in Paris. He accepted the job and quickly created a new act based on Ching Ling Foo's act. Robinson then began dressing in traditional Chinese attire, shaved his facial hair and began wearing his hair in a queue. To darken his complexion, he painted his face with greasepaint. To complete his new act, Robinson chose the stage name "Hop Sing Soo". Robinson's new act was a hit, and by the time he began performing in London, he had perfected his act and changed his name to "Chung Ling Soo" (a variation of Ching Ling Foo's name). Robinson then set about creating a fanciful back story for himself. As "Chung Ling Soo", Robinson claimed he was the American-born son of a Scottish missionary who married a Cantonese woman. He claimed his father was a descendant of the Campbell and Robinson clans and both his parents died before he was 13 years old. As an orphan, Soo said he was taken in by a Chinese magician named "Arr Hee", who trained him to perform ancient Chinese magic tricks mixed with more modern European magic. When Hee died, Soo began performing the magic his mentor had taught him. 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. As Chung Ling Soo, Robinson quickly became a popular stage magician in Europe and eventually became one of the highest-paid performers on the vaudeville circuit. Feud with Ching Ling Foo In January 1905, Soo was in London for an engagement at the Hippodrome. His rival, magician Ching Ling Foo, was performing at the nearby Empire Theatre. By this time, Foo was aware that Chung Ling Soo was actually William Robinson and that he had copied virtually Foo’s entire act. He publicly called Chung Ling Soo an imposter and became intent on publicly exposing him as such. In order to garner publicity, Foo's promoter publicly announced that he would duplicate at least half of Chung Ling Soo's