Terry Hall was one of the earliest children’s television entertainers, along with his sidekick, the cowardly and bashful Lenny the Lion. He was one of the first ventriloquists to perform with an animal as his dummy rather than the traditional cheeky child doll used by entertainers such as Saveen with Daisy May and Peter Brough with Archie Andrews. He paved the way for stars such as Shari “Lamb Chop” Lewis and Keith Harris with Orville the duck.

Hall created Lenny in 1954 using an old fox fur, papier-mâché and a golf ball for a nose. He initially gave Lenny a deep voice which had little success with his audiences, but after a variety show one night, the singer Anne Shelton suggested he try a more gentle, higher-pitched voice.

Hall and Lenny made their BBC debut in 1956, and children were quickly captivated by Lenny’s endearing qualities, not least his inability to pronouce his Rs and his catchphrase: “Aw, don’t embawass me!”

Terence Hall was born in Chadderton, Oldham, in 1926. Educated at St Patrick’s School, Oldham, and De La Salle College, Salford, he taught himself ventriloquism and at the age of 15 won a talent contest.

He went on to tour the country in the Carroll Levis Discovery Show performing an act with a boy dummy named Mickey Finn. His billing matter was “The English Vent with the Irish Dummy”.

Mickey Finn was retired soon after Lenny the Lion became a hit on television. Hall had long-running success with shows such as Lenny’s Den, The Lenny the Lion Show and Pops with Lenny, which featured an early appearance by the Beatles singing Please Please Me. They also joined Lenny in a version of After You’ve Gone. Hayward Stenton Jones, the father of David Bowie, the popstar, worked on Pops with Lennyand later launched the Lenny the Lion Fan Club. Hall and Lenny also released a hit single, Lenny’s Bath Time (1963).

Hall went to America in 1958 and appeared as a guest on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The act was hugely popular in British variety throughout the 1960s, particularly in Blackpool, a favourite resort of Hall’s. The duo starred in several summer shows there and they were also something of a fixture in pantomime around the country. “I remember I appeared in one pantomime and mentioning that Lenny always ate a pound of sausages every afternoon at 2 o’clock,” recalled Hall. “I made the statement without thinking about it, and I was amazed when at 2pm the next day a crowd of children appeared at the stage door with loads of sausages for Lenny. It made me appreciate how very real Lenny was to children in the audience.”

Hall and Lenny gained further exposure through a three-year contract advertising Tre-bor Mints on television.

They continued to appear in TV specials such as Blackpool Night out and David Nixon’s Comedy Bandbox and in 1974 starred in the West End pantomime Cinderella, alongside Twiggy, Nicky Henson and Roy Kinnear.

As variety declined, Hall began a successful second career as a children’s educational writer and his books became part of the curriculum in many junior schools. He and Lenny attracted a new audience with their TV series Reading with Lenny (197780).

Hall sometimes found it difficult to step out of character off stage and would talk with fellow artistes accompanied by Lenny. “I did a Sunday night variety show with him,” said the magician John Wade. “He wanted me to talk with Lenny in the dressing room. It was embarrassing.”

Hall was, however, much respected by other ventriloquists for his performing skills and was proud that Lenny received more fan mail than he did.

Hall had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for several years. In 1980 he married Denise Francis, who survives him with two daughters from his first marriage and two stepdaughters.

Terry Hall, ventriloquist, was born on November 20, 1926. He died on April 4, 2007, aged 80