Jeffrey Crawford "Lazlow" Jones is a character appearing as a media personality in Grand Theft Auto IV, The Lost and Damned, The Ballad of Gay Tony, and physically appearing in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online.
He is potrayed by Jeffrey Crawford "Lazlow" Jones, an American talk show host who in real life was involved in writing and producing Grand Theft Auto titles.
History[]
Background[]
Inspired by his real-life persona, Lazlow is radio host with a media career of more than 30 years, as of the events in Grand Theft Auto Online. However, he comes across as an insecure, vain, pathetic, ill-mannered, whiny, creepy, and perverted weakling, qualities that are played for laughs in the games.
Lazlow, along with other previous radio personalities, also exists in the HD Universe canon of the Grand Theft Auto series.
He is first mentioned on the radio, raising funds for his new radio project, Integrity 2.0. He is referred to as the host of the "long-defunct Chatterbox FM". The station also lists every other radio job Lazlow had, including working at V-Rock in the 1980s, and later in the talk show Entertaining America, meaning that those radio shows also existed in some form in the HD Universe canon.
His HD Universe counterpart is also mentioned to be older than his real-life persona, and he was born in the Midwest, unlike his 3D Universe counterpart who was born in Upstate Liberty on the East Coast.
During the early events of Grand Theft Auto IV, Lazlow makes a brief appearance on Weazel News, where he explains he wants to innovate on radio business and media in general. He is self introduced as "Lazlow 2.0", a meta-reference about the character's own reboot in this new universe.
Events of Grand Theft Auto IV[]
Lazlow lost his Chatterbox FM job a year later, in 2002, because of a payola scandal he was involved in, and his wife divorced him shortly afterwards when he drugged a woman and brought her home requesting a three-way; On Integrity 2.0, he also implied his wife left him because she found out about the affair he had with the young female intern back in Vice City. Lazlow's ex-wife then married his former best friend, causing him to obsess over her for several years following their divorce, which he also later claims creeped out the women he dated following his divorce.
He was arrested multiple times over the next several years, including an arrest for publicly urinating at a Liberty City Swingers game in 2002, and another for exposing himself to old women on the streets in 2005. Deciding to try and make a comeback as a radio personality, he returned to Liberty City. Lazlow raised enough funds by 2008 to start up a new radio station in Algonquin, named Integrity 2.0. His program on the station involved himself exploring Algonquin and interviewing people on the streets. Unfortunately, his interviewing manner was now poorer than it used to be and nowhere near the composed and down-to-earth attitude he indicated in GTA III. It also seems that his popularity had waned since he was last on the air; the people on the street whom he interviews often show disdain for him, and for radio in general (even "Radio 2.0", as Lazlow calls this new approach for radio).
By that time, Lazlow had become notably more unhinged and prone to violence than previous depictions, as he openly expressed a desire to rip people's heads off or bite them on the cheek for doing things that annoyed him. He ended up being incredibly rude to the few people he interviewed who do not initially show any disdain for him, even going as far as to push a hot dog vendor's face into a pot of boiling hot water for joking about Lazlow's name and appearance (calling Lazlow a "clown" and a "hippie"), and spitting in the back of a cab because the driver suggested he bring back some of his old Chatterbox FM guests, which Lazlow took as an insult. He also allowed a man implied to be a pedophile to masturbate as he talked about schools while on the air. During the show, he also made a references to his real-life show, The Lazlow Show. He always introduced Integrity 2.0 as "The Lazlow Show", he also made a particular comment: "...when sixteen year olds could drink and listen to metal music, you could smoke in bars, and get into high speed accidents..." which was a reference to the intro of his real-life "The Lazlow Show" in late 2006.
Lazlow was briefly sponsored by ZiT, a program that identified songs playing on the radio. He was the voice of the company's automated greeting messages, but the ZiT adverts still made fun of his need to be in the public eye, referring to him as "...our needy, washed up celebrity".
Events of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City[]
In the two DLCs, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, ZiT had dropped sponsorship for him and he took a brief hiatus to find a sponsor for his show. He apparently got sponsorship from his step-father, who runs a funeral service called "Isaac Hammerstein and Daughters Funeral Services". Lazlow apparently does not like his step-father, making fun of his profession and his daughters (which Lazlow describes as "ugly" and "obese") and he called his step-father a "cockface" on radio, while also implying he dislikes his step-sisters because they rejected his sexual advances. He also got a sidekick that he called "Georgie", who was an illegal immigrant from Honduras. "Georgie" often laughed in Lazlow's face when he got insulted by people, prompting Lazlow to threaten to have him deported.
He also has an LCPD record but the LCPD apparently doesn't know his surname, claiming that the mystery of his surname is still unsolved and claiming the stupidity of the LCPD officers who arrested and booked him, as they never asked Lazlow his surname. However, oddly, he is still listed alphabetically under the letter "J".
