Veteran Sydney radio broadcaster Doug Mulray has died, aged 71.
Radio station Triple M Sydney and several friends have confirmed that Mulray died on Thursday.
Mulray began his career in regional radio in NSW and rose to fame on the ABC's Double J in the late 1970s.
He ruled the FM airwaves on Sydney's Triple M breakfast program in the 1980s, signing off his last show in 1992 with the words "I'll cop you later".
Southern Cross Australia chief executive Grant Blackley paid tribute to "Uncle Doug", who he described as a household name on Triple M.
"He was radio royalty and an absolute legend," he said.
"He was deeply opinionated, highly intelligent and one very cheeky bugger. Thank you Dougie for entertaining us and ensuring we never took life too seriously."
He also hosted radio shows on 2WS and 2SM, as well as several television shows — such as Beauty and the Beast, Star Struck, and the Doug Mulray Show, where he regularly laughed off negative reviews.
"Sue Williams of the Australian (said): 'Mulray is Hulkitudinally challenged by the way'. I know my audience, that means ugly," he said.
"She went on to say: 'His lack of classic good looks makes him non-threatening.'"
He was famously dumped on air by Channel 9 head Kerry Packer, just 33 minutes into hosting a new TV show, Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos.
Mulray was inducted into the Commercial Radio Hall of Fame at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards in 2019, and worked alongside media personalities such as Andrew Denton and Peter FitzSimons.
Denton was hired as a writer by Mulray in the mid-80s, who dubbed him "Andrew the Boy Wonder From Indoor Cricket".
He described Mulray as the "true original" adding "if the world is a glass of water — he is a Berocca".
"It was an incendiary fantastic cartwheel of a working relationship," Mr Denton told ABC Radio Sydney.
"It was really unpredictable, hilariously funny — on and off air."
"To paraphrase Douglas Adams — he loved rules. He loved the whistling noise as they went by."
FitzSimons paid tribute to his co-host on social media.
"An iconic radio man, his particular ability was to be wildly hilarious while right on the edge and never blinked. Privileged to co-host with him for a couple of years," he said.
"The love of his life was Miss Lizzie.
"Condolences."
Triple M Sydney host Mick Molloy said Mulray ruled Sydney radio for a long time and many in the industry owed him a debt for paving the way.
"It is a terrible morning. A huge gaping hole has been left in the landscape of FM radio, particularly in Sydney where Doug Mulray ruled since 1982," he said.
"He was the man, he was a legendary radio performer. For anyone in comedy, particularly going into radio, he was considered the biggest star in the firmament."
