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John Laws, the Australian radio titan who a former Australian prime minister once called "the broadcaster of the century", has died. He was 90 Laws died peacefully at home in Woolloomooloo yesterday after spending two weeks in hospital last month. Tributes to the man best known as "Lawsie" and "the Golden Tonsils" during more than 70 years on air begun pouring in tonight from fellow radio stars. READ MORE: Man found dead on track after massive brawl Kyle Sandilands described him as "one of the true originals". "You could never mistake him for anyone else," the Kyle and Jackie O host said on X. "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." Ray Hadley said Laws revolutionised the talk radio industry. "In the latter years when he was at 2SM and tell me I was a copier... my reply was that if you were in the presence of someone who had perfected their craft, you'd be mad not to use some of that yourself," he told the Daily Telegraph. READ MORE: Senator says he'll quit if Liberals dump net zero Laws was born on 8 August, 1935, in Wau, New Guinea, to Australian parents who owned a number of trade stores. He grew up in Sydney after being evacuated to Australia during World War II. In 1953, at 18, Laws hitchhiked to central Victoria where he took a job as a general hand at local Bendigo radio station 3BO. His first job included making tea for staff and packing away the sixteen-inch records. He made his on-air debut reading a commercial for a local haberdashery store, The Beehive. READ MORE: Single gunshot heard from bush after Dezi Freeman's escape In 1956 he returned to the big smoke to work at Sydney station 2UE. He worked alongside the likes of the late Australian media icon Brian Henderson. During his time at the station, Laws was one of the first DJs to present Australia's first top 40 Countdown. As part of the broadcast line-up, Laws met and became friends with the likes of Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Tom Jones, Nat King Cole, Johnny O'Keefe and Col Joye and the Joy Boys. During this period Laws also embraced the industry's new talkback format, which would make him a household name as would his "Hello world" phrase. He was considered so highly influential that the 1983 Australian Federal Election was dubbed "The John Laws Election" for the amount of campaign announcements made on Laws' show. In 1984, after a bidding war for his services, he joined 2GB. Four years later he returned to 2UE. Laws' political influence would be on display again in 1993 when former Prime Minister Paul Keating attended a dinner to mark Laws' 40th year in radio. At the dinner, Keating called Laws the "broadcaster of the century". At the height of his career, Laws was caught in a "cash for comment" scandal. An investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Authority found he breached commercial radio broadcast codes. The saga fuelled an outrage with Laws plastered on the front page of the mainstream newspapers for seven days in a row. He said he couldn't leave his home without being hounded by the media. "It was hideous. I survived it with difficulty. But I survived it because that's my intention all the time, to survive," he said in a 2000 interview with The Age. He denied any suggestion of secret payments and that 2UE were aware of the financial agreements. By 2007, a 71-year-old Laws retired from radio, ending his 55-year career. He returned to the airwaves in 2011. When he made the announcement during his show then Prime Minister John Howard and future prime minister Kevin Rudd were among his callers. In early February 2020 Laws farewelled his "Princess" and wife, Caroline, who lost her battle with cancer after 43 years of marriage. In 2021, 85-year-old Laws suffered a health scare after he was admitted to a Sydney hospital with an infection. Laws retired in 2024 after 71 years in radio, saying he'd had a "fantastic" time in the industry and didn't "want to be greedy". "I think it's time for a rest, is what I think," Laws announced on his 2SM radio show. "I've done it for a very, very, very, very long time - 70 years, is it long enough? It's long enough." At the time, Laws said his plans for retirement were to read more and travel. Laws was said to be in "good form" when he returned from a European holiday in September. "He spent two weeks in hospital last month and was then cared for at his home at Woolloomooloo, where he died peacefully, yesterday," a statement said. Laws would always end his radio programs with his signature sign-off: "be kind to each other." DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
