Hollywood star Russell Crowe has led celebrities, politicians, former colleagues, family members and generations of loyal John Laws listeners in farewelling a giant of Australian broadcasting.
The talkback titan attracted an audience of more than 1,000 to St Andrew’s Anglican Cathedral in Sydney‘s central business district on Wednesday afternoon.
Members of the public began waiting outside the church, which has a capacity for 800, several hours before the service.
Among the famous faces seen arriving were Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, Olympic swimming legend Dawn Fraser, former prime minister John Howard, billionaire Lindsay Fox, singers John Williamson and Marcia Hines and former NSW Premier Nick Greiner.
Also in attendance was NSW Governor Margaret Beazley, 2GB hosts Ben Fordham and Mark Levy, and Nine entertainment editor Richard Wilkins.
Crowe delivered the second eulogy for his friend and neighbour. It didn’t take long to get laughs from mourners while recalling the gift Laws gave his son Charlie for his first birthday.
Crowe began while recalled how Laws had asked him to speak at his funeral ‘a long, long time ago’.
‘And then he just kept on living,’ he said.
Crowe remembered the first time the pair met and how Laws gave the impression he had faith in him.
Hollywood star Russell Crowe delivered one of the first eulogies for his friend and neighbour John Laws at his funeral on Wednesday
2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham and his wife Jodie Speers were among the hundreds who attended St Andrew’s Anglican Cathedral to farewell his mentor
Who’s who of showbusiness attended, including singer Marcia Hines (pictured with husband Christopher Morrissey)
Olympic swimmer legend Dawn Fraser was among the high profile mourners in attendance
The who’s who in Australian politics were in attendance, including former prime minister John Howard, who hailed Laws as one of Australia’s greatest broadcasters
The talkback radio legend died in Sydney earlier this month aged 90
‘That is an under-valued gift, to instill confidence in others,’ Crowe said.
The last time they spoke, Laws expressed support for his latest film project, Nuremberg, ‘out December 5th – did you see what I did there?’
‘I can quite confidently say that we hardly ever agreed on anything,’ Crowe said.
‘However, we did agree that we liked each other’s company.’
Crowe said Laws had the heart of a lion, a nose for a good story and an eye for beauty.
He told a story of Laws attending an afternoon tea for his son Charlie’s first birthday.
At one point Laws asked if Charlie had opened his present. Crowe unwrapped the gift and found a card which said, ‘To Charlie, from John’, along with a bottle of Wild Turkey.
‘That was pretty much when the afternoon tea ended and the celebration began,’ he said.
Crowe said Laws had helped teach him the importance of kindness.
‘John Laws, my neighbour, my mischievous mate, my good friend, was a a very kind man.’
Crowe close his eulogy with a reading of Rudyard Kipling’s poem If, before John Williamson rose to perform his anthem True Blue.
A golden microphone was placed next to John Laws’ coffin in honour of the radio legend
A hearse carrying John Laws’ coffin is seen arriving at St Andrew’s Anglican Cathedral ahead of his funeral on Wednesday
Russell Crowe (pictured with partner Britney Theriot) said that Laws had the heart of a lion, a nose for a good story and an eye for beauty
Aussie singer John Williamson sang his iconic hit True Blue
Fittingly for a man who loved music, Amazing Grace and the Battle Hymn of the Republic were among the rousing hymns sung at the service.
Glen Campbell’s recording of the Roger Miller song Less of Me – Laws’ radio show theme song – played at the recessional.
Afterwards, the crowd of hundreds outside burst into a round of applause as the hearse pulled away from the cathedral.
Laws’ longtime friend Paul Warren delivered the first eulogy, paying tribute to a broadcaster who touched the lives of countless Australians from prime ministers to truckies and jackaroos.
He listed some of Laws’ achievements including amassing more than two million listeners at one time, winning 92 ratings surveys.
Mr Warren – the son of car sales king Peter Warren – singled out Jodee Borgo, Laws’ personal assistant of the past 30 years.
‘Your love, loyalty and care for John have been extraordinary,’ he said.
Howard hailed Laws as one of Australia’s greatest broadcasters.
‘I was interviewed by him on couple of times on 2SM, and he had not lost his spark,’ he told reporters outside the church before the service.
‘Australia has produced some great talkback broadcasters but he would be top of the pops.’
Generations of loyal listeners were in their droves.
Mic Rego travelled from Marrickville in the city’s inner-west to say goodbye to a man he knew through the wireless as ‘Lawsie’.
‘My brother, he died a few years ago, my father as well,’ he 68-year-old told Daily Mail through tears outside the cathedral.
‘They were Lawsie fans and I’m a great fan too.’
‘The way Lawsie finished every program: ‘Be kind too each other.’ Who says that in life now?’
Governor of NSW Margaret Beazley and Premier Chris Minns were among the mourners
Hundreds gathered to remember John Laws at his state funeral on Wednesday
Laws died at his Sydney home aged 90 on November 9, having received end-of-life care in recent months. He retired on November 8 last year.
The father-of-five’s career spanned 71 years, much of which he spent as Australia’s radio king – the man with the golden tonsils who sat behind a golden microphone in his studio.
That golden microphone and Laws’ Commander of the Order of the British Empire medal, awarded in 1978 by Queen Elizabeth II, sat on a table in the cathedral’s sanctuary.
As a sign of respect and mourning, all Australian and NSW flags were being flown at half-mast on government buildings.
In announcing Laws’ family had accepted the offer of a state funeral, NSW premier Chris Minns described his talent and ratings run as ‘extraordinary’.
‘John Laws was a towering figure in Australian radio whose voice resonated across the nation for more than seven decades,’ Minns said.
