John Laws, the veteran Australian talkback radio host dubbed the “Golden Tonsils” for his trademark voice, has died aged 90.
Laws, whose career spanned more than 70 years, was – during his peak – one of the world’s highest paid commercial radio hosts. His resume included interviewing 17 Australian prime ministers and countless celebrities.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described Laws as an “iconic voice” while actor and former neighbour Russell Crowe said he was a “mischievous mate”.
In the 1990s, he – along with rival Alan Jones – were found to have breached commercial radio rules in a “cash-for-comment” scandal for not disclosing significant payments for on-air endorsements.
In a statement on Sunday, Laws’ family said their “beloved father/grandfather/uncle” had died peacefully at his Sydney home earlier that day.
“While fame and prominence had become a mainstay of his life, for us he was always the person who meant so much, away from the microphone, the cameras, and the headlines,” the statement said.
Hugely successful but also polarising, Laws retired last November after various stints at a number of Sydney radio stations including 2UE and 2GB before his final 13-year run at 2SM. His shows were broadcast across Australia with a loyal following, especially in rural areas in New South Wales.
At the height of this career, he had two million listeners tuning into his morning radio show, according to Australian Associated Press, which he opened with his signature greeting, “Hello world”.
In 2003, to mark his five decades as a radio host, his employer at the time 2UE gave him a gold-plated microphone, which was stolen several years later.
Among the tributes to Laws was former Australian prime minister John Howard who described him “a dominating presence on Sydney and national radio”.
Russell Crowe, who lived next to Laws for more than two decades, said Laws “worked hard, played harder and loved completely. A legend, in the very best, most Australian, sense of the word. I loved him and I’ll never forget him”.
But his career was also marked by several controversies including asking a woman who had been a child sex abuse victim if she was to blame.
In 2000, Laws was also found guilty of contempt of court for interviewing a juror after a murder trial and was handed a suspended jail sentence.
A few years later, Laws and another presenter on radio station 2UE were found guilty of breaking homosexual vilification laws for referring to a young gay couple using derogatory language.
And in 2021, Laws again breached industry regulations by calling a listener “mentally deficient” and asking them to “say something constructive, like you’re going to kill yourself”.
Born in Papua New Guinea in 1935, Laws and his family moved to Australia during World War Two. He grew up in Sydney and started his radio career in regional Victoria in 1953 at the age of 18.
His career came at a time when new broadcasting laws allowed telephone calls to be aired, with many saying he went on to pioneer how talkback radio worked.
For decades, he dominated the medium, with his influence channelled by prime ministers and politicians, especially during elections, to get their party messages to the wider public.
Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating once said that Laws ability to reach the masses was crucial for any politician and that “if you could convince John Laws, you could convince Australia”.
Laws also branched out into television – hosting shows as well as being a talk show panellist – and the silver screen, starring in the 1970 film Ned Kelly which featured Mick Jagger.
During his career, Laws was inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame and he received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to broadcasting and charity. The award was later upgraded to the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, said Jones’ family will be offered a state funeral.
