By now we've all seen the story of Ted Williams, the homeless toothless guy with the golden voice who was trying to get an announcing job while panhandling on a highway. A video was shot, it went viral, and he's now the darling of talk shows, doing commercials for Kraft Foods, MSNBC, NFL Films, and fielding other offers. It's certainly the feel good story of the year.
But there's another perspective. How do the professional voice over announcers feel about this? Dan Ingram has been a premiere voice talent for five decades. You've heard him on countless commercials. He also just happens to be one of the greatest Top 40 disc jockeys in the history of radio. Big Dan on powerhouse 77/WABC owned New York in the '60s and '70s...and Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and Boston and every other city on the eastern seaboard.
Dan wrote to me yesterday about the Ted Williams hysteria and I'd like to pass along his thoughts to you before you grab a sign and stake out an interstate off-ramp.
Dear Ken,
I feel used and conned by all the sob-sister P.R. crap about the poor scab VO guy who is selling his rather resonant voice because he's an ex junkie and an ex lush. I know at least fifty thoroughly qualified VO men and women who have never been hooked on drugs or anything else who are having difficulty making a living wage doing VO work as honorable Union members. They all know from their endeavors how fickle, thoughtless and downright cruel the VO business can be. I know that I do, especially lately.
I wish him success when he hits the bricks like the rest of us. And success under a Union contract.
In solidarity,
Dan Ingram
81 comments :
Ouch. Really, Dan? I resent the fact that I also cannot get dj/vo work, where someone gets plucked from obscurity. But I am happy for him, what soils MY chinos is someone like Briston Palin being offered a radio show. Now THAT cheeses me off when profesionals can't get work but someone like that can. Not political, just a known name. Ted, good luck to him, who knows if he will be next year's forgotten failure again...but I wish him well, he already paid some harsh dues. Bristol? No.
Hey, no offense to Dan Ingram (I used to hear him all the time on WABC when I was a kid), but why should one have to hire a union voiceover guy? It isn't as if that's a dangerous profession that needs union protection. If they want your voice badly enough, they'll pay more for it. And if they're not willing to pay up for it because it can easily be substituted for by someone else, well, if your talent isn't so rare why should it be paid for as if it were?
It's not like Ted Williams hasn't done radio/voice over on the pro level. He was a pro radio guy before he fucked up and hit the skid(row)s after all. And it's not Ted's fault that he's being plucked from the relative obscurity of the I-70 in Columbus, Ohio--the place where radio careers go to die. So get of his case, Dan. You got yours and now you begrudge this guy his Andy Warhol minutes?
Everybody deserves a second chance, except for maybe Larry King--hiss second chance could last another seven hundred and fifty years. I know I'm not prepared for that. Are you?
That'll get Dan more work.
Everybody loves it when those who have a career take shots at somebody who doesn't, but might.
Ted Williams has a chance to do something worthwhile, good for him. He's in the game, now, but we all know just how tough it will be after the feel-good stories are forgotten.
Thomas Friedman wrote (and now Ted Williams might agree) that "the world is flat." Friedman refers to technology and how its ubiquity puts the kid in Calcutta and the kid in Cleveland on the same level playing field when it comes to information technology.
The same can be said for voiceover work, I contend.
There are hundreds of 'voiceover for sale' Web sites. Send 'em your mp3 demo and wait.
If you're exceptional, you will earn a living wage, or better. If you're not exceptional, tough luck. You'll earn nickels and dimes. Grab a crayon and a slice of cardboard and stand at the corner of Pity Place and Sad Street...or find another line of work.
To Ted Williams: enjoy the ride, make lots of money and don't let the demons near you...I think you're exceptional. :)
...that's life, folks. Ain't fair. So what? Is that a surprise?
I always have mixed feelings about stories like this.
It's great that a guy who made a mistake is being pulled out of the gutter and given a new life, a story of foregivness and redemption.
But it's almost like he's being rewarded for screwing up and making bad decisions while someone who hasn't fucked up his life is being shunned and is the real loser.
Wow. A rather meanspirited response from Dan, who I used to enjoy listening to on the radio, BTW.
