Charles Penrose (entertainer) a character actor in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s. Charles Penrose died of heart disease on 17 November 1952 at the Princess Beatrice Hospital, Kensington, aged 79. Charles Penrose (entertainer) Charles Penrose (born Charles Penrose Dunbar Cawse; 11 November 1873 – 17 November 1952) was an English music hall and theatre performer, and later radio comedian, who is best known for his unusual comic song "The Laughing Policeman". He was born in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, the son of a master watchmaker and jeweller. He initially followed his father into the jewellery trade, but enjoyed such success with
English folk music program, "As I Roved Out", based on field recordings made by Peter Kennedy and Séamus Ennis from 1952 to 1958, which probably did more than any other single factor to introduce the general population to British folk music in the period. Also important were occasional radio shows, such as Lomax’s "Ballads and Blues" (1951), MacColl’s "Radio-ballads" (1958–64) and "The Song Carriers" (1968). John Peel frequently included folk music of his "Top Gear" show on Radio One from 1968, but dropped it when punk arrived in the 1970s. The most consistent source of folk music on radio, has been BBC Radio