next shiny object.