Richard John Sinclair Laws CBE (8 August 1935 – 9 November 2025) was an Australian radio announcer who had a broadcasting career spanning 71 years. His distinctive voice earned him the nickname Golden Tonsils. In the period between 1959 and 1962 Laws worked at both 2HD Newcastle and his first stint at 2SM. The newspaper advertisement for his move to the Sydney station showed him holding a small Mexican puppy. It was during this time he first worked with John Brennan. From 1957 to 1959 on 2UE each of the 3 pop presenters: Laws; Tony Withers and Bob Rogers had shows lasting just half an hour from 5:00pm playing the latest hits. During this time the afternoon newspaper the Daily Mirror ran a story about the imminent death due to cancer of Withers. In truth Withers was running away to Britain to broadcast on the new offshore pirate radio station ships due to his desire to hide his homosexuality,[citation needed] a life style not tolerated sympathetically in Australia at the time. Brennan; Laws and Withers had the best voices on radio during this period.

Early life
Born in Wau, Papua New Guinea, on 8 August 1935, to Australian parents,[1] Laws contracted polio twice – once as a child, and again as a young man.[2] He was educated at Mosman Preparatory School and Knox Grammar School in Sydney.[1]

Career
Best known as a talkback radio broadcaster, Laws was one of Australia's highest-paid radio personalities and was involved with Australian talkback radio broadcasting much longer than any other presenter. Although regularly commentating on topical news, Laws did not regard himself as a journalist but as an entertainer and salesman. He was nonetheless one of the few commercial radio personalities whose interviews with state and federal political leaders are considered to have a significant influence on the course of politics in New South Wales especially, and Australia in general. He also often appeared as a television show host and enjoyed a long recording career, as well as publishing many books of poetry.

Laws' radio show was syndicated throughout Australia for many years and was consistently one of the most popular and influential programs in the Australian media. Laws is also a familiar voice for generations of Australians through his large and varied body of work as a voice-over artist for commercials, and as a celebrity endorser of commercial products, notably Valvoline motor oil, with his popular catchphrase "Valvoline, you know what I mean" and Oral-B toothbrushes (the slogan "Oral-B, the toothbrush more dentists use").[3][4]