John Laws, the legendary Australian talkback radio broadcaster known as 'the Golden Tonsils', has died at the age of 90. His family confirmed he passed away peacefully at his home in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, after a career spanning more than seven decades.
Laws, who attracted up to 2 million listeners at his peak, was inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame and received an ARIA lifetime achievement award in 2008. He spent four stints at Sydney station 2UE and also worked for 2GB, 2UW, 2SM, Network Ten and Foxtel.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute, calling Laws 'an iconic voice and so much more', while broadcaster Kyle Sandilands described him as 'one of the true originals' and a mentor. Laws was known for his unique blend of entertainment, information and opinion, and was once the world's best-paid radio broadcaster.
His career was not without controversy, notably the 1999 'cash-for-comment' scandal alongside Alan Jones, which led to 90 breaches of the industry code being found by the Australian Broadcasting Authority. Despite this, Laws remained a towering figure in Australian media until his retirement in 2023.
