Chung Ling Soo
| Chung Ling Soo | |
|---|---|
The Old and New Magic pub. 1906
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| Born |
William Ellsworth Robinson April 2, 1861 Westchester County, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 24, 1918 (aged 56) London, England, U.K. |
| Cause of death | Accidental shooting |
| Resting place | East Sheen Cemetery |
| Occupation | Stage magician |
| Children | 5 |
Chung Ling Soo was the stage name of the American magician William Ellsworth Robinson (April 2, 1861 – March 24, 1918), who is mostly remembered today for his death after a bullet catch trick went wrong.
Robinson was born in Westchester County, New York, the first of three children born to James Campbell and Sarah Robinson (née Titus). Both of his parents were of Scottish descent. The family settled in Manhattan while James Robinson toured in Charley White's minstrel shows. James Robinson, who variously performed under the names "James Campbell", "H.J. Campbell" and "Professor Campbell", specialties included impersonations, "dialect singing", hypnotism, ventriloquism and magic tricks. He later taught his son how to perform magic tricks.
Robinson performed his first magic show at the age of 14 and began performing professionally on the vaudeville circuit shortly thereafter. He initially performed under the name "Robinson, the Man of Mystery". Robinson earned a decent living performing his act but was eager to become a headliner on vaudeville. In 1887, he began performing "black art illusions" under the name "Achmed Ben Ali". The act and Robinson's new stage closely resembled that of German magician Max Auzinger, who performed under the name "Ben Ali Bey" (As Auzinger never toured the United States, the resemblance went largely unnoticed at the time).
By 1896, Robinson had performed his acts in shows for Harry Kellar and Alexander Herrmann. After Herrmann's death in 1896, Robinson decided to strike out on his own. Around this time, Robinson learned of a challenge issued by Chinese stage magician Ching Ling Foo. In a gimmick that was standard of magicians of that era, Foo offered a prize of $1,000 to any person who could successfully duplicate his illusions. Robinson, who had watched Foo's act when he toured the United States and figured out how his illusions worked, accepted the challenge. However, Foo refused to meet with him as Robinson had accepted a previous challenge issued by Foo and lost. The snub left Robinson upset. In 1898, he authored the book Spirit Slate Writing and Kindred Phenomena. The book exposed the tricks of slate writing and a number of devices that fraudulent mediums would use to pretend to contact the dead.
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