I'd think Dan knows that that success in show business is a matter of skill, persistence, and/or all sorts of dumb LUCK. I dare say that Ken Levine has alluded to that fact at some point in this blog. A kid singing a Lady Gaga song at his elementary school gets posted on YouTube and ends up with a recording contract. ted Williams has become a commercial commodity, like Susan Boyle or other people plucked from obscurity.
I wish Ted well. I wish Dan well too, and maybe not such a Grinch-sized heart.
I'm not understanding the response. I'm a proud member of AFTRA/SAG and I've spent over 30 years, driving thousands of miles to hundreds of casting studios just to get a whiff of what's being handed to Ted Williams.
I have nothing against Mr. Williams. I do have a problem with the people who are trying to latch themselves onto a publicity bonanza by hiring him to be their spokesperson - while lobbying congress to curtail unemployment benefits to the millions in Williams' same situation - except they don't have a surprisingly lovely "golden voice."
There was a conclave of L.A. voice actors today rallying to get him to join the union. No animosity. Just give him the chance to join the ranks and prove himself by taking swings with his talent. If he succeeds with that, terrific.
There're a lot of folks being thrown under the bus here in the comments, including voice actors, Mr. Ingram and Mr. Williams. Just take a breath and see the big picture. Give him a chance. Don't just hand him everything else. It's only fair. That's all Dan's asking for here.
Mr. Ingram spoke for me when I worked with him in 1981 and I was let go. He speaks for me today. Thanks, Dan.
One final note to Barefoot Billy: Many of us have devoted their lives to their craft...dreaming of a break, staying clean and playing by the rules - paying our dues and finding representation that believes in us. Since my childhood, I wake up every day praying for an animation project, a commercial or network campaign, anything - because that's what I wanted all my life.
Don't trivialize that. You represent yourself as a VO guy. You should understand.
Boy, we love to see one of the fallen become redeemed again. Stallone said once that his early film writings never got picked up because he had his heroes dying at the end. He learned that they have to die in the middle, then have a rebirth.
Mr. Williams is doing his best to redeem his life, more power to him.
Mr. Ingram is speaking about the many people who haven't fallen quite as far as Mr. Williams, but are out of work just the same. Because they didn't screw up their lives as much as Mr. Williams, they are being passed over.
If it were us, and had we done our best to keep our families fed, by working hard and not falling into substance abuse, and the junkie who we used to work with but partied his life away and left his family to fend for themselves got a big break that we didn't, we'd feel MUCH more vitriolic than Mr. Ingram.
But...it's not us. It's people who are removed from us. We don't care about the deeds of the past done by unknown faces...we want a good story.
Wasn't that a subplot of Slumdog Millionaire?
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dan Ingram: Bitter Jackass
Toothless?
Yeah Dan...you are pretty cold hearted. Give the guy a chance. You'd one if you were down on you luck too!
I grew up listening to Big Dan in the sixties and he was the best. His problem here seems to be one of union vs. non-union. Will he feel better if Williams gets his union card?
It shows a lot of troubling bitterness to be mad at a homeless guy for ignoring union politics.
I'll grab a sign on an offramp before I would lift a finger for your arrogant friend. Lucky breaks come in all forms in all fields and in all shapes, sizes and moments. Williams found his...
Williams may fail again, but I'm not sure why he doesn't deserve another chance...even when Dan's friends don't get one.
Life is crazy and wonderful and maddening like that...
He's got millions worth of free publicity, of course you take him. Also, as many people believe, it's more joyful to welcome people back to the flock.
Actually, what this reminds me of is voiceovers for feature animation. The old Disney cartoons had voice experts. Nowadays, it's more about getting big names. I'm not saying the stars in a Shrek or whatever don't do a good job, but they've crowded out the already lower paid behind the scenes voice people.
I'm one of those ex-radio guys struggling to make ends meet. But I have nothing but respect and admiration for Ted Williams.
Sure he was a fuck-up. But he knows it and readily admits it.
I don't know Dan Ingram, but he sounds like a total douche.
Wow, a voiceover guy getting bitchy about... anything. Hey, Dan: Here's ten cents; come back with eleven of your friends.
