Chung Ling soo
Chung Ling Soo was the stage name of American magician William Robinson. He was inspired to take the name by the work of magician Ching Ling Foo.
Ching Ling Foo was born Chee Ling Qua in 1854 in Beijing, China. He studied traditional Chinese magic and became a well-known and well-respected performer there. In 1898 he brought his show to the United States for a very successful tour. In his show, he breathed smoke and fire and produced ribbons and a fifteen foot long pole from his mouth. Ching Ling Foo caused a sensation when he took an empty piece of cloth, produced a huge bowl, full to the brim with water, and then pulled out a small child!
While Ching Ling Foo was in New York, he offered a reward of $1,000 (in those days, a great deal of money) to anyone who could produce a bowl full of water like he did. He did it for publicity—Ching Ling Foo never actually meant to hold a contest, but American magician William Robinson didn't know that.
William Robinson was a New Yorker from a Scottish family who sometimes worked by himself as a magician, but also worked on-stage and built props for other magicians like Harry Kellar, Alexander Herrmann and Adelaide Herrmann. Not long after Ching Ling Foo refused to let William Robinson try for the $1,000 reward, Robinson went to Europe with a new Chinese-style show of his own and recreated himself as the magician Chung Ling Soo.
Robinson, under the stage name Chung Ling Soo, called himself "The Original Chinese Conjurer." Even offstage, he was known as Chung Ling Soo. When the press wanted to interview him, he brought an "interpreter" because he claimed not to speak English. From the newspaper stories, it sounds like all of Europe believed that he was actually Chinese.
In January of 1905, Chung Ling Soo began performing at the Hippodrome Theater in London. That same month, Ching Ling Foo's show arrived and opened at the Empire Theater, only 100 yards away. The two magicians had very similar names and posters, and both claimed to be "The Original Chinese Conjurer." The English public was fascinated. Finally, Ching Ling Foo sent out a challenge. It read: "I offer £1,000 if Chung Ling Soo, now appearing at the Hippodrome, can do ten out of my twenty tricks, or if I fail to do any one of his feats."
The newspapers loved it. Each magician called the other names, claimed his rival was lying, an impostor. Finally, a date was set for the competition. Chung Ling Soo was there at the appointed time, ready to win, but Ching Ling Foo never arrived. Once again, no money changed hands. The newspaper "The Weekly Dispatch" wrote "and the questions arise: Did Foo fool Soo? And can Soo sue Foo?" The public declared Chung Ling Soo the winner and he tour the world with great success for the rest of his life.
