Henri ter Hall

Henry John Hall who as born in Haarlem, on 5th February 1866 was a Dutch revue artist, theatrical producer and politician. In the early twentieth century he was known as the King of the Revue. From 1918-1925 he was a politician. Henri ter Hall grew up the son of a railway official. He started his working life in the navy in Den Helder where he soon devoted himself to the craft of humour. In 1892 he left the navy, married and became a full time artist. From 1898 he focused on his review and his company became the first Dutch revue which, even up to 1920, was the country's leading exponent of this type of entertainment.

King of the Revue

Hall's first review to the exhibition (1898) was a modest performance but his 1907 revue put a lid on! brought together a group of about seventy people. Two years later, he married his second wife, Henriette Kohler, a member of his revue. They lived in the south of the country where, in 1917, he became a member of the local council.

Politician

He had wider political ambitions. In 1918 he produced the revue but Pinch! which served as support for his campaign to be an MP. He founded the Neutral Party which seemed aimed at the interests of railway workers, sailors and theatre artists. He was a MP from 1918. From 1921 his party was loosely affiliated with the newly formed Liberty Bond. In 1934, Hall became a deeply conservative member of the Alliance of National Reconstruction. Hall died on 31 May 1944 of pneumonia.