Events of Grand Theft Auto V[]
By 2013, he returned to Los Santos, and started working for WCTR again. He now co-hosts a show called "Chattersphere", in reference to Chatterbox, with much younger female host Michele Makes. He is also presenter of the reality show "Fame or Shame", and is constantly mocked by the judges and polls made by the program. He seems to have a rivalry with Hugh Harrison, as the two constantly trade insults and are shown to have been in physical altercations in several previous episodes. It is also revealed at one point that Lazlow accepted sex from an obese Irish woman in exchange for advancing her to the finals.
In Grand Theft Auto V, Lazlow is first seen at the Maze Bank Arena hosting auditions for Fame or Shame. Michael De Santa's daughter, Tracey, is trying out for the show with a sexually suggestive dancing routine. Trevor and Michael arrive and see Lazlow dancing inappropriately with Tracey. Unable to watch any more, Michael loses his temper and pushes Lazlow to the ground, who calls security and runs away, causing Michael and Trevor to chase after him. Lazlow escapes in his car but it eventually loses battery life, leaving him trapped in the Los Santos Storm Drain. Michael and Trevor catch up to him, with Trevor forcing Lazlow to remove his pants and to dance in his underwear while he video records it on his phone. As Lazlow is running away, Trevor then announces that he plans to post the video online and that "the world is gonna see your shit".
Later on, Lazlow meets Tracey at Blazing Tattoo, where Tracey tries to get back on Fame or Shame after Michael and Trevor ruined her first audition. He agrees to let her back on the show in exchange for a blowjob, which a recently arrived Michael overhears. Michael proceeds to pierce Lazlow's eyebrow, nose, and ear, tattoo a penis on his chest or back and snip off his ponytail before demanding he put Tracey on his show without anything in return. Lazlow initially claims he was assaulted by a deranged fan, but later claims it is his new look.
If the player watches TV, they can see Tracey's episode of Fame or Shame, in which she sings the song "Daddy Issues". Despite Lazlow's attempts to get Tracey to win, she loses to Three Masturbating Monkeys. This episode can be seen in Grand Theft Auto Online.
He is later seen interviewing a few celebrities at the premier of Michael's new film "Meltdown" at the Oriental Theater, where he seems to now have a job as an interviewer for Weazel News, as his mic flag has the Weazel logo on it, as well as the game showing the interview airing live on Weazel during the mission. Upon seeing Michael, he nervously and hastily retreats inside, pulling the cameraman along with him.
GTA V marks the first time that Lazlow not only has an actual appearance, but also plays a direct role in a storyline, and is interacted with by one of the protagonists.
Events of Grand Theft Auto Online[]
Five years after the events of GTA V, Lazlow appears in GTA Online with the introduction of Nightclubs in the GTA Online: After Hours update. He has shorter hair, a different nose and ear ring, and a more run-down wardrobe. Strangely, Lazlow appears younger by this point, with the slight facial wrinkles seen in 2013 no longer being visible.
He is in the new venue when the player first enters to meet Tony Prince, rehearsing an unwanted live performance of his Fame or Shame show. Tony treats him with disdain, stating "This live version of an awful TV show is not happening". Lazlow begs to be allowed to DJ at the club but is dismissed by Tony. When a real DJ is recruited, Lazlow acts as MC to introduce the DJ.
Lazlow is left with the responsibility of attracting NPC VIPs and celebrities to the club, issuing instructions to the player as part of the Promote Club work, although it is clear that most of the celebrities actually want nothing to do with him. Lazlow will announce any celebrity appearances in the club over the PA.
Lazlow will remain in the club permanently, and his actions will reflect the popularity of the club. When the club is popular and busy, he will be found dancing on either level, often with props. If the club's popularity declines, he will be increasingly depressed, sometimes in the office area.
When picking up Tale Of Us from the airport, English Dave tells the player that the DJs requested to be picked up in a Enus Stafford. When they successfully arrive at the nightclub, Dave realizes that the request for being picked up in a Stafford was actually Lazlow's.
Character[]
Personality[]
In earlier games in the 3D Universe, Lazlow was depicted as one of the more "sane", stable, and seemingly decent people in the Grand Theft Auto universe, especially on the radio. He was often shocked and fed up with the various eccentrics and con-men he interviewed.
This is especially notable in the first game of the 3D Universe and the first game in where Lazlow appeared, GTA III, when he was a sane, calm, composed, rational and down-to-earth man, who would respond with an "only sane man" attitude to the crazy and eccentric remarks of his callers on the Chatterbox FM radio.
As the series progressed, Lazlow began developing his own eccentric, deviant, and sometimes illegal behaviors. This resulted in him being fired from or forced out of a series of hosting jobs under cloudy circumstances.
