Ching Lau Lauro and Professor Ching were the stage names of a juggler and magician (1806?–1840; flourished 1827–1839) who performed outdoors and in theatres in London and the provinces. His real name is unknown; he was possibly Cornish and he was popularly known as Ching. He was the first magician in Europe to perform the aerial suspension illusion, and possibly the first to use limelight, and one of the earliest Western magicians to perform in Chinese costume. In 1834 he played at The Theatre, Leeds.
Background
Origins and identity
Little is known about the early life of the performer known as Ching Lau Lauro. His real name is unknown. He was possibly born around 1806 or even a little later, although his short career spanned 1827 to 1839. The evidence which suggests this is that he was able to perform extreme bodily contortions as part of his act throughout his career. This ability tends to be limited to youths and young adults. The same evidence would also suggest that he is unlikely to have had a previous career under a different stage name. His stage name was Ching Lau Lauro. He was also known as Professor Ching, and popularly referred to as Ching. He was not Chinese, but was possibly Cornish. His advertisements included an act called "imitation of a Chinese juggler," and he was one of the earliest Western magicians to dress as a Chinese man. In an early entertainment bill of 1827 he is promoted as a "primo buffo from Venice;" however, the misspelling on that playbill of "Lau" as "Law" might indicate an anglicised pronunciation of the name. He was described as a "well-proportioned person." This would suggest a good height and athletic build, since these represented prosperity and male attractiveness at that time.
Possible circus background
His particular entertainment skills might indicate that his background was among Cornish travelling showpeople who travelled and performed at circuses and fairs between March and November. Some had winter quarters in Cornwall, and some, like Ching Lau Lauro, might have been fortunate enough to perform indoors in the winter. The fact that he performed "postures, equilibriums, evolutions and attitudes" in the character of a Buffo at Vauxhall Gardens in 1827, 1828 and 1834 might support this theory, since many of the Vauxhall performers were from a circus background.
Private life
In September 1839 a William Creaser (18), alias 'Ching Lauro' was arrested for robbery. Creaser was so named as he was supposedly once a servant of the conjuror. He was detained until the Spring Assizes, sentenced to 12 months prison, and died of inflammation of the lungs on 8 November 1840.
The conjuror himself died in London sometime between 19 and 26 January 1840, not long after his last performance. Since his performances required extreme gymnastic ability and contortions, he is unlikely to have been an old man when he died. His brief obituary under his stage name, copied verbatim in several newspapers, describes him as "the celebrated conjuror". He made good money and was also sometimes a philanthropist: in 1834 he donated £4 8s 6d, the proceeds of a single day's performance, to the York Dispensary which gave medicines to the poor.
Career
Ching Lau Lauro's advertisements and popularity lasted between 1827 and 1839, after which the brief history before his death in January 1840 is unknown. He was first advertised as a juggler and then also, from 1834, as a ventriloquist and magician. His notices included "feats of strength and gymnastic exercises" and in the 1830s he described himself as "ventriloquist, melodist, naturalist and magician." Thomas Frost says that he started with posturing and balancing performances in 1828, then by 1835 he was a conjurer and ventriloquist, showing at "theatres and assembly rooms of many provincial towns, varying his entertainment with buffo songs." He could "[balance] acrobatically on two chairs and [dance] the hornpipe on his head." Following a fashion for representing historical scenes on stage, in the late 1830s he played Agrippa. There were many Roman Agrippas, but he may have been playing the Renaissance German magician.