Terry Hall (ventriloquist) Terry Hall (ventriloquist) Terence "Terry" Hall (20 November 1926 – 3 April 2007) was an English ventriloquist. He appeared regularly on television with his puppet, Lenny the Lion, whose catchphrase was "Aw, don't embawass me!" Hall is credited with having been one of the first ventriloquists to use a non-human puppet. Hall was born in Chadderton, Lancashire, where his parents ran a working men's club. He was educated at St Patrick's School in Oldham and at De La Salle College in Pendleton, Salford. Hall initially worked as a ventriloquist with a boy dummy, named Mickey Finn, and won a talent
Harlequin Puppet Theatre Opening Ceremony was performed by Sir Clayton Russon on 7 July 1958. The resulting building won a Civic Trust Award for its design. Its construction marked the first time in British history that a permanent theatre had been specifically designed and built for puppet playing. Since 1958 Bramall's marionette skills had been regularly featured on a children's television show; he and co-puppeteer Chris Somerville were subsequently given a weekly 15-minute puppet programme on BBC Wales, which continued until 1984. This and other outside work helped enable the Harlequin Puppet Theatre to stay in business, despite declining attendance over the decades.