The Ted Williams story reminds me of The Prodical Son.
Did you guys read the same stuff about this Ted Williams guy that I did? I mean, this guy was arrested for drug possession, theft, robbery, forgery... Sounds like a habitual offender.
Yeah, it's great he has a job, but Dan Ingram has a point. This guy has screwed up big time on multiple occasions and because he makes for a great human interest story, he's getting job offers. Meanwhile guys who have managed to not break the law multiple times are having trouble finding work.
That's life, I guess.
I feel the same way when I buy a lottery ticket, and someone else wins. I play every week, and dont do drugs (well, not that many).
Where's my good luck?
Dan, it seems like a bunch of people are throwing you under the bus, but you are completely justified in everything you have to say. People want a "story" and that takes away from talented hard working people who never made mistakes in the first place.
All the hoopla just proves that we all must do something to distinguish ourselves from the herd.
I doubt Mr. Williams' radical moves were made with thoughts of this as the intended outcome. A union card would have been as useful to him, in his situation, as it has proved to be for the friends/associates of Mr. Ingram.
Hey Dan, I belong to this "great" union you talk about. Dues and health insurance keep going up, but I haven't had a raise in years because the union hasn't re-negotiated the contract. Just lets it sit there. I work holidays for scale, not time and a half. The union makes no attempt to verify that employees are even part of the union, or members in good standing. People who owe thousands in back dues, or who never bothered to join the union are on the air. One of our HD channels is staffed by dj's working for FREE just to be on the air in NYC.....yeah, Ted should really cough up thousands of dollars to belong to this so-called union.
When's the last time Mr. Ingram turned down a job and recommended it go to one of his underemployed union brothers? I have a friend who is a talented and experienced v.o. artist, but our market is dominated by one or two guys who get all the work. That tends to be the nature of the business, and it's great if you're one of those one or two guys, and lousy for everybody else, union or no. Yes, Williams has received a break; but guys like Ingram are the luckiest of the lucky, and ought to realize it.
I had already read the article linked below regarding the "real hero" of the Ted Williams story before coming here today. So, Dan's scorn for him seems more justified for me.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/01/07/2011-01-07_behind_goldenvoiced_ted_williams_is_exwife_patricia_kirtley_the_real_hero_of_the.html
I hope I don't sound terribly naive, but isn't the problem here that there are many more qualified voice-over actors than there are voice-over jobs? If that's the case - and I think it is - no one should be surprised that finding work is a challenge. What I don't understand is the sense of entitlement that some people feel because they've "paid their dues" (figuratively and/or literally), or spent years, in their view, "perfecting their craft." Not all voices are interchangeable, but in the VO world, to the general public, many are. You can't really blame a producer for going with the less-expensive option (perhaps, in this case, someone who has not achieved Dan Ingram's stature) especially if the final product is just as good. Perhaps Dan Ingram could persue another line of work (writing sitcoms, for example) and make doing VO work a sideline.
@foo: Thanks for posting that; I hadn't been following closely and it was news to me. I still want the guy to make the most of the chance he's been given, and now I also want to see him try to make amends.
It's a tough call to make when discussing an addict; on the one hand there are years and years of awful things that can't be just swept under the rug. On the other the very nature of addiction means that the person wasn't in his right mind at the time. I don't want to absolve him of everything, but I also don't want to see a person get crushed by that old baggage now that he's (apparently) cleaned up.
I still think Ingram is a douchebag, though.
Captcha: Relized. Used when a Texan recounts having an epiphany.
Umm... unlike most unions that you have to join to GET a job, with AFTRA/SAG you have to get the job first then join the union, right?
Guess Dan forgot that since he already has had a coule of union gigs.
Hey, Manager Bob. Manage THIS:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/01/ted-williams-homeless-man-with-golden-voice-detained-by-lapd.html
@Great Big Dick Head:
So what?
Aren't those of you calling Mr. Ingram a "douchebag" being just a little harsh? And by your own standards wouldn't you also be "douchebags" for passing judgement on him in this way?
