Radio legend John Laws dead at age 90
Legendary broadcaster John Laws, known as 'Golden Tonsils' and famed for his gold microphone and seven-decade radio career, has died.
Radio legend John Laws has died.
The 90-year-old affectionately dubbed Golden Tonsils passed away in Sydney.
Laws was 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, on Sunday.
In a statement his family said: “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.
“The family wants to thank the many well-wishers who have already reached out, because we know that we shared the man, known simply as Lawsie, with so many of you.”
Early on Monday, his long-time friend and fellow radio icon Alan Jones paid a heartfelt tribute to Laws.
“For almost three quarters of that time, ‘the voice’ entertained, cajoled, persuaded, jested, but, above all, spoke with an unapologetic clarity, best summed up by his often personal observation to me, ‘If they don’t like it, they can turn off,’” Jones wrote. “But they rarely did because, whether from adulation or anger, John Laws was compulsive listening.”
“John pioneered talkback radio which, to him, was the broadcast medium where, while you talked, you also had to listen back and respond. The results bear witness to his extraordinary success.”
Jones also touched on their “so-called rivalry”. While he admits in any field there is “always competitive tension”, there was “never animosity” between himself and Laws, just “a lot of great stories, many laughs, and enduring respect and friendship”.
Jones said that he “can’t believe the innings is over”, but “there were a lot of runs”.
“But what remains forever towards John Laws is the spontaneous applause of gratitude and thanks for the pleasure and enjoyment given to millions by a fabulous innings of life generously and gloriously played out.”
Laws’ famous friends have since paid tribute to the broadcaster on social media.
“John Laws was my neighbour for 23 years. He was a wise mentor, a mischievous mate and a very good friend,” tweeted Russell Crowe. “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.”
In his tribute, fellow radio star Kyle Sandilands called Laws “one of the true originals”.
“You could never mistake him for anyone else,” the KIIS FM host tweeted. “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.
Premier Chris Minns said: “It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of John Laws, a towering figure in Australian radio whose voice resonated across the nation for more than seven decades.
“John’s career was extraordinary. Few broadcasters have left such a deep and lasting mark on Australian media.”
Laws, famous for having a cigarette or cigar at hand during a career spanning seven decades, spent the past 10 years in and out of St Vincent’s Private Hospital being treated for a swathe of respiratory complications that proved an inconvenience.
In September 2023 he spent three weeks at St Vincent’s after a routine ear infection turned into pneumonia.
In 2021 he had been forced to take extended leave from 2SM after suffering recurrent respiratory infections.
Five years earlier in 2016, an airline refused to let the man former prime minister Paul Keating once called “the world’s greatest broadcaster” fly home from Rome to Australia without an insurance industry-approved medico sitting by his side taking his blood pressure and administering oxygen at 25,000 feet.
Two weeks earlier he had been admitted to Rome’s Salvator Mundi Private Clinic suffering from bronchial pneumonia with oxygen levels so low doctors feared the impact on his heart.
One of his greatest blows would come in 2020 when he lost his beloved wife Caroline, the woman he called “The Princess”, to cancer.
Born in Papua New Guinea to Australian parents in 1935, Laws, who contracted polio twice as a boy, came to fame in the ‘50s working as a disc jockey after getting his start at Bendigo’s 3BO.
He worked his way through the industry before landing in Sydney during the Swinging Sixties with a job at 2UE. Stints at 2GB and 2UW followed. He began all his shows with “Hello world, I’m John Laws”.
Opportunities to work in the country’s fledgling TV industry arrived at the same time for the lanky good-looking Laws, would go on to appear on TV shows Bandstand, Startime, New Faces and, in 1970, Beauty and the Beast.
In the process he became one of the nation’s most famous, influential and highest paid broadcasters, something that greatly pleased him.
In one of his last interviews in August this year he told podcaster Mark Bouris he had landed on his feet in the radio industry.
“I don’t think I had any great desire to be a broadcaster but once I started I liked it. Plenty of money and plenty of girls. What more could a man ask for?”
In January 2011 he came out of retirement to take his John Laws Morning Show to Bill Caralis’s 2SM Super Network.
Laws would make one of his final public appearances at Caralis’s funeral in Queensland in August 2024.
When asked in recent years if he feared death, Laws stole a line from filmmaker Woody Allen: “I’m not afraid of death, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”
Laws is survived by sons Samual and Joshua, his step-daughters by Caroline, Gabrielle, Georgina, Nichola and Susie, and his grandchildren.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Laws on Sunday night.
“John Laws was an iconic voice and so much more,” Mr Albanese wrote on social media.
“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.”
Opposition leader Sussan Ley said Australia had “lost a true pioneer of broadcasting”.
“His unmistakable voice became part of our national soundtrack,” she said.
“He informed and entertained millions, asked the tough questions and always made space for others to be heard.
“He helped shape public debate with a style that was fearless, perceptive and unmistakably his own.
“My thoughts are with his family, his friends and all who admired him. His legacy will echo for years to come.”
Originally published as Radio legend John Laws dead at age 90
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