Charles Penrose
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Charles Penrose (11 November 1873 – 17 November 1952) was a music hall and theatre performer, and later radio comedian, who is best known for his unusual comic song "The Laughing Policeman".
Charles Penrose was born Frank Penrose Cawse in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, the son of a master watchmaker and jeweller. His parents re-registered him as Charles Penrose Dunbar Cawse shortly after his birth.
He initially followed his father into the jewellery trade, but enjoyed such success with his innovative laughing songs at local concert parties that he was invited to join a theatrical tour at the age of 18. His theatrical career took off, and he appeared in music hall and the West End. One of his most successful performances was in Tonight's the Night at the Gaiety Theatre, London in 1914-15.
Penrose married architect's daughter Harriet Lewcock in 1899. However, his second wife, songwriter Mabel Anderson, 26 years younger than he, became his most important collaborator. In 1922, Penrose made the first recording of his extraordinary song The Laughing Policeman under the pseudonym "Charles Jolly." The composition of the song is officially credited to his wife Mabel under the pseudonym "Billie Grey", however the music, melody, and laughing are taken from The Laughing Song by the American George W. Johnson which was recorded in approximately 1901. The Penroses wrote numerous other laughing songs (The Laughing Major, Curate, Steeplechaser, Typist, Lover, etc), but only The Laughing Policeman is remembered today, having sold over a million records. Its popularity continued into the 1970s, as it was a frequently-requested song on the BBC Light Programme show Children's Favourites.
Penrose also recorded a song called "The Laughing Sneezing Man", which was quite similar in nature to "The Laughing Policeman", however it was a slightly slower song and lacked a lot of the features of "The Laughing Policeman" and was therefore nowhere near as popular.
The B side of "The Laughing Sneezing Man", was a short comical sketch called "The Dog Vs The Cornet" where a little boy had to get his dog to out-sing a cornet player and make him stop playing.
Penrose was one of the first comedians to star on BBC Radio, his most popular role being Sgt. Bob Evergreen in the wartime radio series "The Pig and Whistle." He was also 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.
The Laughing Policeman has received quite a lot of popularity being useds in many sketches and adverts and it even had a dance mix made of it. It was released on a 10 inch record, which resembled the 78s of the olden times, with the original version on the other side. Although the label said it was a 78 rpm record, it actually played at 45 rpm.