It was either very brave of him or very naive of him to post his unvarnished opinion about this situation in a public forum. Mr. Ingram is appearently a very successful voice man. Isn't he lucky (and skilled) for having such a great career? He isn't a PR executive or writer. He merely gives voice to ideas written by others. Perhaps his contribution to this blog indicates why he is not a writer.
We can forgive Ted Williams for at least one big mistake. Allowing himself to become an addict may be a complicated "situation," but at some point it began as a big mistake, right? Can't we also forgive Dan Ingram for expressing an opinion we may not agree with? He cannot control his feeling that there is some injustice in the Ted Williams story. But he can decide not to make that opinion known. His "mistake" is only making public an unpopular opinion, after all.
Good manners count.
THe guy will either be forgotten within 3 months, or he'll do well and succeed.
No need for Mr. Ingram to discuss it at all.
@Jason- that is a hilarious word captcha; thanks for the laugh
One thing for sure - Frank Capra is dead. I wonder what America would be like if he had never lived...
I was with Dan Ingram until he starts peddling the union stuff. He is so far removed from the day to day struggles of talented voice-over people it's silly. Also as great as Ingram is, today he wouldn't have a chance. He got in when the business was in its infancy. Before voice-acting became the nomenclature, & the business became a sheer commodity.
Big Dan had his own on-air problems on WABC a few years ago during the "Rewound" show. So even a half-century in broadcasting sometimes doesn't prevent the voice talent from having their off moments.
Ted Williams probably will self-destruct again (we'll have to see what the details are on this latest little incicdent), but Dan sounds like unless you cross every 't' and dot every 'i' when it comes to union rules, he's not willing to give anyone a break. Which is why so many people find unions to be as stifling in their own way as the big corporate culture they're supposed to be protecting the workers from in the first place.
The link to Dan Ingram's problems doesn't work. As a human being, of course he's had problems. And he is entitled to his opinion. It's pretty clear Williams got very, very lucky. I could just as easily do what he does and so could literally just about anyone else with a little effort and training. It's just talking, you can train yourself to a certain voice if you don't already have it. And to quote David Letterman about TV: "It's not brain surgery." The same is true of radio and voice over work."
Dan's exactly right! I've been a v/o artist for 45 years and all the nice compliments from friends both in and out of the business about my "voice of God" haven't gotten me much business. Best I can do right now is a part-time v.o and producer gig at a 3 station cluster paying not enough to threaten the maximum I can earn on my Social Security. Wish I'd thought of the "side-of-the-road" gimmick before Ted Williams did!
Yeah, Dan sounds a little jealous. Williams, however, is not a good risk for success. Real "recovery" from drug addiction is rare and the temptations will always be there when the pressures of his success come calling. I can see getting him a radio gig, but I'll be pleasantly surprised if he survives all this attention.
Thomas Friedman, by the way, is a complete douchebag whose name should not be mentioned in polite company until he apologizes for his role in cheerleading the Iraq War.
@Dan:
@Great Big Dick Head:
So what?
I love how your profile states:
"I'm trying to get myself a job as a TV writer."
With witty banter like "Great Big Dick Head, So What?" you're bound for stardom.
I keep thinking the real story is the news reporter who decided to do a story on Ted Williams rather than some sleazy digging-dirt political story. What's up with that?
The side of the road gimmick isn't what got him the job. It was luck. I still have sandwich board signs and a foot tall red white and blue hat I wore traipsing up and down Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard and the Las Vegas Strip day after day for a long time while being HOMELESS while TOTING a 28 inch Briggs & Riley suitcase (that needed new wheels and frame very often from the abuse, it was BRUTAL on both my body and the suitcase.) No reporter picked up on it and made it viral-yet. And it's VERY TOUGH and a very difficult way to market a script. Nonetheless, it's a very good story as is my whole personal struggle which still exists:
Cutting Confessions-One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest meets Slumdog Millionaire with a touch of Black Swan:
www.myspace.com/370392338
www.cuttingconfessionsfilm.blogspot.com
Ted Williams = Great voice
Dan Ingram = Sour grapes
P.S. I heard Dan Ingram when he filled in on K-EARTH a few years ago. To me, he sounded like he had lost it.
