CHUNG LING SOO
CHUNG LING SOO (April 2, 1861–March 24, 1918), whose birth name was William Ellsworth Robinson, was an American magician who went by the stage name Chung Ling Soo.
His specialties included impersonations, “dialect singing”, hypnotism, ventriloquism and magic tricks.
As Chung Ling Soo, Robinson maintained his role as a Chinese man scrupulously. He never spoke onstage, claiming that he spoke no English (though he did occasionally say phrases in broken 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 Robinson's invention; in reality, she was Olive “Dot” Path, an American woman who Robinson claimed was his wife. In fact, the two never married, as Robinson had never divorced his first wife, Bessie Smith.
One of his famous acts was “The bullet catch trick”.
On March 23, 1918, Chung Ling Soo was performing in London. That night, as one of his assistants fired the modified gun at him, some of the gunpowder exploded in the gun's chamber, accidentally firing the bullet (loaded only for showing the public) into Soo's lung. He fell to the ground and said: “Oh my God. Something's happened. Lower the curtain.” This was the only time since adopting his persona that Chung Ling Soo had spoken English in public.
MAGIC SPELLS
