Radio legend Doug Mulray has passed away at age 71.
One of Mulray’s close friends, commentator Peter Switzer confirmed he died as a result of liver cancer. In December 2022, he was admitted to hospital, but at the time the cause was unknown before it was revealed it was for a “chronic illness”.
Ben Fordham disclosed that Mulray “hadn’t been well for a while” and spent the night in intensive care on March 20, 2023.
Born on December 1, 1951, earning himself the nickname “Uncle Doug” nationwide, he began his career at 2AD in Armidale before heading over south to stations Gosford and Melbourne.
Mulray became an influential voice for Australian radio, rising to notoriety with Mulray & The Man in the 70s on 3AW Melbourne. From there he made his way to ABC’s Double J and then Triple J, where he spent the majority of his career before calling it quits in 1999.
The radio pioneer was the face of Channel Nine’s Australia’s Naughtiest Home Videos, which debuted in 1992. There was only one episode that was stripped off air after 34 minutes, something Fordham refers to as “infamous”.
“During Episode 1, Kerry Packer was sitting at home watching the show, and he thought what he was seeing was atrocious, so 34 minutes into Episode 1, he called Channel 9 and said, ‘Get this crap off air’,” Fordham told listeners on 2GB’s Ben Fordham Live!
Mulray was inducted into the Australian Commercial Radio Hall of Fame in 2019, but in recent years he was known to keep a low profile.
Entertainment reporter Peter Ford referred to Mulray as an “absolute legend” of Australian radio and was a “great communicator” back when FM radio was in its early days.
“He was adored, he was outrageous, he was witty,” Ford said, noting his “clever” humour that “wasn’t just shock value or outrage.”
Fordham emphasised how, when he was asked how he managed to remain on-air for so long, Mulray expressed his love of radio and a “whole lot of adrenaline”.
“He was one of a kind, he was outrageous, he was politically incorrect, he was Doug Mulray,” Fordham said.
Fordham went on to say that whenever his salary grew, he’d hire more writers and staff rather than raking it all in himself.
“If there’s a radio station in heaven, they better get the dump button ready, because Doug Mulray is coming,” he said.
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