You know, I might even be able to understand the Union-do-or-die first position sentiment in certain situations. But this statement doesn't convince me as to why I should empathize with its members who only first see a Union accounting-number issue (one less Union employee getting a job etc...) That's precisely the cliche that the Unions were supposed to fight - I mean, the industry simply treating all workers as but workers, rather than seeing a human dimension to their labor - that they have lives and rights accordingly. I don't know why to wish him (predict it practically) ill will for his whole life ahead. If that's the Union reaction to one case... wow. I can only imagine that therefore all the Unions must be antiseptic, humanitarian places without once any signs of human corruption among either their leaders or members...Yeah. Thought so. Where did they invest the retirement funds again?
I agree with the commenter who mentioned the example of an idiot like Bristol Palin getting offered a radio show. THAT is where I would be directing my energy regarding professionals in the field. This guy is just a symbol for one second. The Palin-example goes on and on and on...
Fred said: "Good manners count."
You...you do realize you're on the internet, right? (I wish you were).
Sadly, it appears that Mr. Williams is well along the way to self-destructing again, with an alcohol fueled domestic violence incident. Or, maybe he saw the Cavs get pasted by the Lakers last night & this was his way of ditching that job offer?
@Fred: I am being harsh, but for a different reason. I think that difference justifies my harshness; others may not agree.
I personally see Ingram's union spiel as "fuck you, I got mine". He's the king of the hill (at least in his own mind) and is trying to boot away people he doesn't want joining him.
If Williams was a union member previously it makes Ingram's position more untenable in my mind: Why look out for a union that didn't look out for one of its members? But I admit I don't know if Williams was union before he got into drugs and flamed out. For Dan's sake I hope not -- though the line between "douchebag" and "flaming asshole" may not be as important to some.
Mr Ingram is of course entitled to his opinions, and we're entitled to ours to the point that Ken allows us to track mud across the place. So Dan Ingram's a judgmental asshole for his pro-union, fuck-the-little-guy spiel, and I'm a judgmental asshole for calling him names, and you're a judgmental asshole for calling me a hypocrite.
But hey, at least when someone calls me an asshole I won't have any complaints about some of the company I keep.
"Keep firing, Assholes!"
Hey, Ken:
You might let the many wannabe writers/directors who read your blog know how far they'd get selling their projects without joining one or more of the unions to which you belong!
REAPTAN = Effects of holding a sign too long on I-71
Okay, Dan...Ted's got his SAG and AFTRA membership now (happened Monday). So I guess the operable part of your note is now "wishing him well", right?
@Jason,
I'm sorry.
Fred
@Fred: No apology necessary; I was exaggerating to (attempt to) make a joke. There's a reason I write computer programs and not sitcoms.
I feel I owe you an apology: If I can't write clearly enough for you to figure out what the hell I'm on about that's my problem.
Captcha: sammie. They're not even trying any more, are they?
When was the last time Dan Ingram batted .406 over a Major League season?
Well, Dan, hope you're happy, Ted Williams has fallen:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110112/wr_nm/us_homeless_voice
Not to trivialize Ted Williams plight I wish him the best but..how many VO people wished they would have thought of a similar gimmick to get on the TODAY show and in front of all those potential advertisers. I mean it giving away tickets to YANKEE games and the GRAMMYS to all those casting types..RIGHT? By the way DAN we love you but turn down the grouch a hair turn the HUMOR back up.
Dan... good for you for speaking your mind, even if it isn't popular
I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with Dan (Ingram)'s viewpoint regarding this P.R. "scam"/"stunt"--for the simple reason there are PLENTY of TALENTED, RESPONSIBLE, DEPENDABLE folks out there who could do the same thing as the aforentioned Mr. Williams. So why does this 2-time LOSER get the "nod"--sympathy? Great incentive for the un-employed..
America Loves a Rascal and America also loves a COMEBACK STORY and agent/publicist/managers KNOW THAT.
America loves a RASCAL and AMERICA loves A COMEBACK STORY and an AGENT/PUBLICIST/MANAGER knows that.
