Ted Williams' 'He Said-She Said' Battle With Daughter
LOS ANGELES (CBS/ AP) Has Ted Williams started drinking again?
According to "Early Show" contributor Dr. Jennifer Hartstein, a psychologist, it's a case of "he-said-she-said."
The question came up after a trip to Hollywood for appearances on "Dr. Phil" and "Entertainment Tonight" got off to a rough start for the Ohio homeless man whose golden voice has made him an Internet sensation and landed him voiceover work and many offers for more.
A disturbance report was made after Williams, 53, and his daughter got into a heated argument Monday at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel & Spa.
VIDEO: Trouble for Williams?
"It was minor. Both parties were angry but there were no signs of visible abuse," Los Angeles police Officer Catherine Massey said Tuesday. She said the two "were brought in, calmed down, talked to and released" and she did not know the nature of the argument.
Williams and his daughter were held at the Hollywood police station for less than an hour and they were not arrested, Massey said.
She declined to name Williams' daughter, but a statement from "Entertainment Tonight" identified her as Janey Williams.
Ted Williams told "ET" in a Tuesday night show that it was a family gathering that got out of control.
"I wanted to bring it to a close by just saying 'Shut the hell up and let me talk to your mother.' When that was said out of my mouth my daughter exploded, just erupted into this jump up in my face type of thing, fists started flying, none of which were mine, none of which were mine, but it could have escalated to the point where it could have gotten really ugly. So in the process of doing that, I got scratched on my face," he told "ET."
Janey Williams told "ET" she was angry because her father, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, had resumed drinking.
"He has consumed at least a bottle of Gray Goose a night. That's not including the Coronas he ordered, that's not including the Budweisers he ordered, the other alcohol, the wines. He drinks heavily," she said.
Ted Williams denied to "ET" that he had been drinking. He also denied it to Phil McGraw.
Williams flew into town to tape appearances on TV's "Dr. Phil" show and "Entertainment Tonight."
The two-part "Dr. Phil" episode was taped over the weekend for airing Tuesday and Wednesday. On the Wednesday segment, Williams meets with his ex-wife, Patricia, and five of his nine children, according to a statement from the show.
"Everyone is pulling for Ted, but his 15 minutes are going to be over and then he'll be left to manage a life filled with temptation," host Phil McGraw said. "We're going to try and help him prepare for that because it would be a real tragedy if he did not make the most of this extraordinary second chance."
The jury is still out on whether Williams has indeed started drinking again, with lots of money suddenly coming in and the pressure the glare of fame brings, Hartstein remarked to "Early Show" co-anchors Chris Wragge and Erica Hill.
" I don't think we have all the details" of what happened in the hotel room, Hartstein pointed out. … "(His daughter is) reporting he's drinking. He's saying no. so it's a big case of 'he-said-she-said.' … He's denying it, adamantly."
" … Newfound fame. Huge, right?" Hartstein said. "We hafta be aware of what that's gonna do. Is he at greater risk? Yes. The answer is we have to really monitor him."
" … He's in the spotlight. We are looking at him in a microscope right now, and so everything he does, we're examining every move, and it's gonna be risky for him. … Everybody's watching to see him slip up. "
Williams, Hartstein added, "needs to final those social supports that are gonna protect him. Dr. Phil's gonna help him? That would be great."
:And surround yourself with people who really care about you and not your money," Hill observed.
"Exactly," Hartstein agreed.
Williams trained to be a radio announcer but found his life derailed by drugs and alcohol in the 1990s. He has served time in prison for theft and forgery and has been cited with numerous misdemeanors, including drug abuse.
Williams became famous almost overnight after The Columbus Dispatch newspaper posted a Web video of him last week and he sat down for an "Early Show: interview. Viewers were enthralled to hear a deep, honeyed professional voice coming from the shabbily dressed man.
Since then, he has done a TV commercial for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, appeared on various news shows, recorded voiceover promos for cable news and was offered an announcing job with the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team.
Although he says he has been clean for more than two years, the recovering addict has acknowledged that it has been challenging dealing with sudden fame.
"I wanted a nerve pill, to be honest with you," he said on "The Early Show" at one point.
VIDEO: Hartstein's discussion about Williams with Wragge and Hill
VIDEO: Ted and Julia Willliams interviewed on "The Early Show" by co-anchors Chris Wragge and Erica Hill
VIDEO: Williams' emotional mother-and-son reunion
VIDEO: Doral Chenoweth, the Columbus Dispatch reporter who discovered Ted Williams on the side of the road in Ohio, also spoke with Wragge and Hill
More "Early Show" videos, of interviews of Julia:
VIDEO: Ted Williams' Mom on His Sudden Fame
VIDEO: Video: Ted Williams' New "Golden" Life
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