‘His legacy lies not only in the thousands of hours on air, but in the connection he forged with millions of Australians.’
Tributes have poured out in the 10 days since Laws’s death, including from prime minister Anthony Albanese, who was represented by Labor minister Matt Thistlethwaite at the funeral.
‘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,’ Albanese said.
Onetime 2UE colleague Ray Hadley, who at 2GB succeeded Laws to take the morning radio throne, called his ‘fierce competitor’ a ‘radio icon’
Many of those at St Andrew’s on Wednesday had attended St Mark’s Anglican Church in Darling Point in March 2020 for Laws’s wife Caroline’s funeral. The couple is pictured
‘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.’
Albanese’s predecessor Paul Keating famously once said: ‘Forget the press gallery; educate John Laws and you educate Australia.’
In the wake of Laws’ death, Keating called him the ‘king of the great analogue medium, radio, before the digital age blossomed’.
‘Born with an attractive baritone voice that carried with it an air of authority, John Laws dominated the Sydney and NSW airwaves for half a century,’ Keating said.
‘This is a mighty record. And not just an Australian record, but in all important comparative respects, an international one.’
KIIS FM presenter Kyle Sandilands said Laws was ‘one of the true originals’.
‘You could never mistake him for anyone else,’ Sandilands said.
‘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.’
Onetime 2UE colleague Ray Hadley, who at 2GB succeeded Laws to take the morning radio slot throne, called his ‘fierce competitor’ a ‘radio icon’.
‘Those who follow him and drink from the well like I have in the past should remember the person who dug that well,’ Hadley said.
‘And that well was dug by the great John Laws, a true pioneer of Australian talkback radio.’
Crowe lived next door to Laws on Sydney Harbour at Woolloomooloo’s Finger Wharf.
‘John Laws was my neighbour for 23 years,’ the Oscar winner said. ‘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.’
Ben Fordham opened his 2GB breakfast show the morning after Laws’s death with a lengthy tribute to his mentor.
Fordman revealed he had met a gravely ill Laws at this home 10 days earlier because he had been ‘too stubborn’ to cancel a lunch appointment.
‘He was strong and stubborn and silly right to the very end,’ Fordham said.
‘John Laws was a master communicator, he could have important conversations with politicians but he also connected with the truckies and the taxi drivers… everyone felt like they knew Lawsie.’
Many of those at St Andrew’s on Wednesday had attended St Mark’s Anglican Church in Darling Point in March 2020 for Laws’ wife Caroline’s funeral.
Caroline – who Laws called ‘The Princess’ – died of cancer at their home aged 82. They had met as teenagers and been married 44 years.
Laws began broadcasting in 1953 on 3BO in Bendigo and four years later moved to Sydney’s 2UE where he became one of the first DJs to play rock ‘n’ roll.
He left 2UE in 1959, ran a farm in the Hunter Valley, and returned to Sydney to join 2GB in 1962.
Laws was back at 2UE by 1964 and stayed until 1969 when he switched stations again, this time to 2UW for a stint which lasted almost 10 years.
There was a further five-year stretch at 2UE from 1979, followed by three years at 2GB. His last turn at 2UE commenced in 1988 and ran until 2007 when he retired for four years.
Laws was back at work at 2SM in 2011 and remained there until calling time on his radio days in October last year.
That announcement was made live on-air after Laws read out a letter from a listener who wanted to thank him for decades of entertainment.
‘You’re not going to be hearing it for long, mate, I think it’s time for a rest, is what I think,’ Laws had said.
‘I’ve done it for a very, very, very long time. 70 years, is it long enough? It’s long enough.’
‘I don’t want to be greedy… Loved almost every minute of it’.
Outside radio, Laws was known nationally for fronting advertising campaigns, the most famous of which was for Valvoline motor oil.
He faced several controversies, including the 1999 ‘cash-for-comment’ saga in which Laws was found by the Australian Broadcasting Authority to have taken payments from corporations for favourable commentary.
But Laws always maintained he was an entertainer and salesman rather than a journalist.
Weekend Today co-host Alison Piotrowski got her first job after she left university as a ‘researcher/phone girl’ for Laws, quickly progressing to junior producer.
‘You never had to chase for Laws,’ Piotrowski told the Daily Mail.
‘The moment you said, ‘John Laws wants to speak to you’, people were just like, ‘Oh, OK, when? Now? Do I need to come in?’
‘You’re talking to people who have just won Olympic gold medals, or the premier, or whatever. It was never, ‘Oh, no, I can’t talk to him, I’m too busy’.
‘No matter what was going on in their life, they would drop it instantly and chat to the big man.’
Ben Fordham opened his 2GB breakfast show the morning after Laws’ death with a lengthy tribute to his mentor
KIIS FM presenter Kyle Sandilands said Laws was ‘one of the true originals’. ‘You could never mistake him for anyone else,’ Sandilands said. Laws and Sandilands are pictured
Piotrowski said Laws was as comfortable talking to the prime minster as he was the man or woman in the street.
‘I think he made listeners feel heard,’ she said. ‘He just wanted to hear their story. He was curious about everyone, every Aussie who called in.
‘There were some days where he where he’d be like, ‘Ali, I don’t want to talk to anyone. I don’t need any interviews’.
‘The premier might want to come on to plug something or try and get his voice on the air. And he’d be like, ‘No, I just want to talk to my listeners and play some music’.
‘He had this confidence where he’d be like, ‘I can just go and talk to people, and people are going to listen. I’m going to make it interesting’.
‘And I don’t know any other broadcaster that can do that. He was truly the king.’