CONVICT will shape up in rehab for sure, have more "outside kids", neglect them and their whore mothers, and end up back behind bars. IF history repeats itself, that is.
The rest of us will continue to be treated like scum at our "announcing jobs", while wishing we came up with the idea first.
How great would it have been if the guy who did it wasn't an asshole father who neglected his bastard and non-bastard children while in and out of prison?
Dear Ken,
For someone who used words for a living, I guess I really screwed up. So, the media picked him up and gave him 15 minutes of fame. So be it. It's just that I know a couple dozen deserving folks who have been working years waiting for their 15 minutes of fame.
I still wish that he joins with other dedicated workers in their unions to create a bit of power to balance the extreme unbalance in the workplace.
Before I wrote this note I watched the ceremonies
in Tucson. They made this entire matter seem very, very small.
Very truly yours,
Dan Ingram
I never thought Dan Ingram was a good jock. People like him b/c he was the pm drive guy on WABC. I think he stunk! Too much of an accent and just didn't do it for me.
Okay, you want to disagree with Dan Ingram? That's fine. The name-callers are over-the-line but forums like this always attract this element.
But when the last guy said he wasn't a great disc jockey -- that's when I have to step in. Dan Ingram was probably the BEST disc jockey ever. So fast, so funny, so spontaneous, and he did that four hours a day every day for twenty years. I remain in absolute awe of his talent.
And of the guy who said he wasn't good wasn't man enough to leave his name.
I've been on Air 35 years and know 50 "Ted's." This business attracts all kinds. Ted brings nothing unusual to the table - except a cool human interest back story. 13 minutes of his 15 minutes has passed already.
Dan I hope you recall how when I had you on my show at CNBC, when we chatted off air, I begged you to help AFTRA organize the shop. You said you would and never did.
I called over and over to no avail.
Stop the holier than though AFTRA crap. This guy needs far more than AFTRA can offer. Most of us do.
How about all the talented, qualified non substance abusers who need work?
I wish you well Dan and hope you are feeling better... but please stop preaching AFTRA!
Ted David
teddavid@gmail.com
www.teddavid.com
Ken Levine, you're right. The anonymous guy is just a troll.
Dan Ingram is the best contemporary music jock of all time.
Anyone who says otherwise is just trying to stir the pot.
@Dan: Thanks for poking your head into the lion's den. If it matters to you, I'm one of the dickwads calling you names in the earlier comments.
I'm glad to see you've dialed it back a bit, and I'll grant you some inartful writing (I'd have to be a bigger jerk than usual not to, since I had the same problem a couple comments ago).
Pretty much all of my own ire came from two things: You seemed to think the guy was somehow undeserving, and you were being a union shill. Now I know from having read Ken's blog that entertainment unions can be necessary. But I also lived in Pittsburgh for 10 years so I've also seen the damage that a union needs to accept its share of the lame for. So my goodwill toward unions isn't automatic.
I don't know how things are in the VO industry. I have only secondhand exposure to it through my coworkers finding and contracting out to VO people. I don't know if they're in any kind of union, and I'm happy not knowing. I don't know what services your union provides in exchange for the dues.
So when you lead with calling the guy a scab and saying he's taking jobs away from people in your union, you're technically right. But I hope you can see where a lot of people who don't work in that field saw a guy who fell into a pile of crap and came out smelling like a rose.
Sure, there's a good chance he'll screw it up. I've been in my job for six years and there's still a good chance I'll screw it up. But calling a guy out like that for basically winning the lottery just seemed petty. For what it's worth I'm glad you've backed off of that.
Homeless guy Ted Williams gets the Golden Ticket while upright, hardworking people in the VO industry slave away for nothing. Oh well.
It's business. And one thing business isn't, is fair. Or unfair. It's just the way it is.
We've all seen talented people get screwed, bastards get promoted, assholes who make a killing off of others' work and still sleep at night. It's business, baby. No amount of organized labor -- itself a business -- is going to save you from that unalterable truth.
Anyone trying to break in anywhere need to burn this into their brains.
Ken...I think you should start deleting ALL of the "anonymous" comments. That way these cowards wouldn't get to see their comment in print, and we wouldn't have to read them!!
