Oddly Chung Ling Soo Pops Up on BBC1’s The One Show!

To my surprise the story of the magician Chung Ling Soo popped up on The One Show on BBC1, of all places. I’ve blogged about Chung Ling Soo, actually William Ellsworth Robinson, an American magician who worked mostly in Britain before the First World War impersonating a Chinese magician in full mandarin regalia. Most of the audience never had any idea that he wasn’t Chinese. There is little film of him – except this short clip of him welcoming back soldiers from the front to London (which I’ve blogged previously here). Famously Chung Ling Soo/Robinson died when his version of the bullet catching trick (set against a backdrop of the Boxer Rebellion!) went wrong at the Wood Green Empire music hall. By the way, there’s a great biography of Robinson called The Glorious Deception.

Anyway, if you can access BBCiPlayer before next Wednesday (5th June) you can watch the programme…