TRANSCRIPT
He was dubbed the"Golden Tonsils"known for his distinctive voice that reached millions of radio listeners across the country.
John Laws was adored by a legion of fans and loathed by others.
The news of his death comes just one year after he announced his retirement behind his signature golden microphone.
In a statement his family said:
"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."
Laws started off as a jackaroo and later dabbled in music.
But he made his mark as the king of talkback and wasn't afraid of being called a shock jock.
"The way I used to do that in the first talk program I did was to be rude to them. And then, Australians don't like you being rude to them and why would they? And then they would react."
Laws dominated Sydney's radio industry for decades, but Australian broadcaster Murray Olds says his influence stretched well beyond the city.
"You could hear Laws in Darwin, you could hear him down on the Derwent in Tasmania and all points in between."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recalling his interactions with the radio legend.
"I enjoyed quite a few lunches with John Laws, and he was always engaging, someone who had a real insight into the Australian character, both in our cities, but also - importantly - in the bush. He was someone who was particularly attracted to people in regional Australia and they warmed to him as well."
Even politicians couldn't deny his reach.
Paul Keating famously saying "if you educate John Laws, you educate Middle Australia".
Laws interviewed 17 prime ministers during a career spanning more than 70 years.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns describing him as incredibly sharp.
"One of his great attributes was that he'd listen to your answer and if you screwed up your answer, he'd nail you. He was very very clever at it."
Former Prime Minister John Howard adding:
"He was always ready with an opinion, never shirking controversial issues."
Laws was seemingly unable to escape controversy.
In 1999, he was criticised for accepting payments for disguising advertisements as opinions in what became known as the 'cash for comment' scandal.
He was also suspended for 15-months for interviewing a jury member on air and was found guilty of vilifying homosexuals.
John Laws was nothing if not self-aware in making this admission to Leigh Sales back in 2012.
"We all make mistakes. I mean, you're looking at one of the great mistake makers of the world."
He first retired in 2007 but that didn't last.
He returned in 2010 before signing off for good last November ending the show with the same line he always did - "be kind to each other."
