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John Laws, the towering and often divisive figure of Australian talk radio known as the “Golden Tonsils”, has died, aged 90. His death was confirmed on Sunday by his family, who said in a statement: “Today marks a very difficult day for our family, with the news that our beloved father/grandfather/uncle John Laws has died peacefully at home.” “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. It is comforting to know that John’s was a life lived well – he had remained in good health and even better spirits right up until the last few weeks.” Laws spent two weeks in hospital in October and died at his home in the Sydney suburb of Woolloomooloo, reported ABC News. Laws’ gravelly and indisputably familiar voice dominated Australian airwaves for more than seven decades, making him one of the country’s most influential broadcasters and a transformational presence in commercial radio. Born Richard John Sinclair Laws in Wau in what was then the Territory of New Guinea in August 1935, Laws survived polio twice in his life. He began his career at station 3BO in 1953 and moved into Sydney’s major radio circuit before eventually becoming dominant in morning talkback. Laws was one of the highest-paid radio performers of his era and syndicated across scores of stations. In his peak years, his morning show drew an audience estimated at around two million listeners. His reach went well beyond his radio show, as commercial brands paid for his voice and senior politicians used his programme as a place to make announcements. In the 1980s, he fronted a Valvoline motor oil campaign 1980s and supplied voiceover for a 1968 Holden advert. At the same time, political figures treated his morning programme as a platform, and by the early 1980s, politicians were routinely booking time on his show to reach voters directly. The 1983 federal election was widely described at the time as the “John Laws election” because of the number of major campaign announcements made on his programme, and former prime minister Paul Keating later said, according to The Conversation: “Forget the press gallery. Educate John Laws and you educate Australia.” In a 2017 interview with The Big Smoke, Laws pushed back on the idea that he was permanently enraged: “No, some people say I have but I’m just as angry as I ever was. I don’t have any trouble being angry. I’m not angry all the time, I have soft moments.” Over a 71-year career, he interviewed 17 Australian prime ministers, more than any other commercial radio host, and was inducted into the Commercial Radio Hall of Fame in 2003 in recognition of his decades on the air. He had earlier been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1974 for services to broadcasting and charity, with the honour upgraded to Commander of the British Empire four years later. However, his career also featured significant public and regulatory challenges. A 1999 “cash-for-comment” inquiry found he had failed to disclose sponsorship deals with major corporations, though he denied any wrongdoing. In 2007, he drew criticism after asking a caller who disclosed years of childhood sexual abuse whether it had been “her fault” and if she had been “provocative”. He later said he had been “just trying to keep it light” and apologised “if I upset anybody”. In 2004, the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal ruled that remarks he and fellow host Steve Price made about a gay couple on The Block were capable of inciting ridicule. Both later apologised and 2UE donated AU$10,000 (£4,962) to the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation. Laws was also an author. He published a 1978 collection of poems, Just You and Me Together Love, and several later books and collections like The John Laws Book of Uncommon Sense and There’s Always More to the Story. Laws retired from broadcasting last year, signing off with his final show in November 2024. His remarkable career spanned the evolution of the industry, from the days of vinyl records and vacuum-tube transmitters to the modern era of podcasts and streaming audio. Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese offered his condolences. “John Laws was an iconic voice and so much more. Generations of Australians trusted and respected him for telling it straight, digging deep and giving his guests and his listeners a chance to be heard. John was always a thoroughly prepared and thoughtful interviewer - and wonderful company off-air. My condolences to his loved ones and to all who benefited from his wisdom and guidance,” he wrote on X. New South Wales premier Chris Minns wrote that “few broadcasters have left such a deep and lasting mark on Australian media”. Gladiator star Russell Crowe described Laws as “a wise mentor, a mischievous mate and a very good friend”. He wrote: “John Laws was my neighbour for 23 years. He was a wise mentor, a mischievous mate and a very good friend. I am deeply saddened by his passing, however, I am buoyed in the sure and certain knowledge that he led a magnificent life of achievement and adventure and he lived every moment. He 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. Vale John Laws.” “John Laws was one of the true originals. You could never mistake him for anyone else. He said what he thought, didn't care who he offended, but could also show deep compassion when required. I'm devastated to have lost a mentor and a mate. Radio won't be the same without him,” wrote radio host Kyle Sandilands. Sydney radio broadcaster Ray Hadley called Laws “the king of radio”, according to The Daily Telegraph. “He started careers, he helped careers. Many of the things I did on my radio program had their genesis in John Laws, because he was the best, without peer. He was gifted in his craft, he was able to extract things from politicians that no one else could.”