@ Great Big Radio Guy (Dick Head)
You're still a twunt. Your post was meant to smear a guy who's spent years eating out of garbage cans. Nice one. Sleep tight.
Oh, and your show blows! All 3 of your listeners said so.
Sorry Ken.
People don't have to like Dan Ingram. It's my opinion. Don't get mad or put me down because I think he stinks. I think there are a lot of other jocks that can do it better for my tastes. Such as Bill Lee, JoJo Cookin Kincaid and others. These guys in my opinion are better than Dan.
If Charlie Tuna was the pm drive guy on WABC for 20 years, I'm sure people would love Charlie Tuna that much more.
in fact, I was a 99X listener as a teen in the 70s. 99X flowed better and had a better style than WABC in my opinion. Loved Steve Weed.
The anonymous guy who thinks that Dan Ingram was a lousy DJ is a liar, has an axe to grind, or is just plain jealous.
He has a union card. Other voiceover artists paid for it and presented it to him on "Entertainment Tonight."
I too loved 99x and Steve Weed my girlfriend won TAVARES tickets on his show and he was very cool. NYC fringe formatted FM's you know who they were WPIX format of the month was the Queen of the Radio battle for all the fringe players. They were really hot for years and then had to spoil it with the success of Love Songs. We used to call it .9 radio when the current format fell to that level at PIX they changed the format. Another big laugh was when a certain disk jockey on the schedule wrote in next to the name of the then PD/Morning Man "watch this space" You had to be there.
Dan: You speak of all the VO people who are having difficult times, and why Ted Williams, as though he doesn't deserve it. The people you know, have they become homeless? Are they Panhandler's? Did they resort to drugs and Alchol during their bad times trying to get work? Well Ted did. He has hit rock bottom in ways that the people you know may not understand. He should be considered one of those people you know. The difference it sounds, if the people you know are as sour as you sound, I can understand why they have not made it. Ted is unique in that through all his hard times, he managed to keep a smile, find humor in being homeless and willing to stand out there and advertise to get a job. He worked very hard for what he has, and you and all these other people you should probably take a look at what Ted did to turn his life around, instead of knocking him for finally getting a break after all the Panhandling it took for him to get there. Not only that, he has given back to other Panhandler's, did you know that. What are you doing to change the lives of people you manage?
Hey Ken,
I and my wife visited Dan Ingram recently here in Florida. Dan will remember our visit from Frankie and Judy. He was shocked and joyfully happy that anyone from the old New York friends network would track him down and pay a friendly visit to him I can not reach Dan by his house phone, he is never in when we call and he asked us to show up for Christmas time to give him a present after visiting him during the summer as he was recooperating from his back surgery. SO since you and him are in contact with each other, can you either give me his email address so that I can contact him? OR can you call and or email him and ask him for his permission to for you to give us his email address.
Thanks and you can contact me at:
frankmediamedia@gmail.com
and or call me on my florida cell phone number to talk to me first at:1-718-390-6635. IF I am busy or asleep then leave your name and phone number for me to call you back by.
Thanks a ton, in Solidarity,
Frank
To Dan, I say: "Bitter Much".
And to Ken, I say, thanks for your great blog!
To Big Dan, I say: "Bitter Much"?
Dan,
You are unquestionably the greatest T-40 on air personality of all time on many different levels. Yet your reasons for your rant against Williams is shocking and disturbing on many levels. In fact on one particular level you are disturbing because you have already had your fame and tons of money as a VO man. So please stop complaining about and for this guy. If you had never made it to the top of the mountain as the best VO man then we could all see you complaining.
Besides this. You yourself invited my three associates back to your home to visit you after their first initial visit and then you ignored them once they tried to revisit you. Whats that all about? And the male visitor always talked about you as God of all time radio personalities. Then you do this.
Care to make this up to my three associates before we are all to old and tired and heading for the grave. If you do care and if you want to make this up to them, then contact me, Josephine at:
yourneeds247@hotmail.com
And or call me at: 1-718-390-6635. Leave your name and number if we are busy or closed.
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