In the HD Universe, Lazlow has become a washed-up former radio star in denial of how far he has fallen. As a result, his personality flits between self-loathing, nervousness, desperation, arrogance and self-aggrandizement.
In GTA V, Lazlow is written more specifically as a parody of American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, hosting vote-in talent show Fame or Shame alongside his radio gigs. By this time, Lazlow's personal life has reached its nadir. His inappropriate sexual urges have cost him several jobs and resulted in multiple sexual harassment lawsuits against him, he struggles unsuccessfully to maintain a youthful appearance despite his obvious aging, and he is constantly belittled and mocked by those around him, including his much younger and already more successful radio co-host, Michele Makes. This results in a breakdown during a radio interview with Brother Adrian, the founder of the cult Children of the Mountain, causing Lazlow to rant about his decline in popularity and difficulty keeping work, the shame he's brought to himself and his family, and his ever-increasing desperation to stay on the air leading him to less-and-less dignified work.
Lazlow is also somewhat of a hypocrite when it comes to cults as during a broadcast of Chattersphere, Lazlow makes comments about creating his own cult if he ever went to Mars, this is mentioned not long before Brother Adrian calls, whom Lazlow then immediately makes disparaging comments regarding cults.
LCPD Database Record[]
1998 - Forcible Touching
2001 - Bribery
2002 - Public Lewdness
2004 - Bribery
- Twice charged for payola scandals in 2001 and 2004.
- Arrested for public urination at a Liberty Swingers game in 2002.
- History of exposing himself to old women when down on his luck.
Mission Appearances[]
Grand Theft Auto V[]
Grand Theft Auto Online[]
- Setup nightclub
- Solomun
- Club Management: Celebrities (Voice/Boss)
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
General[]
- Great part of Lazlow's 3D Universe character's career has been preserved for his new "Lazlow 2.0" character in the HD Universe, with the exception of his birth place, relatives and links to major 3D Universe story characters. All of the radio shows he originally presented existed in some different form in this continuity according to the intro of the Episodes from Liberty City version of Integrity 2.0. [2]
- According to Rockstar Games' own logic, only media personalities can exist in multiple universes for being background characters, explaining why Lazlow and a few other previous celebrities exists in the HD Universe.
- Lazlow has appeared in the most games in the Grand Theft Auto series. He has appeared in every game in both the 3D Universe and HD Universe excluding Grand Theft Auto Advance and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars as a radio DJ, although as two separate characters of the same name in two different realities.
- Lazlow is one of many celebrities and radio characters in the series to exist in some different form in both the 3D Universe and the HD Universe.
- Lazlow is the fifth real-life celebrity to physically appear in the Grand Theft Auto series, behind Phil Collins in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
- Willy, Lazlow and Cris Formage are the only three characters from the 3D Universe to physically appear in the HD Universe continuity, as different variants of themselves.
HD Universe[]
- Lazlow's appearance in Grand Theft Auto V contradicts a description of him on Integrity 2.0 in Episodes from Liberty City. Lazlow has a full head of hair in GTA V, but on Integrity, a passer-by mentions that he is bald. This could possibly mean either he has managed to grow his hair back, or that indeed Lazlow had hair and the passer-by just wanted to taunt him by saying that he was bald.
- A caricature artist also implies he is bald by drawing his head with a "helicopter landing pad" but Lazlow yells at him, saying not to focus on the bald spot.
- Lazlow sponsors the Karin Dilettante and drives one during the mission Fame or Shame.
- On two occasions, Lazlow admits that he doesn't actually perform live radio. In Grand Theft Auto IV, he says that Integrity 2.0 doesn't have the equipment to broadcast live, and makes a point of telling Michael and Trevor that he doesn't broadcast live during their confrontation in "Fame or Shame". This provides an in-universe explanation for why it's possible to (thanks to the randomness of the radio station programming) listen to Chattersphere during GTA V missions involving Lazlow.
- During the Vinewood Star Tours, the tour guide shows the place where Lazlow was arrested for masturbating with an eggplant and shouting at women.
- It is very likely that one or more of the protagonists could call or receive calls/texts from Lazlow in the early versions of GTA V, as there's a contact picture for him in the game files.
- It is also possible that his appearance as a host on Fame or Shame is supposed to parody the appearance of Howard Stern (another controversial radio host) as a judge on America's Got Talent. Stern began appearing on America's Got Talent in 2012, however, it is unknown when Lazlow began his tenure as the host of Fame or Shame. It is also possible that it is supposed to parody the appearance of chat show host Jerry Springer as the host of the same show. Springer served as the host from 2007 until 2009 when he was replaced by Nick Cannon.
References[]
- ↑ LCPD Database screenshot
- ↑ "He started as an intern on Vice City's V-Rock, then a fulltime DJ, before turning to Los Santos-based "Entertaining America", and then "Chatterbox"..."