Chung Ling Soo

CHUNG LING SOO (William Ellsworth Robinson) d1918. American magician who is mostly remembered today for his death after his famous bullet catch trick went wrong. In 1900, William Robinson learned that an agent was looking for a Chinese magician to perform at the Folies Bergere in Paris. He accepted the job and quickly created a new act based on Ching Ling Foo's act. He then began dressing in traditional Chinese attire, shaved his facial hair and began wearing his hair in a queue. To darken his complexion, he painted his face with greasepaint and then chose the stage name "Hop Sing Soo". His new act was a hit and by the time he began performing in London, he had perfected his act and changed his name to "Chung Ling Soo". He then set about creating a fanciful back story for himself as "Chung Ling Soo" claiming to be the American born son of a Scottish missonary who had married a Cantonese woman. As Chung Ling Soo, Robinson maintained his role as a Chinese man scrupulously. He never spoke onstage claiming that he spoke no English and always used an interpreter when he spoke to journalists. Soo's Chinese wife (Suee Seen) acted as his assistant. Suee Seen was also one of his inventions ; in reality, she was Olive "Dot" Path, an American woman whom Robinson claimed was his wife. He quickly became a popular stage magician in Europe and eventually one of the highest paid performers on the vaudeville circuit. On March 23rd 1918, Chung Ling Soo was performing at the Wood Empire in London. He performed his act without incident until he got to his famous "Condemned to Death by the Boxers" illusion. That night (as one of his assistants fired at him) the gun malfunctioned and fired a live bullet into his lung. He fell to the ground and said in perfect English ; "Oh my God. Something's happened. Lower the curtain". It was the first and last time (since adopting his stage-persona) that William "Chung Ling Soo" Robinson had spoken English in public. He was taken to Passmore Edwards Cottage Hospital, but died at the age of 56 the following morning. His death was ruled "accidental" with a final verdict of "misadventure". Following his death, the public was shocked to learn that he was not Chinese though his true identity had been largely known amongst the professional magicians of the period.