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SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – Leaving the Air Force led Darryl Williams to a chance of a lifetime, his own TV segment, “Dial Darryl,” appearing on Sprout, the first 24-hour preschool network, in January.
"Last July, I saw a commercial for a host contest and I thought, 'I love kids and I did theater in high school, this is perfect for me,'" said Williams. "I looked at my son and he gave me a look like he was going to throw up and I said, 'Let's do this.'"
The Columbus, Ga., native was one of more than 2,000 people to submit a video and then his monthlong wait began.
One evening after his son was in bed, Williams received a call from a mysterious phone number.
"I almost didn't answer it because it was a D.C. phone number and thought it was a telemarketer," said Williams. "When I answered it, they said I was a finalist. I freaked out, so much so, my son woke up."
Next, Williams traveled to Philadelphia to audition.
"In the military, I remember having to get dressed in service dress and hold a sign up for a distinguished visitor at the airport," said the former knowledge operations management airman. "Now, here I was with a driver wearing a really nice suit holding a sign with my name on it at the airport.
During his audition, Williams was asked what he could bring to the table.
"I understand the magical world kids are a part of, and I understand what kids go through, but not all kids have it easy, so I bring empathy," he answered.
Two weeks later, Williams received a call saying they loved the fact he was a stay-at-home-dad and a veteran, and the network wanted to incorporate those elements into his own segment.
Williams' first appearance was during Veterans Day.
"They gave Mr. Mailman the day off and I delivered the mail, presented birthday cards and talked about my military experience," said Williams. "The feedback was outstanding. My mother was going crazy, my wife was going crazy. My wife took a video of my 1-year-old son seeing daddy on TV with his favorite chicken, Chica, his eyes lit up. He also was probably wondering how dad got in that little box."
Williams' next experience was appearing on the Sprout float during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
"It was really cold, so they had us in a bus to keep us warm and I was on the same bus with Fall Out Boy, Debby Ryan and the guys from the Ocean Spray commercials," he said. "One of the guys asked for a picture of the Sprout family for his daughter, so I offered to take the picture and he said, 'No, I want you in the picture.' It was so surreal.
"I have never in my life seen millions of people in one place happy, celebrating, waving, giving air hugs and blowing kisses," Williams continued. "I kept thinking it was for the others, but people would point, 'No, for you,' and that's when I really came to life. I started dancing, singing and waving. It was amazing."
Out of a flood of people Williams saw a young boy with a hat he liked.
"I pointed to him and said, 'I love your hat,' and he signed 'thank you' to me," said Williams. "That really did something to me because out of millions of people I made this connection with a child who was hearing impaired; it was a special Thanksgiving moment.
"I can't wait to see what else is in store," said Williams. "I couldn't ask for anything better."
| Date Taken: | 03.03.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 03.03.2014 16:25 |
| Story ID: | 121436 |
| Location: | SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, IL, US |
| Hometown: | COLUMBUS, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 61 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Former airman connects with kids as TV host, by Capt. Amber Kelly-Herard, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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