Chung Ling Soo (real name William Robinson)

Chung Ling Soo (real name William Robinson). The stage trick shown here, in which Chung Ling Soo is supposed to survive a firing squad in the 1900 Boxer rebel lion in China, led to his accidental death on March 23, 1918. Robinson was performing the illusion titled "Condemned to Death by the Boxers" at the Wood Green Empire in London. That night, as one of his assistants fired at him, the gun malfunctioned and fired a live bullet into Soo's lung. He died the following morning and is buried in East Sheen Cemetery, in London. After Chung Ling Soo's death, the public was shocked to learn that he was not Chinese. The image contains the caption Defying Their Bullets'. Published by James Upton, Birmingham

Aims Boxers Bullet Bullets Chung Condemned Conjurer Fires Ling Magician Nov16 Shoots Squad Trick Turbans Upton

Features In These Collections

> Contributors > MDI